by C Renee
She’s young, with long blonde hair tied back in a braid. She has a smug look on her face when she spots me from across the hall. It must be because of my surprised look or the look that I find her attractive. What am I thinking? I have Louise in a hospital bed waiting for me to get back. I can’t be thinking about another woman. Especially, a woman who looks like this doctor.
“Hello, I’m Doctor Sin, I will be presenting the test results today and going through the diagnostics with your family. Doctor Rogers couldn’t make it today so I took his place.” Doctor Sin, where do people come up with these last names and to have one suit her so well? What is this world doing to me? I just have to keep my thoughts innocent and focus on Louise and my father.
“It’s nice to meet you Doctor Sin, follow me to my parent's room.” I see Helga out of the corner of my eye and she has a smirk on her face. I have to remember to speak to her after this. That nothing will ever happen between this sexy doctor and me.
I lead the way to my parent’s room, up the stairs and down the hallway. We reach my parent's bedroom and I knock softly.
“Come in son.” My mother calls from behind the door.
I open the wooden door wide so the doctor can walk in front of me. I try my hardest not to check out her ass but it’s a little difficult when she’s wearing a skintight skirt.
“Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Knight, I’m Dr. Sin. Unfortunately Dr. Rogers couldn’t make the call out today.”
I watch as she walks over to my father’s desk in the corner, she places her large black bag on top of the desk and reaches inside for her notebook and the test results. She is also carrying her stethoscope.
She has her poker face on and isn’t giving any sign of remorse or joy.
“I’ve already checked for an irregular heartbeat and checked his Blood Pressure. He is showing signs of High Blood Pressure but that could be due to stress.” I walk around the other side of the bed and watch her place the chest piece over his heart and we all hold our breaths. Watching and waiting to see what she has to say.
“Well, you’re right. His heartbeat is irregular and his breathing is slightly faint.” She stands up and looks over her notes again.
“I have here the test results from the blood samples we took two weeks ago.” She places her hand on mother's shoulder as she says her next words.
My legs are feeling a little shaky, I sit down on the chair and brace for the bad news I know is coming.
“I’m sorry to tell you this but your father is diagnosed with Ho…” Before she could finish what she was saying, my phone starts ringing. Of all the times it could have rung it had to me know. I look down at the caller ID and its Julz.
“I’m sorry, I have to take this.” I get up and quickly walk out of my parent’s bedroom.
Once I’m outside the door I answer it.
“Hello, have you heard any news?” I ask Julz into the phone.
“Yes, Alex. Louise is awake. You can come visit her.” I can’t hear anything except the pounding of my heartbeat in my ears. Did she just say Louise is awake? I can’t believe it.
“Alex, are you still there?” Julz keeps calling my name.
“Yes, sorry. I’ll be right there.” I don’t bother calling out to my parents. I’m already running down the stairs, taking two at a time. I pass Helga and call out to her. “Louise is awake.”
I know I should be staying with my family to find out what’s wrong with dad but I can’t bring myself to know he is dying. I don’t want to admit that he is leaving us, he should have told us sooner instead of keeping it a secret. I am still angry at him for making that decision.
I take my car keys off Jack and jog down towards my car. I take the Ferrari today, it’s faster and a smooth drive. I don’t waste time; I’m heading towards the hospital to see my girl.
Chapter Two
Louise
I STIR IN MY sleep, I feel groggy and I can’t seem to place where I am. My whole body aches and feels like it’s on fire.
I inhale a huge lungful of air but I can’t open my mouth. My throat is dry and scratchy. I want to open my eyes but I can’t. Why can’t I open up my eyes?
Oh my God, what is wrong with me? I faintly hear machines beeping louder and faster. I can barely hear feet shuffling on the floor and people talking among themselves.
I can’t move my muscles in my legs, my arms or my head. What happened to me?
I can feel warm droplets running down my cheeks, I can’t even wipe them away.
