Beyond Promise (12 page)

I hugged Gabby back and realized my life was
full of family, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

It was sometime after midnight. Aaron had
taken Brandy home, and Tori had somehow wrangled Mason away from
Ayden’s bedside. Ayden’s parents had left shortly thereafter,
leaving me alone with Ayden and my thoughts.

I’d fallen asleep twice and was currently
staring at my phone. I didn’t even have it on. I stood up and
stretched, looking out the window. Our room overlooked the
emergency room entrance so several times an hour an ambulance would
pull through the circle, and I’d wonder who was on the stretcher, a
husband, wife, daughter, best friend? I turned around and walked
over to Ayden’s bed. He looked exactly how he had since he moved to
this room, his body still, breathing controlled by something other
than him, and a tangle of cords leaving his body.

I ran my finger along his cheek, picking up
the tickle of his whiskers from not shaving yesterday.

“Not everyone can pull off the unshaven look
in a hospital gown, you know?” I whispered. “But you look extremely
sexy.”

I glanced out in the hall and saw nurses
chatting at their station. Every so often soft laughter would
erupt, and they’d look around nervously as if laughter was
regulated, and maybe on this floor it was.

My gaze fell back to Ayden, and I moved my
hand along his chest, skirting the sensors and cords until I found
his hand. I squeezed it and bent over the railing of his bed.

“I love you so much Ayden Rhodes. If you
could do us the biggest favor when you wake up, please remember
me—remember us. I’ll be forever in your debt.” I continued holding
his hand and rested my head on his chest. It was a most
uncomfortable position with the railing poking my ribs, and my neck
craned so that I wouldn’t run into the tubes from his breathing
machine. I needed to feel the Ayden I remembered, the hard, muscled
man I’d fallen in love with, who was now fighting for his life.

I didn’t even let the weight of my head
fully rest on his chest. I was so afraid I’d break him.

Imagine that.

Afraid I’d break Ayden Rhodes.

I stood back up, trying to lessen the sharp
ache in my neck, as I watched him. Exactly what he would hate for
me to do. Standing and staring at him like he was a zoo exhibit. No
wonder he didn’t want to wake up. He was afraid he’d blink open to
a room full of eyes staring back at him.

“If there wasn’t a nurses’ station outside
the door, you can’t even imagine what I’d do to you.”

Still nothing, not even a twitch.

The weight of not knowing crawled up my body
in a huge upwelling of exhaustion. I glanced at the skinny recliner
in the corner of the room and decided to haul it over to Ayden’s
bed. Sliding my hand from his, I walked over to the bulky chair and
began to tug on it. Not realizing it was on wheels, I tumbled
backwards onto the metal chair I’d been sitting on. My eyes landed
on Ayden, and I chuckled amazed that even with him in a coma, I was
worried he’d catch me falling on my ass. I stood up and moved the
metal chair out of the way and glided the recliner next to his bed
and unfolded the blanket that rested over the back.

“Everything okay in here?” a nurse asked,
poking her head in.

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I didn’t realize I’d
caused such a commotion. I tripped over a chair.”

She nodded and smiled, leaving me to shake
out the flimsy blanket. The room felt warm, but I was freezing as I
scooted myself into the vinyl chair.

Pulling up the blanket to my chin, I snaked
my hand underneath and over to Ayden’s and grabbed hold tightly and
fell asleep.

It wasn’t until my elbow was on fire, and my
entire arm had gone numb that I woke up in a panic. I’d forgotten
where I was and attempted to move my arm, but I couldn’t. My arm
zipped past the stage of being asleep and was working its way
toward a tingly death. The low light of morning shone through the
window, and I was shocked I’d slept this long. I quickly turned to
look at Ayden, and he looked exactly as I’d left him.

Asleep.

It might have been my hazy, sleepy state,
but I was starting to get annoyed with him. We had a lot to look
forward to, and a lot of things to do to get ready for our wedding.
I wanted him up. I needed him up.

“You’re awake.” A woman’s voice came from
the far corner.

My pulse quickened, and I saw a nurse
tearing something off an IV bag to replace his almost empty fluid
pouch

“How’d he do through the night?” I
asked.

“Very well,” she said, not offering any
other hints. “You certainly needed the rest. You didn’t wake up
once last night, even when we came in to poke and prod.”

“And I still feel exhausted.”

“Would you like anything like orange juice
or oatmeal?” she asked.

She switched out one bag for another and
looked over at me as I tried to drag my arm away. The sensation of
a million sharp needles poking my entire arm was less than pleasant
as I swung it in front of me.

“I don’t feel like anything, but I probably
should eat something.”

She nodded. “I’ll bring it in after my
rounds.”

“Thank you.”

She turned and walked out of the room,
leaving me with some version of Ayden I still didn’t
understand.

“Well, I have to confess.” I stood up and
rolled the chair back a few feet. “I’m a little annoyed with
you.”

I placed my good hand and arm on his
leg.

“You promised that tonight we’d be in front
of the fire in the family room, and so far, it doesn’t seem like
that’s going to happen unless you speed things along.” I rubbed my
hand up and down his thigh as I kept rambling.

“Not to mention we’re supposed to get on a
flight to New York and hop on one to Bermuda in a couple weeks.” I
let a few minutes of silence pass between us.

