by S. G. Sonysa
“No.” I lied.
“But your eyes are telling me another story,” he said, staring at my face.
“No. It’s because of the smoke in the kitchen.” I averted my eyes from his face.
“I have planned something for us,” he whispered in my ear, lightly brushing his lips on the outline of my ear.
The feeling of his lips turned my inside into mush. I looked into his eyes.
Chase’s dad cleared his throat loudly to snap us out from our own haze of love. I blushed when my eyes landed on the teasing smile on Allison and Cameron’s face. Chase was just grinning stupidly.
The rest of the lunch went peacefully without any more embarrassing moments for me.
[Night]
I was helping Allison in cleaning the table after dinner when Chase came and dragged me upstairs to our room.
“Why have you dragged me here?” I asked him baffled.
“I have dragged you here to tell you that tonight we are going to sneak out from the house.” He smiled broadly.
“Chase. You need to rest for the surgery tomorrow. We are not sneaking out and going anywhere. End of discussion,” I said, scolding him for even thinking about this stupid plan.
“Baby, grant this one wish from a dying man.” He played the dying man card with me.
“You’re incorrigible,” I said.
The smile reappeared on his face.
After dinner, everyone went to their rooms, and I picked the sleeping Noah from my bed then went to Allison’s room. I didn’t want him to wake up and get scared if he couldn’t find Chase and me. Noah was familiar with Allison so he would listen to her.
“Please take care of him. He has a habit of turning after every hour,” I said to Allison, placing Noah on her bed.
“Don’t worry about him. Tell me, where are you guys going?”
“I don’t know where we are going. Your brother has been really secretive throughout the day,” I replied to her with a smile.
“Go enjoy.” She pushed me out the room and closed the door behind me.
I went downstairs where he was waiting for me.
“Have you packed everything that I told you to pack?” he asked me, taking the small duffel bag from my hand.
“Yes, boss. Now tell me where are we going?” I waited for his reply.
“We’re going to the beach,” Chase said, dragging me towards the car.
“Chase! Are you out of your mind? Why are we going to the beach at this time?” I protested, making him stop.
“The beach is only a thirty-minute drive away from here, and it’s not even midnight. Don’t be a party pooper.” He forced me to get inside the car.
He sat on the driver seat and buckled himself then he started the car.
We reached the beach in twenty minutes because of his crazy speed driving, and there was no traffic on the road.
He pulled the bag and basket out from the back seat.
“Is this some kind of picnic?” I asked Chase, confused.
“Yes, it is. Now follow me.” He ordered me, walking ahead.
Chase placed the bag and basket down on the sand then spread a thin sheet. He sat down on it, and he pulled me beside him.
“You’re acting weird.” I glanced at the beautiful stars in the sky.
“No, I’m not,” he replied.
He was also busy in admiring the beautiful view of the beach.
“Remind me again why we are here?” I asked, turning my eyes to gaze at his beautiful face.
“We are here because I want to make this night special for us.” He glanced at my face then turned his head to see the waves.
“Every night and day is special if it’s with you,” I said, scooting closer to his body.
He draped his arm over my shoulder and leaned towards my lips. He brushed his lips lightly on mine, making my heart flutter.
“The things that come out of your pretty mouth have some kind of power on me. My heart rate increases and knees go weak when you say things like that,” he said, staring into my eyes.
“It happens to me too, Chase. It’s the effect of love.” I winked and said.
He smiled at me.
“Hailey, if I… I went into a coma or forget everything, promise me you will remind me of everything. You’ll make me fall for you again,” he said, caressing my cheek.
“I promise. I will make you fall in love with me again.” I brushed my lips against his.
“And if I will die. You will move on with your life,” he said with a hopeful voice.
“I can’t promise something that’s not possible for me to fulfill. Even, after our divorce, I never dated anyone,” I told him, making his eyes widened.
“Really?” He looked amused.
“Yes, it is because you own my heart, my body, and my soul. So tomorrow, you have to survive no matter what. You will come back to me,” I said, placing a chaste kiss on his jaw.
“Hailey, I’ll try my best to come back to you. But whatever happens, remember that I love you. You and Noah mean everything to me.” He planted his lips on mine.
My lips moved in sync with his. I let him control the kiss and found myself lost in his heavenly mouth. He ravished my lips like I was the last drop of water on this earth and he wanted to have me completely.
After some sweet amount of time, he pulled away, showing me his talented swollen lips.
“We should go back. It’s getting cold here, and I don’t want you to get sick,” I said, getting up and dusting my jeans.
He got up and held his hand out for me to take. I took hold of his hand, and on the other hand, he picked the basket and bag.
The direction he was going made me confused and I voiced out my confusion.
“You’re going the wrong way. Our car is there,” I said to him, indicating towards the direction we parked the car.
“No. I’m going the right way.” He had a mischievous smile.
My eyebrows rose in confusion, but I followed him nonetheless. He stopped outside a beautiful beach house and let go of my hand then took out the keys from his pockets. He unlocked the door and made his way inside, and I followed him.