I just want to wake up and talk with someone so I don’t feel so alone. I feel myself going insane.
“Louise… can you hear me?” I see a flash of light shine in my eyes.
“Louise, it’s okay to open up your eyes. You’re safe now.” The male voice is encouraging me to open my eyes, I don’t think I’m ready.
“Louise… honey it’s okay now. Momma’s here.” I know that voice. I feel a soft, warm hand touch my cheek and then placed on my left hand.
“Baby girl, it’s going to be alright.” I know that voice too. Oh god my parents are here.
I hear the monitors slow down and return to a steady pace.
I open my eyes slowly and spot my mother. She is sitting in a chair near the bed and she has tears running down her face.
“M… mom… momma… don’t cry.” I croak out. I need water and I need it now.
“Anna, go get water for Louise.” I look over to the doctor and sure enough it’s Dr. Grim. Yuck, of all the doctors I could have gotten, it had to be him.
I close my eyes again, I’m not used to the bright light above me. I hear my dad murmur soft words to my mom. I’m glad she has him right now. She can be so emotional but I love her soft side.
“Here Louise, drink this but only little bits.” The nurse helps lift the plastic cup to my mouth. Oh, that’s heavenly. I feel the cold water run down my throat and feel it all the way down my chest. I need more so I take another three mouthfuls of water before I hand the cup back to the nurse.
“Do you know where you are Louise? Do you remember what happened to you?” Dr. Grim comes closer to the bed and pulls his stethoscope from his pocket. He puts it in his ears and places the chest piece over my heart. It’s a little cold but it doesn’t remain there for long.
“Your heartbeat is normal which is good. Louise are you in any pain?” He pulls out my chart and writes down the results.
“No, I just feel light headed and my stomach hurts a little bit.”
“Alright, Anna I want another .5 mm of morphine pumped through her system over the next four hours and if no change come get me.” I watch as the nurse gets a needle with liquid inside pump it through my IV in my arm.
Oh that’s much better, the pain in my stomach has subsided and my head doesn’t feel that bad anymore.
“I will be back later to check up on you and to explain the extent of our injuries but in the meantime I would suggest you rest.” He leaves with the nurse following right on his heels. Now that leaves me with my parents.
“Hey.” I look over to my parents and smile. They are still holding onto each other. It is truly a great sight to see, I knew they were well and I didn’t have to worry about them.
“Oh honey, I’m so glad you’re awake. You scared me half to death.” She rushes over and places her arms around me. She lightly places feathery kisses all around my face.
“Mom, stop.” I laugh when she pulls away. Tears start falling heavy and fast down my face; it is so good to see my momma again.
“Honey, there is no… no need to crr… cry.” She starts to cry with me; she leans in again and hugs me harder. My heart is hurting, it feels tight in my chest and I can’t breathe. I pull her at arm's length and I see her make-up running down her face. She looks a mess.
“Mom, stop crying so I can stop crying.” I hiccup a giggle. My dad coughs in the corner of the room; mom and I both turn to look at him when we see him wiping his eyes, he was crying too. I open up my arms and motion for my dad to
come over with us. His face is wet from his tears he missed and his chin is wobbling.
“Come here daddy… I … missed you.” He steps next to mom and we all hug each other. Our bodies’ rock and shake from our crying, my dad is rubbing my back and my mom is kissing my cheek. I have missed them so much.
“I’ve missed you so much my baby girl. Don’t you ever leave us again.” My dad was the first to step away from us; he uses his sleeve to wipe the rest of his tears away.
I hear someone clearing their throat near the door.
We all turn and my breath leaves my body. I can’t believe my eyes, are they playing tricks on me?
Alex is there, standing in the doorway to my room.
Is he here to see me?
Why is Alex standing there looking like he could burst into tears?
“Hey.” Alex says as he looks to my parents and then he looks at me. The way he is looking at me is scaring me, but I feel butterflies in my stomach.