“I called my mom yesterday about the wedding
to see if she was going to come. And yes, I know we already figured
out she wasn’t coming, but I think I wanted to test her and I have
no idea why. She’s failed every single one I’ve flung her way so
far. Anyway, my dad’s got some country-club dinner that he’s
hosting, so yeah…” I rested my hand on the thin blanket near his
waist. “Anyway, I wanted to thank you for allowing me to be part of
your family. It’s an honor and I’m really grateful, and soon we’ll
have our own to add to the bunch.” My voice cracked, and my eyes
ran along Ayden’s torso to his neck and face. I took a couple steps
toward the head of the bed and rested my fingertips on his
shoulders.

“I love you, Ayden Rhodes. Now wake the hell
up.”

I saw a slight tic of his jaw muscle.
“That’s what I’m talking about.” I slid my fingers along his
shoulders and took a deep breath. “I need you, Mr. Rhodes. I need
you to wake up so we can begin our life together as husband and
wife.”

The nurse walked in with the tray of food
and drink.

“As I was talking to him, his jaw muscle
kind of clenched.”

The nurse set the tray down on the rolling
cart and glanced at Ayden.

“That isn’t unusual,” she replied.

Whoosh. The wind was completely knocked out
of my sails.

“Does it mean something?”

“It can but not always.”

I stared at the plastic-wrap covered oatmeal
and nodded. “Well, thank you for this.”

She pressed her lips together while I stood
drowning in emotion, mainly discouragement. I know it’s their job
to be realistic, but it’s mine to be hopeful.

I reached for the orange juice and tore the
top off when a startling honking sound blasted through the air,
resulting in my dropping the open container on the tray. Panic
started flooding through me as another long and drawn out honk
echoed into the room.

I looked at the nurse for some sign and she
smiled. “Now that is a sound you want to hear.”

“Why? What does that mean?” I asked.

“He’s fighting the ventilator and attempting
to breath on his own. I’ll go page the doctor.” And like that she
left me alone in the room with a flock of geese and Ayden. My
entire world went from despair to cautious hope, and all I wanted
to do was scream at the top of my lungs for him to wake up.
Instead, I leaned over the hospital bed and placed my mouth next to
his ear.

“You’re so close. Keep it coming,” I
whispered, swiping a kiss along his cheek. I saw his chest rise
more severely with each honk of the ventilator, and I prayed for
the doctor to arrive soon.

“By the way, you know that secret you’ve
been keeping from your parents all these years?” I asked. “Your dad
has known since the beginning, and he is so proud of you.”

Another clench of jaw made my stomach
flutter with hope.

“We’re all proud of you: Mason, me, Brandy,
TBD Rhodes.”

The muscles in his neck tensed.

I reached underneath the blanket and found
his cold fingers, intertwining them with mine.

“I’ve got a surprise for you in Bermuda.
It’s all planned down to the tiniest detail. You know how you
wanted to know the gender, and I thought we should keep it a
surprise until the end? A few weeks back, I realized you were
right. It would be way easier to plan. So I had our doctor forward
the results to our event coordinator. If you’d just wake up…” His
eyelids twitched and I stopped talking as I swallowed down a huge
lump of joy. We were getting close. I knew it in my heart.

“You’ve promised me a lot of things, Ayden,
and I intend on holding you to every single one.”

His hand squeezed mine, and my heart raced
as my eyes stayed on his. Another chorus of honks blared from his
ventilator.

“That’s right,” I said, squeezing his hand
back. “Keep it coming. Open your eyes before the doctor gets
here.”

I waited for a flutter of lids, but none
came, and the tension in his hand released.

“Your brother wanted to start a bet on who
you’d wake up for first. None of us were really in the mood, but I
have to confess that it would make me extra happy if I were the one
who pulled it out of you.”

His chin moved slightly.

And then nothing.

No honking.

No twitches.

I let out a sigh and glanced out the window.
The sun had completely risen, and the sunlight was overtaking the
room. I removed my hand from his and walked over to the curtains,
scooting them closed to block out some of the light. I walked back
over to Ayden and slid my hand back in his.

“We love you, Ayden, and we’re here for you
whenever you decide to join us.”

His head turned slowly to the side, and his
eyes opened as if he’d just awoken from a good night’s sleep. No
words came as I looked into Ayden’s beautiful blue eyes.

It wasn’t until his eyes connected with mine
that I realized he had no idea who I was.

With the exception of Mason, everyone had
returned to the hospital.

Ayden was awake!

And he was off the respirator.

Things were good.

Really good.

Except that he didn’t remember me.

Doesn’t remember me.

I saw a flicker of recognition when his
mother, father, and sister came into the room. The same flicker I
so desperately wanted to receive. I shoved the undeniable pain into
a faraway place and tried not to be as selfish as I felt for
wanting to be remembered.

I was important.

But I was so grateful he remembered his
parents and sister. I really was, with all my heart, grateful. I
let out a sigh and watched his mom and dad talk to Ayden as if he’d
only suffered the flu, and I stayed back sitting on the recliner I
had shoved back in the corner.

The doctor advised that I let him come to
things naturally.

But there was nothing natural about this
situation. Ayden and I were supposed to get married and have our
baby.