Page 90 of The Fighter
“Solo and Zasquash told me the doctors gave him less than thirty percent chance of survival.”
“That’s what they said.” I fiddled with my fingers. “His body was as destroyed as the drone. Three limbs were cut off in the crash, one of his lungs collapsed, he has four broken ribs and his neck, shoulder, and the left side of his face were cut open. They’re still operating on him, but the doctor said that it’s likely that he has brain swelling so even if they can stabilize him, he’ll have to be in a coma until the brain swelling is over.”
Leo drew a heavy sigh and closed his eyes.
“I know,” I said, “but we have to stay positive. As long as there’s a chance of him surviving, there’s hope.”
Opening his eyes, Leo drew another deep sigh. “To be honest, I’m not sure Magni would choose to survive if it means being crippled for life.”
“Don’t say that!”
“Magni is a proud man. We all are.”
I teared up because in my heart, I knew Leo was right. “Sometimes you Nmen are too proud for your own good. Don’t for a minute think that life isn’t worth living unless you’re the strongest version of yourself.”
“Raven, you don’t understand.”
I fell back on my sense of humor to deflect the gravity of the conversation. Like a strict schoolteacher, I wiggled my index finger. “Shhh, I’ll pretend you didn’t say it.”
“But…”
“No, if I hear you say it again, I might have to crawl up on your bed and beat you up for it.”
He raised his eyebrows. “That wouldn’t be too hard.”
“That’s right, so don’t tempt me. I’ve always wanted to win over you. You don’t want me to take advantage of your being weak, do you?” In an attempt to change the subject, I took the bowl of water bubbles on his side table and offered him one.
“No thanks.” He watched me as I popped a few in my mouth. “Raven.”
“Yes.”
“Not that I want you to beat me up, but I wouldn’t mind if you came closer.” He patted the mattress.
Tilting my head, I gave him a questioning look. “Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you or anything.” I looked down at his legs.
Scrunching up his face in pain, Leo moved over to create room for me. “I know you told me not to expect anything, but I was looking forward to being close to you tonight. Not that I’ll be able to do any of the stuff I planned to do with you, but it’s just that I’m realizing that if I’d died in that crash…” His eyes dropped to his hands. “I’ll bet there’s a whole room of people out there waiting to hear news about Magni. His sons and daughters, wife, mother, brother, you know.” Leo’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “Magni has a family who cares about him while I…”
My heart was crying for him and knowing what he was going to say, I took his hand and squeezed it.
“Raven, I hear you when you say you don’t want to hurt me, but it’s too late for that. We made love last night and this morning. I already care about you too much to be untouched if you decide to end what we have. I don’t think someone like you will ever truly understand how it feels to have no one.” He looked into my eyes with deep sadness.
“That’s not what I meant, Leo. I was talking about hurting you physically. You’ve just been operated on.”
“Oh.”
“And don’t say that you’re alone. You’re not. Even without me you have friends. Zasquash came rushing to the hospital when he heard what happened to you.”
Leo used his free hand to scratch his shoulder. “I’m grateful for that, but…” The longing from him was so strong that I got up and sat next to him in his bed.
“I’m here!”
It hurt him to turn onto his right side, but he managed and we lay nose to nose with me caressing his face and neck.
“Magni saved my life.”
“How?”
“His ejection handle was stuck and I was going to try and help him, but he pulled my handle to make sure I survived.”
