“No.” I struggle to say as pain shoots through my stomach, making the one word feel like such a chore. The nurse and doctor continue to monitor me and Nikki creeps back into the room. She stands to the side, allowing the doctor to do his job without any interference from her. I focus on her as the pain begins to ease and I get used to breathing on my own again. I am still connected to some machines and I’m told that’s because of the major surgery, I have just come out of. They are intravenously feeding me pain medication and antibiotics to keep an infection at bay. They tell me that I almost died that I needed emergency surgery and that they’ve removed my spleen. They also inform me that my recovery is going to be a bitch and then they scare the fuck out of me by telling me that any kind of infection while I’m healing can kill me.
Isn’t life, funny? Just a few weeks ago, I could care less if I died and now more than anything I wanted to live. I wanted to plant roots and make a life for myself and I wanted Nikki in the center of it all. I guess life really can change in the blink of an eye and not always for the worse.
Before they leave my room, they tell me to take it easy and try not to exert myself too much. If I have to cough they give me a pillow to hug to my belly like that’s supposed to ease the pain when my stomach feels like its being torn apart. We’re finally alone and Nikki walks to my side taking my hand in hers she smiles down at me.
“Don’t talk.” She says when she sees me part my lips. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.” She says automatically making me feel like shit for leaving her that fucking night because I was too much of a pussy to face what I was feeling for her. “I thought I’d never see you again.” She swallows and I can see the struggle she’s fighting not to cry. “I thought I’d never hear your voice or your wise ass remarks again.” She laughs slightly. “I thought I wouldn’t get the chance to tell you how much you mean to me.”
“I know.” I cut her off struggling to speak. I couldn’t make a big elaborate to do in telling her how I felt, but I wasn’t going to let another word come from that pretty little mouth of hers before I could say what I almost didn’t get the chance to. “I love you.” I say taking short pauses between each word.
She smiles widely. “I know.” She says and the dam breaks free as fresh tears start to roll down her cheeks.
I swallow hard even though she’s smiling I hate to see her cry she’s cried way too much in the last few days.
“Don’t cry.” I whisper shaking my head slightly.
“Okay.” She wipes her cheeks with the backs of her hand. “You know what?” She sniffles and sits on the edge of my bed to be closer to me. “I love you too Mikey.” She shakes her head as if she can’t believe we’re telling each other what we mean to one another. “So much more than I ever thought I was capable of.” She takes my hand in hers. “I don’t want you to talk you need your rest but I want you to know…” Her voice cracks as she tries to complete her thought. “I’m going to take care of you. We’re going to take care of each other.” She swallows back a sob and leans in to press her lips gently against mine sealing the promise she’s making to me. I squeeze her hand hoping she understands the gesture is my vow to her that she knows that I’ll live the rest of my life for her.
She slowly pulls back from the gentle kiss we share moving back to sit in the chair she’s occupied for God knows how long and never let’s go of my hand.
“Get some rest.” She says before I close my eyes, knowing that when I open them, she’ll still be right where she is now.
I don’t know how long I slept for but when I awoke every bone in my body ached. My guess it had to do with sleeping in the chair beside Mikey but I’d take the discomfort any day of the week before I left his side again. I sit up and find Mikey smiling at me.
“Why didn’t you wake me?” I ask as I yawn.
“You’re so pretty when you sleep.” He says his voice sounds more like his own than when he first woke up, but you could tell there was still a strain when he talks. He brings the pillow that the nurse gave him in case he coughs to his abdomen I guess when he speaks it hurts him. I lace my fingers with his and sit on his bed. “Are you okay?” He asks me concern etched along his handsome face.
“I’m fine.” I say confidently. “I was a little dehydrated, but they put fluids in me and now I’m good as new.”
He looks down at my wrist his thumb tracing the red lines that mark my skin where I was tied. “I could kill that bastard.”
I smile. “You already did.”
“Good.” He says closing his eyes briefly. “Hey Nikki?”
“Yeah?” I ask his eyes are still closed but he smiles.
“I’m going to marry you someday.” He opens his eyes and raises an eyebrow towards me testing me.
“Good.” I mimic treating him with a wink watching as his smile widens. We stay like that for a few moments just smiling like a bunch of lovesick clowns when there is a knock on the sliding glass doors. We turn around to see my father walk into the room and I notice the same cops who questioned me are outside Mikey’s room, standing by the door, they’re probably here to question Mikey and get his statement.
“It’s good to see you awake Michael.” My dad says walking closer to us. “The doctor says you’re likely to make a full recovery as long as you listen to them.” He cocks his head to the side a knowing smile playing on his lips we all know Mikey doesn’t follow rules well.