Page 90 of Muse (Fighting Fate)

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, I cautiously moved to the side of the bed and looked down at her.

With her

eyes softly closed like that, she almost looked like she could be asleep. She appeared so incredibly peaceful and serene. Her hair had been pulled to one side and plaited, leaving it trailing over her shoulder and breast like a long, black rope. Her skin color looked better than when I’d seen her back in the gym too.

Those little things gave me hope. They gave me something to focus on and cling to. Drawing the chair closer to her bedside, I lowered myself down and gently reached for her hand. Again, the warmth I felt gave me the relief I was seeking.

I tried to look past the tubes and the thick, bulky bandage wrapped around her head, but with the sound of the beeping monitors and the whooshing of the air compressing machine, it was futile.

“Mia? Baby? I need you to wake up…” I exhaled slowly. “Fuck. I don’t know what I’m saying. I don’t know what I’m doing. I just…I need you to be okay. Please be okay, baby. I only just found you…you can’t leave me yet…”

I pressed the back of her hand to my forehead and squeezed my eyes shut. As I uttered those words, I felt the final cracks spread deep within me, and I broke. A sob escaped me, and this time I didn’t try to stop it.

***

It was well after midnight and sleep was the furthest thing from my mind. I sat on my bed with my guitar on my lap, and a notepad and pen strewn out before me.

After we’d all had a visit with Mia, the doctor had suggested we go home and get some rest. It felt wrong to leave her there. I even refused to go at first, but Mom had convinced me it was best. Logically, I knew she was right. The doctor wasn’t even considering waking her up until all comprehensive tests had been done, but the thought of her being alone made me feel sick.

It didn’t help that my mind was suddenly being flooded by music and lyrics. It was the only way I could expel all the emotion that had built up inside me over the past twelve hours. Even though it was heartbreaking, it felt good to pour everything I felt out like that.

The song I ended up with wasn’t like anything I’d ever written before. It was love. It was heartache. It was longing. It was a little piece of my soul.

And it belonged to Mia.

Just after two o’clock, I finally put my guitar down and went to sleep.

Chapter 42

Mia

I could hear music.

It was faint, only a soft noise in the breeze, but it was beautiful. The voice that sung along with it though was filled with pain. There was so much emotion in each word it made my heart ache. I wanted to reach out to whoever he was and hold him. Take away his pain and replace it with happiness.

When the music ended I wanted to cry. I didn’t want it to stop. In the never-ending darkness that surrounded me, it felt like the only thing that kept me anchored. Without it, I was scared I would float away and become lost.

A voice broke through the silence. A broken, husky sound that made me sad.

“Please be okay, baby. Please come back to me…”

I knew he was speaking to me. I don’t know why, because his voice didn’t sound familiar, but it felt right.

I tried to hold onto it, cling to his sweet voice, but the darkness was too heavy, and I felt myself slipping under again.

Chapter 43

Jace

Aiden gazed at me from the other side of the waiting room.

The small waiting room at the end of Mia’s ward was a much better option than the huge sterile one down in the ER. It was friendlier. More comfortable and warm, not to mention closer to Mia’s room. Even better was the fact that Aiden and I were the only ones in it.

Sitting with one foot on the coffee table and my guitar on my lap, I glanced up at him. I’d woken just after six that morning. Knowing I wasn’t going to get any more sleep than that, I packed up my guitar and went straight to the hospital. I had to wait an hour or so for visiting hours to open, but as soon as they did, I was there.

I played Mia the song I wrote the night before, singing it over and over again until my emotions became too much. After that I just sat with her and talked until Lillian and Aiden arrived.

Thumbing over the strings, I drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

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