Page 87 of Final Temptation
Lisa Wilson.
Her familiarity made so much more sense.
“I’m going to give you two a minute, I need to grab the doctor anyway,” Lisa said before she snuck out the door.
“You had a guardian angel all along, Myles Cooper.” Her sweet voice tickled my ear before she trailed a few light kisses against my jaw.
Slowly, I wiggled my fingers against hers in response.
A year ago, to the day, I did everything in my power to save Anthony’s life. When I couldn’t succeed, he’d only soar—saving my life three hundred and sixty-five days later.
The thought triggered a slow stream of water to trickledown my cheek, Sophie’s delicate fingers reaching out to wipe it away.
If it was October 8th, then…how long had I been out? I tried to work out the timing, but my memory wasn’t working that quickly just yet.
Based on Sophie and Lisa’s reaction, and the way it was near impossible to move my body and speak, this wasn’t just an overnight nap—it had been quite some time. It would most likely be a tough recovery, with a lot of ups and downs. Nothing I couldn’t handle after everything I’d been through.
The battle would always be to stay alive and forgive myself for being unable to change someone else’s fate. Even though I laid here, my body in questionable condition, I’d never felt freer of every burden I used to carry.
The struggle of waking up each morning with the memory of Anthony’s bloody face, a mainstay in my memory, and the guilt from that night was all replaced by the hope for a better future.
A future with me and the girl I loved with my whole heart.
Now was finally my moment. A day I’d been waiting for. I needed to tell her how I felt; I needed her to know I heard her every word.
“Soph,” I coughed out, my voice coming out a little lower than I was used to hearing, “I love you too.” My words sounded weak, but the strength it took to say them was every bit worth it.
Sophie dropped her head to my chest, quietly sobbing against my hospital gown, her soft voice whispering, “I’ve been waitingweeksto hear those words from you. I love you so much, Myles.”
Weeks.
In that moment, I thought to myself and promised Sophie I’d never put myself or her in this type of situation again. Sure, life would be hard, but I’d never be the reason it felt impossible again.
With her by my side, I was capable of anything.
If you wereto ask me six months ago if I’d be standing here today—healthy—I wouldn’t have believed it.
After my eyes opened for the first time and I saw Sophie, my biggest fear was that if I shut them again, I’d go back to sleep, not being able to see her for another five weeks.
I feared an entirely new kind of nightmare for the first few times I had to go to sleep.
The doctors said I was a rare case—my recovery was much quicker than others—my determination played a huge role. For weeks, I laid in the hospital bed, in and out of sleep, trying to fully regain consciousness.
Once I finally woke up for good, the rehabilitation process began. It started with the nurses stretching out my body, moving muscles that hadn’t been touched in ages, and testing my sight, speech, and other sensory abilities.
Sophie sat by my bedside daily, playing memory games with me and jogging my memory on the off-occasion the nurses weren’t. Lisa was especially shocked by how much I was able to recall. My memory seemed to be fully intact by some miracle. I was able to remember each person who came to visit, and I remembered the events that took placebefore I got here—give or take a few fuzzy moments that Sophie has filled me in on.
My days were centered around physical therapy, practicing day-to-day tasks—like cooking, cleaning, dressing myself, showering, and everything you could think of possibly missing out on for five weeks.
I lived my life the last six months with a goal to truly get better—an entirely new routine.
This last month has been the best one yet. After I was released from the hospital a couple months ago, Lisa came to our place to check in on me weekly, but most of my post-recovery wouldn’t have been possible without Sophie.
I haven’t been able to go back to work yet. Construction was quite strenuous on the body, and it would be a while before I was able to get back to moving my body in that way.
In the meantime, Sophie had hit the ground running. When she wasn’t helping me out or picking up a few shifts here and there at the bar, she was still chipping away at her business degree that she’d made insane progress on while I was in the hospital and had since created a website and social media accounts to promote her party planning services.
Wildflower Weddings, she called it. “Your go-to girl for all your wedding wants and desires. Wildflower Weddings is your one-stop shop to make your dreams come true!” I had to admit, the slogan was catchy, and anything this girl set her mind to, she was able to achieve.