He switched on the lights, and I felt my breath quicken.
“Wow,” I mumbled, staring at the beautiful room.
The room was decorated with some candles and roses, creating a romantic atmosphere.
“Chase, did you plan this?” I asked him wide-eyed.
“Yes, I did. I want to spend the night here with you.” He pecked my lips softly.
I broke the kiss and removed my jacket then threw it on the floor and planted my lips back on his. I was kissing him passionately. My body was full of the fervor of love and burning with passion.
Our movements were frantic when we removed each other’s clothes. His hands were everywhere, caressing and loving. He placed me on the bed and crawled to me. His lips were back to assault me, and I was a mess.
[Next morning]
I snuggled in the crook of his neck and sighed. He was running his fingers up and down on my bare back, silently staring at the ceiling.
“Chase,” I called his name while running my hand over his hard muscular chest.
“Hmmm.” He made a sound to tell me that he was hearing me.
“We should get up and leave,” I said, placing a kiss on his chest.
“But I don’t want to get up.”
I heard the sadness in his voice.
“I know, but we have to go back love,” I said, getting up and kissed his lips.
After taking a shower and changing clothes, we left the beach house with beautiful memories of last night sealed inside our hearts.
When we arrived at his house, everyone was up and waiting. It felt like no one got any sleep last night. After an hour, we decided to leave for the hospital.
Chase and I went with Cameron to the hospital, and their parents followed behind in a different car.
When we arrived at the hospital, the nurses took him with them to
prepare him for the surgery.
Then he came out wearing a long white shirt and a green surgical cap over his head.
“Love you,” I said and gave him a peck on his lips.
“Love you too.”
Then the nurses took him inside the operating room.
I was pacing like a mad woman and Cameron had enough of it. He dragged me to the chair and made me sit. Chase’s parents were sitting opposite us.
“Hailey, you’re shaking. Relax,” Cameron said, rubbing my back.
“Cam, please pray for him.”
“I’ve been praying for him, Hailey. He’s my only brother. I love him even though I hated him when he divorced you. Evan and I taunted him every dinner about being unlucky and destroying his family. Now we regret it,” Cameron said, hiding his face in his hands.
“But he… he never divorced me.”
Cameron’s head snapped in my direction, and Chase’s parents gasped loudly.
“What do you mean he never divorced you? He did it in front of us,” Eva said.
“Yes, he made me sign those papers, but he never signed them himself and never submitted them to his lawyers. He pretended to divorce me to make me leave with Noah and to show you that he doesn’t want us in his life even though he wanted us more than anything. I found out about this on Christmas when he came to spend it with us.”
His mother looked ashamed at what she had done to her own son.
“Now I hate myself more, Hailey,” Cameron grunted.
“Don’t hate yourself, Cameron. Chase loves you and has always admired you,” I said, reassuring him.
An hour passed and no one came out from the operating room. We were all sitting in the waiting area waiting for the doctors to inform us about Chase. Cameron got us coffee, but I wasn’t able to take a sip due to the anticipation.
The nurse came out, and I rushed towards her.
“How’s Chase?” I asked her.
“He’s fine. The surgery is going to take more than three hours.” She left us again to endure the silence.
After three hours, the doctor came out. His parents and I stood up from the chair.
“Well good news. The surgery went well. He is on sedatives right now and sleeping peacefully. We’ll know if the surgery was as successful as we think it is after he wakes up.”
“Can we see him?” I asked him hopefully.
“We’re transferring him to his room. Then you can see him,” the doctor replied.
“Thank you.”
The doctor smiled and left.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Expect the Unexpected
Hailey
“Chase. Please, baby, wake up. You can’t do this to me, to Noah… Chase, please open your eyes.” I was screaming, cupping his face between my palms, but there was no response.
He was lying on the bed, not moving. The only indication that he was still alive was just his beating heart, nothing else. If he could hear me right now, he would have stopped me from crying.
Placing my head on his chest just above his beating heart, I cried. My cries were ringing loudly in the room while my body shook with every sob.
“Ma’am, please. You have to calm yourself, or we will have to give you something to calm you down,” the nurse said to me.
My sobs lightened but the tears didn’t stop falling. The nurse left me alone. I moved my eyes up and saw his pale face, but I couldn’t see his beautiful grey eyes anymore as they were closed.
I heard someone entering the room, but I didn’t have the energy to turn around and face anyone right now.
“Hailey, get up. Let’s go home. You don’t look okay,” Cameron said.
“Cameron, please leave me alone. I… I don’t want to move from here. He’ll ask for me when he wakes up.” I took Chase’s hand in mine.
“Hailey, don’t do this. I can understand what you’re feeling, but you have to be strong for Noah,” he said, placing his hands on my shoulder.
“No, I don’t want to be strong. Now leave me alone.”
He sighed and left me.
I kissed the back of his hand and murmured “Chase you… You have to come back to me.”
I spent the whole night with him, praying that he would wake up soon.
