Page 74 of Don't Forget Me
Because he needed her if he was ever going to open his eyes.
27
ELIZABETH
By the time the morning sun streamed through the window on Elizabeth’s fourth day since seeing Nick, she knew she couldn’t lay in that bed any longer, not when he was in this very hall.
Throughout the night, doctors and nurses came and went, never leaving her alone for longer than an hour to get any real sleep. And during the day, she saw the look on her dad’s face every time she opened her eyes.
Her sleeping terrified him, so she tried to stay awake, to smile and act like being stuck in this room wasn’t killing everything inside of her.
Evelyn and Owen helped, they helped a whole heck of a lot, but they never managed to push Nick from her mind. The further she drifted from that time at the lake, the more it all seemed like just a dream.
A dream she wanted back.
After seeing her kids, she didn’t wish to return to the lake, leaving them once again, but now she wanted that dream to come here, for Nick to open his eyes, to see the recognition dawn on his face like the sun rising in a dark sky.
Her entire body was still weak. She hadn’t been able to stand without help, but she willed herself to sit up, to force her legs over the side of the bed and untangle the blanket from around them.
Breathing deeply, she pulled the IV from her arm, pressing a thumb to the tiny bead of blood that formed. Her legs shook beneath her as she stood and gripped the bed for support, the cast on her arm only getting in the way.
Moving her hands from the bed to the chair her dad left beside it, she managed to take one step and then another. Her breaths came in ragged bursts as her body failed her. Again.
But even during chemo, she hadn’t felt like this, like one wrong move and she’d topple right over.
Her head swam as dots appeared in her vision, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t.
Out in the hall, the hospital was just waking up. Elizabeth gripped the doorframe with fingers peeking out from behind white plaster, preparing to make her way to where two security guards stood outside the room that must have been Nick’s. She wasn’t sure yet how she’d get by them, but that was a problem for a hundred feet from now. First, she had to get there.
Her hand slid from the doorframe to the rail along the wall. “Keep going, Liz,” she breathed. “You’re almost there.”
By almost, she meant she’d made it to her own door.
“This is for Nick.”
For them.
She managed a few steps before the world tilted on its axis, or maybe that was just her. Her grip on the rail weakened, and the last thing she saw was blue scrubs running toward her before her head hit the ground.
“Momma?” A soft voice reached Elizabeth before she could open her eyes.
Groaning, she tried to rid herself of the pounding in her skull, but it persisted in drilling holes straight through her. A garbled sound left her mouth.
“Momma?” Same word, different voice.
Finally, she slid her eyes open to find two faces only inches from hers. All she could see were wide eyes looking into hers.
“Kids, give her some space.” Her dad scooped Evelyn and Owen off the bed.
“You’re in trouble, Mom.” Evelyn settled on her papa’s lap and crossed her arms.
Owen mirrored her pose, his expression softer. “Papa says you’re grounded.”
The corners of her lips tipped up. “Oh, I am, am I?” Her voice sounded rough, unused.
Her dad didn’t return the smile. “Elizabeth Ann Ross, what were you doing out of your bed?”
“Not now, Dad. Please.” She couldn’t handle a lecture when she’d failed. Here she was, still in her hospital room, while Nick was down the hall.