“Sam honey, why don’t we give these two some time alone?” Mom looks at dad and gives him the look.
“Oh right, yeah let's go get some coffee.” I watch them walk out of my room holding hands and when my dad passes Alex he pats him on the shoulder.
My dad is never that nice to the guys in my life, and Alex isn’t in my life. This is Alex I’m talking about. He doesn’t stick to one woman let alone meet the girl's parents.
“What are you doing here Alex?” I blurt out before I could filter my words.
“I… ah… got a phone call from your mom saying you were awake.” Alex takes a step further into the room.
I can’t read his expression when he looks at me.
Does he pity me?
Does he think this is his fault that I’m in here?
“Oh, well thanks for stopping by.” I turn my head away from him; I can’t keep looking at that emotionless expression.
“I’ve been here the whole time you were in a coma Louise. That night I found you at Matt’s was the worst night of my life and I have gone through some shitty ones.” I still don’t turn to look at him when he’s speaking to me. I hear more movement; he’s getting closer to me.
“Louise, I … I … will you please look at me?” He pleads with me. I give in and finally look over at him. He is three feet away from my bed and I look down at his feet and travel up his body. He is wearing dress shoes, skintight black jeans and a grey shirt. His jaw has a light beard and then I look into his tired eyes. I see tears starting to form and then I watch one slide down the side of his nose to his lips.
He looks like he is in pain, he reaches up and wipes his nose and stuffs his hands back into his front pockets.
“Louise, holding your limp body in my arms did something… it did something to me and I’m…” he takes a deep breath before he continues.
“I’m not sure I ever want to let you go again. Louise, I’m not sure what these feelings are but I know deep down in my bones that I will never want another. You are all I want.” I watch as more tears slide freely down his face.
I feel my own hot tears drip down my face and I sniff back a sob. Oh Alex.
My heart is breaking for this man, he is my broken man.
“I… Alex…” I can’t get my words out, I’m sobbing harder now. My body is shaking and I hide my head in my hands. The tears are now mixed with my snot coming out of my nose; I can’t look up at him. Not when I look like this.
“Move over Precious.” Alex whispers in my ear.
My sobs break loose and I’m crying harder at his soft words. I scoot over on my bed to let Alex climb up and lay next to me.
He opens his arm for me to lean my head against his chest and he wraps his right arm around my body and uses the left to wipe my snot and tears away from my face with a tissue.
Alex is here and he feels something for me, I don’t deserve him.
“Shhh, it’s going to be okay now. Try getting some sleep. I’m here now.” Alex rubs my back up and down. He lightly kisses my forehead every now and again.
I feel myself drifting off to sleep, feeling the safest I have ever been in my life.
Alex is with me now.
* * *
I stir awake and I slowly blink away the sleep in my eyes. I look around the room and I spot Steph.
“Oh about damn time you woke up!” She rushes over to me and hugs me to death. I have missed her.
“Don’t you ever leave me again or I will find you and drag you back home by your hair.” She pulls back from me and pouts, she has tears in her eyes but she won’t let anyone else see them. That’s my best friend.
“I promise.” I smile back at her, I look around the room and see my parents are back, Alex is sitting in the corner watching. He hasn’t taken his eyes off of me. I smile at him and he blows me a kiss.
I look at Steph and she rolls her eyes. She leans closer to whisper in my ear, “he’s a keeper Lou, don’t let this one go.” She gives me a kiss on the cheek and goes to stand with my parents.
I can’t believe they are all here, I finally have my parents back and it was all thanks to Alex. I think back to the last happy memory I have with my parents and it was when Matt still allowed me to see them.
I got the phone call from my mom saying it was time to have a family get together.