After two hours of surgery, the sedatives should have worn off. He should have woken up already, but it didn’t happen.
Even after eight hours, he stayed asleep. The doctor told us that he had gone into a coma. They said that he could hear me and feel my touch, but he couldn’t respond. His brain was recuperating and had to shut the entire world out.
I knew he couldn’t hear me right now because I had been crying for hours and he didn’t even stir to show me that he wanted me to stop crying.
[Two weeks later]
The two weeks had passed, and he was still in a coma. My days and nights were spent here in the hospital, staring at his sleeping face. I hadn’t left his side except when I needed to change and shower. The entire week he hadn’t responded to my voice, not even once. My heart was dying to hear his voice, to see his cute smile, and to feel his lips on mine again.
“Hailey, I’ll stay here. Please go home and stay with Noah. He’s getting antsy,” Cameron said, making me get up from the chair.
He took the seat beside his brother’s bed. I kissed Chase on the head and left the hospital.
The driver was waiting outside to take me home. I felt nausea and dizzy spell on the way. I hadn’t been eating properly for the past week so it might be the reason why I felt so low and tired.
Eating was not in my to-do-list since the day Chase went into a coma. I still had hope that he would wake up soon. He had to wake up. He promised me that he would never leave me again.
When I arrived at the house, I stepped outside the car and made my way towards the house. Eva opened the door for me. She was waiting for me to inform her about her son.
“He’s still the same,” I said, squeezing my eyes shut for a second to get rid of the dizziness.
“He’ll wake up soon. I know. And Noah is upstairs.”
I nodded my head and went upstairs. I pushed open the door of our room and found Noah sitting on the bed, watching his favorite cartoon. I took a deep breath and prepared myself to answer my son’s questions today. I didn’t want to keep him in the dark anymore.
“Noah, baby,” I said to get his attention, but he didn’t reply to me.
He looked angry, and his eyes stayed fix on the cartoon. I walked closer to the bed and sat down beside him.
“Someone is mad with Mommy. Huh. What should Mommy do to make Noah a happy baby again?” I pretend to think then I picked him up in my arms and started tickling him.
“Mommy, stop. See I’m not mad at you,” he replied giggling.
“Why haven’t you eaten anything all morning?” I settled him on my lap.
“I don’t want to eat anything. I want Daddy. I want to go home,” he said, staring at me sadly.
“We can’t go back home yet.”
“Why? Mommy, did Daddy leave us again?” he asked me with tears in his eyes.
“No, baby. He is sick. He’ll come home soon. Now come I’ll make you your favorite mac n cheese.” I controlled my tears and waited for him to get up from the bed.
He looked somber but nodded his head. I went downstairs to the kitchen with him. When I entered the kitchen, the strong smell of coffee hit my nose and I felt nauseated again.
I ran back to my room and went inside the washroom. I emptied my stomach. My head started spinning, so I gripped the basin tightly to stop myself from falling on the floor.
I closed my eyes for a few minutes and opened them again. I felt a severe headache, and my body weakened, sliding down on the floor. The tears I had been holding back in front of my son started to fall freely from my eyes.
I cried there for how long I didn’t remember. I got up and brushed my teeth and washed my face. When my eyes caught my reflection in the mirror, I saw sunken cheeks, a pale face
, and prominent black bags under my eyes from lack of sleep.
Cleaning up myself, I changed into a new set of clothes and went downstairs again to see Noah.
“Mommy, Aunt Allison made me chicken noodles,” Noah said, showing me his bowl full of noodles.
I gave him a small smile and turned to Allison.
“Allison, when did you arrive?” I asked her.
“I just arrived here after dropping Chris and Susan off to school. I saw you running back to your room. Is everything alright?” She stared at my face.
“Yeah, I felt a sudden wave of nausea,” I said, leaning my head on the counter.
“Hailey, look at your face. You look pale. You have to take care of yourself. What are you going to tell Chase when he wakes up and sees you like this?” She looked concerned about my health.
I nodded my head.
“Did you have breakfast?” she asked me, and I shook my head in a silent no.
She scolded me and served me some toast and coffee.
“Allison, can you please take this coffee back? It smells funny to me and triggering my nausea,” I said, giving the coffee mug a disgusted look.
She removed the coffee and placed a glass of milk in front me. Like a mother, she stayed in the kitchen and forced me to finish the whole glass of milk.
“I’m going to the hospital,” I said getting up.
“No, missy. You’re not going anywhere. You are going to bed right this moment, and you will take a nap.” Allison ordered me, giving her best you-have-to-do-this glare.
I sighed and went to my room. I slipped inside the covers and started thinking about the time when I first fell in love with him. I never thought it was just infatuation. I knew from the start that I loved him. He had something special in him that called me towards him.
I missed his smile, his touch, his laugh, and mostly his presence beside me. I missed hearing him say how much he loved me. He made me addicted to his care and his presence. My day felt lifeless because he wasn’t here to make me blush with his teasing comments. My body ached to feel his love again. I didn’t know what was happening to me but I was falling apart like before, and it was scary.
