Page 34 of Letters Book Two
“Squeeze. Squeeze. Squeeze. I’m here, baby. Squeeze.”
I squeezed.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: Perry
“I’m telling you, he squeezed it. You can think what you want, but I asked him to squeeze and he fucking squeezed,” I yelled. The neuro docs were manipulating Lucas’s body and testing for neurological responses.
“Could have been involuntary, Mr. Jackson.”
“Yeah, and I might be capable of time travel! He squeezed when I asked him to. Not at first, I had to ask a few times, but he is in there.”
“He does have normal brain activity, sir, but sadly, Lucas is still comatose.”
“Bullshit! He hears me. He does... hear me...” I trailed off, tears streaming down my face. “He hears me.”
Chad stood up from where he was sitting near Clint and crossed the room. He pulled me into his embrace. “I know he did. He’s being pushed by Jack. He is trying to come home, Perry. He is.”
The doctor looked at both of us like we’d been raiding the locked drug cabinet. “Who’s being pushed?” he asked. Chad and I ignored the question. Surely they’d check us into the psych ward if we filled them in on our buddy Jack. Our connection on the other side. I withheld a chuckle.Fuck ‘em!Maybe I should tell them about Chad and Jack’s cool little connection. “Let’s not get our hopes up too quickly. It could have been a muscle memory reaction,” the neuro doc said, giving me anI’m uninterested in your opinionglance.I swear, when do doctors lose their humanity?
“All I have is hope, and if I want to buy a goddamned container load of it, I will.” I shot a nasty look at him. “He squeezed. Period! I don’t need your psychobabble negativity.”
“Mr. Jackson, please be reasonable.”
“Do notbe reasonableme. You do your job or I’m taking him out of here. He deserves the best care on this planet, and I’m making sure he gets it.” I walked across the room and found a chair in the corner. I leaned back and dragged my fingers through my hair. “Test his reactions again. Like earlier. Poke his feet. Do it! Stick him with that needle thing.”
“Sir, you need to calm down,” he responded.
“DO IT NOW!” I screamed. “DO IT!”
The kindhearted nurse handed him the small metal tool that had a sharp point on its end. “Please, just try one more time,” she said, looking at me and then back to him. “Please, John.”
The neurologist took the tool and held it in his hands for a moment. He turned to me with a serious look on his face. “I will, this one time. However, Mr. Jackson, you will never raise your voice in this hospital again. Do you understand me? I will have you removed. Are we clear?”
I stared at him with cold, dead eyes, and nodded. I was feeling overwhelmed. Struggling. It was all catching up to me. “You know that style never works, Perry. Be calm, my love.” Jack? You’re here?I found my composure and my voice. “Please, can you try? I won’t ask you to again. I’m sorry.”
The nurse pulled the blanket from Lucas’s feet. His lean legs were exposed. The last of the bruises were fading. He was so tiny. He was lying there helpless, and I felt a wave of sadness that I could only compare to the day Jack had died. You think you know sadness. You think you can imagine the depth of despair, but you can’t. Trust me, it’s way worse than your mind can ever prepare you for. You have no idea. I survived this once. I didn’t plan on trying again.
The nurse placed a pillow under his feet to prop them up and then stepped to the side. Chad and Mrs. Howard were on opposite sides of the bed, each holding one of Lucas’s hands. I stood on the corner opposite from the doctor. Clint was struggling to sit up and watch. The doc placed a hand on one of Lucas’s shins. I assumed to be prepared to feel for any movement after he administered the jab. We were completely focused on the doctor. He leaned over the end of the bed and held his hand steady. I watched as he quickly jabbed the bottom of my boy’s foot.
His leg jerked. His toes curled. The doctor moved for his other foot. We all held our breath. He jabbed a second time. Another jerk of Lucas’s leg. No one said a word. We all looked around at each other.What had we just seen?The neurologist raised his head and smiled broadly. “He’s in there. He knows I poked him.” Still, no one dared to speak. Mrs. Howard had silent tears escaping her eyes. The doc stood and asked Chad to relinquish Lucas’s hand. “Come here, Mr. Jackson.” I managed to make my way to his side. “I’m going to hold Lucas’s hand. You are going to speak to him. Our best chance is you.” He nodded at Lucas. “Go ahead, prove me wrong.”
I leaned into Lucas and placed my hand lightly on his chest. “I’m here, baby. It’s me, Perry. I love you and I need a favor, baby boy. It’s a very big favor, but I know you can do it. Squeeze, baby. Squeeze as hard as you can. Squeeze.”
We all turned our eyes to the two joined hands near the bedrail. One was the doctor’s. One belonged to my love. “Squeeze. Just squeeze it, Lucas. I love you, baby. You can do this.”
It was hard to see at first, but it was there. Lucas slowly curled his fingers. It wasn’t much, but he was curling them around the doctors finger, trying his best to squeeze.
I turned away and burst into tears. My baby boy was here. He squeezed.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: Lucas
“Are you Jack? There was someone sitting bedside and holding my hand. “Is your name Jack?”
He startled and jerked his head toward me. “Lucas, is that you?” I watched as he stood and leaned over me, getting within an inch of my face.
I had a difficult time speaking. My mouth was bone dry and my tongue was sticking to the roof of my mouth. “Who are you?” I whispered, or croaked, I couldn’t be sure.
Whoever he was, he ran an ice cube over my lips. “Here, let this melt into your mouth.” He gave me a moment as he smiled broadly. “Welcome back, my friend.” The stranger fussed with my hair and touched my face in such a loving fashion. “I’m Chad. I hate that we are meeting like this, but, boy, am I happy to meet you.”