“Yes mom, I will be there and no Matt won’t be coming. I asked into the phone, I was hoping Seth would be there too, I hadn’t seen him in two years. He was off being the well-known reporter for the In The Field, LA. That news branch only had reporters employed to find the truth from the field, they don’t broadcast boring news. I wasn’t sure where he was but I knew he wasn’t in America. I would always fear for his life in the line of work. He has been arrested more times than I can count. He has been shot a few times for getting too close to the truth and he would always choose the most dangerous assignments.
I begged him to change jobs after the first time he was shot but he didn’t listen. My parents tried to have a word with him but he didn’t even listen to them.
I was looking forward to this dinner; I hadn’t seen them for a few months.
I had to pack a few clothes to travel back to LA and spend the night with my parents. Matt didn’t want me to drive so late, he was very thoughtful back them.
“Alright Matt, my things are all packed, ready to be put in the car and then I should be heading off.” I walked towards the kitchen to where Matt was bending over the counter reading a recipe book. I loved when he cooked our meals, they were divine.
“Okay, I will miss you. Please call me when you get there and give your mom a kiss from me.” He pushed his weight off from the counter, I watched as he stalked towards me with this dark and sexy look in his eyes. I stood there with my arms crossed over my chest, I was not pleased. He quickly picked me up and placed my ass on the kitchen counter. He wrapped his arms around my torso and he kissed me from my lips down to my neck. I couldn’t stop giggling; he knew my ticklish spot just under my ear.
“Matt, stop. You’re going to make me late and you know my mother won’t be pleased. She will take your manhood.” He stopped kissing me for a split second before he went back to kissing his way down my collarbone.
I pushed him away before he could unbutton my shirt.
“Matt that is enough.” I pushed him that little bit harder to enforce my words.
“Fine, but it’s your loss Sweetness.” He walks to the side to let me get off the counter. I turn around and give him a quick kiss on the cheek before I walked off to the front door.
The drive to my parent’s house was boring but I was too excited to see them to care. I hoped my brother was going to be there, I really did miss him.
My parent’s house was located in a nice suburb, it wasn’t a rich area but it wasn’t a poor one either.
I pulled up into my parent’s driveway and I couldn’t stop smiling.
That house was home; it had a white picket fence with plenty of flowers the color of the rainbow. The house had
vines growing from the ground going all the way up the walls of the white bricks, the front lawn was bright green and a square stepping stone pathway led up to the front door.
I parked my car and grabbed my bag, the smell of spring was in the air and it made that trip even more special. The flowers were in bloom; the birds chirped away, it was sunny and warm.
I was glad to be home, only if it was for a short period of time.
My stomach was rolling around and I was nervous as hell, I knocked on the door. I wondered who would answer the door? Would my brother be there? Would he bring a girl home? I side stepped back and forth waiting for someone to answer the door.
“Hey honey,” my mother answered the door and she pulled me in for a tight, warm embrace.
“Hey mom,” I hugged her back just as hard.
I will not cry.
I will not cry.
I hiccupped back a sob when my mom kissed the top of my head.
“It’s good to have you home sweety.” She let go of me and stepped aside to let me in the front door.
“It’s good to be back.” I walked inside the house and I was hit with the smell of mom’s cooking. It smelled amazing.
“What do you have cooking mom?” I walked past my parent’s bedroom on the left, and opposite that room was dad’s office. The hallway leading to the kitchen and living room wasn’t that long but the walls were covered with photos of our family on numerous vacations.
The brown floorboards were in every room in the house except the bathrooms because they had white tiles. The color theme in the house was soft white and blacks with pastel blue and pinks.
“You’ll have to wait until it’s served, I don’t want to go and spoil the surprise.” She led us into the kitchen and the smell of the food only got stronger. God, I am starving and this woman knew how to build an appetite.
“Honey, why don’t you go sit on the couch next to your father. I’m sure you two have some catching up to do.” Mom went back to cooking whatever she was cooking. I found dad sitting on the couch watching the news, he never watched any other station besides In The Field, LA because he didn’t want to miss out on seeing Seth.
