Page 18 of Finally Forever
Nothing.
“Sebastian. It’s me, Ainsley. If you hear me, squeeze my hand again.”
Nothing.
A soft knock draws my attention to the door.
Xavier opens it a little and pokes his head in. “Is everything okay?”
“He squeezed my hand,” I blurt. “Does that mean he can hear me?”
Xavier takes in Sebastian’s still form. “Let me get the nurse.”
A few moments later, he returns with the same nurse as before.
She calmly checks his vitals as if him squeezing my hand means nothing, then turns to me. “Nothing has changed. Patients in comas can jerk or twitch involuntarily. It’s a muscle reaction. If he opens his eyes or speaks, call me and I’ll get the doctor.”
“But I was talking to him when he responded,” I say, certain it meant something.
“I understand.” She gives me a sympathetic grin. “Nothing has changed with his vitals or brain activity. Patients typically don’t wake up from an induced coma until we pull them out. I promise you he’s stable and doing well. Feel free to talk to him and comfort him however you see fit. It all helps.” She breezes from the room like this is protocol and I guess, to her, it is.
I wanted so badly for his reaction to be a real response because he heard me.
I hook the chair with my foot and drag it over before sinking onto the vinyl cushion. “Guess it was nothing.” I rest my hand over his again.
“You being here is something.” Xavier stands near the foot of the bed, where he moved to when the nurse came in. “I believe, on some level, he knows and is comforted.”
“Thanks.” He’s just saying that to make me feel better.
“I’ll leave you alone,” Xavier says.
“Wait. Please, stay.” I gesture to the recliner type chair near the window. “Unless you have something you need to do,” I add. I don’t want to keep him from work.
“I have my phone.” He holds it up. “Anything I need to do, I can do from here.” He lowers onto the chair.
For a while, we sit in silence, me stroking Sebastian’s hand while Xavier works on his phone. I talk to Sebastian from time to time about my schoolwork and the group project the professor assigned us. Each of us has to design a room in a renaissance era castle, updating it with modern furnishing but keeping it in theme with the style of the castle. I love finding the furnishings, wall décor, choosing paint colors, rugs, and other knickknacks. It’s a challenge in the sense that I have to research furniture styles from that time and choose comfortable pieces that don’t look too modern.
Another stretch of silence fills the air.
Xavier stands. “Want something to eat or some coffee?”
“What time is it?” I ask.
“Eight.”
It’s night already? I glance out the window and note the darkness beyond. Wow. I had no idea we’d been sitting here for this long. I stand and stretch my arms, my back groaning from the bent-over position I’d been in for hours.
Sebastian looks exactly the same, having not moved at all. No more hand squeezing, either. Guess the nurse was right.
“Am I allowed to stay the night?” I ask Xavier, assuming he has all the answers.
“Visiting hours are unrestricted, but between the hours of two p.m. and four p.m., it’s consideredquiet time.”
“Will you be staying?”
The room only has the one recliner for sleeping. I can’t fit in Sebastian’s bed with him and all the tubes and cords. It wouldn’t be fair to ask Xavier to stay when he has no place to rest.
“I’m on duty, especially with him in a public hospital,” he says. “I’ll be outside the door all night.”
