Page 81 of Final Temptation
It didn’t seem like the right time to tell them that Myles had been confiding in me, that his struggles were so much more than he had led on. What was the point of doubling down when clearly, they had guilt of their own and the deed was done? Myles had relapsed, and now we just needed to take it one day at a time, learning from our mistakes.
Unable to stay seated and do nothing, Declan shot out of his seat. “I’ll be right back, I’m going to ask for an update?—”
“Sophie Turner?” he was cut off by a doctor who appeared through the doors and scanned the waiting room.
We all stood in unison as the doctor approached us.
“Declan Cooper, brother of Myles Cooper.” He reached his hand out, introducing himself to the man in navy blue scrubs.
“Dr. Lincoln Gray.” He shook his hand in return. “Wish I had better news for you folks. First, I have to ask, are the three of you family?” My heart sank, knowing I technically wasn’t.
“Yes,” Paige answered, grabbing my hand in hers.
“Alright then. We are currently keeping an eye on Myles and monitoring him. He’s breathing, but he still hasn’t woken up. We learned that his blood alcohol levels were incredibly high, which has caused us to believe he has some pretty severe alcohol poisoning. We’ve pumped his stomach and done everything we can. It seems all we can do is wait for Myles to wake up now.”
“What are you saying, Doc?” Declan spoke through gritted teeth.
“I’m saying, he could be here for a while. Unfortunately, he is showing signs of being in a comatose state. This means he could wake up in a few hours, a few days, or maybe even weeks. All we can do is keep our eye on him right now.” My hand flew over my mouth, silencing myself from the sobs that so easily dared to slip out.
“Can we see him?” I whispered, a lone tear rolling down my cheek.
“Yes. Only one visitor can come back right now, but when visiting hours open in a few hours, I’ll allow more of you to come back.”
“Go,” Declan told me. “I need to call our parents.” My heart wasn’t done breaking, not in the slightest.
It broke for me, the crumbling inside my chest almost unbearable.
It broke for Declan, having to be the stronger older brother.
It broke for their parents, who were about to receive a phone call that every parent feared.
And most of all, my heart broke for the man I loved. This wasn’t his end goal; I knew that with everything inside me.
He made a mistake.
He had a weak moment.
He was going to wake up, and I would wait here every single day until then.
Beep.Beep. Beep.
The room was stuffy and small, sounds from the machines echoed off the bare, white walls, and it hardly felt like reality.
How can this be real life right now?
This has to be my own worst nightmare.
“If you need anything, press the button. I’ll just be at the nurse’s station around the corner.” The nurse pointed to the large red button on the wall, impossible to miss with its bright color. Nodding my head, I thanked her in a low whisper before the door clicked shut behind me.
Myles laid in a bed, just beyond the privacy curtain. I knew there would be no way to hold back my emotions once I tore the sheet away.
Filling my lungs with air, I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and repeating the process a couple more times before I allowed myself to see him.
My fingers reached out, gripping the nylon fabric in my hands, inching it open with each shaky breath I took.
“Myles,” the whisper slipped out the moment my eyes latched onto him.
My knees went weak, threatening to drop straight to the ground. But the need to be near him was stronger. Whenmy body felt like it would fail me, gravity took over, pulling me toward him one step at a time.
