Two weeks later….

Austin had been in a coma for two weeks. Two. Whole. Weeks.

The blood loss had been bad. His brain had shut down. His heart had malfunctioned again. There had been so many things wrong, his body was just starting to shut down. They had helped them as much as they possibly could, but he wasn’t waking up.

I don’t know all the technical parts of it, I just know that he wasn’t at my side again.

The band had to cancel practices, they canceled shows, they just were sick with worry. I think Tino might have even puked.

I came to sit next to him every day. Sara and Oli all helped out around the house. They took care of Beth and Arabelle. Oli had even invented a game to play with Arabelle that involved superheroes and slingshots. He was teaching her how to shoot the slingshot accurately. My daughter loved it.

Ryker’s funeral was last week. I took my eldest child to it and mourned alongside her. She was sad, but never cried. She just told me over and over that we couldn’t be sad. Her guardian angel had just returned to heaven, that’s all. She thought he would wait up on a cloud or something. I don’t know. I just hoped that whatever paradise was after this life, he was having a good time up there.

As I ascended the floors in the elevator, I tapped my foot. The smooth ride up ended as the doors opened with a slight ding. The number displaying floor number two lit up on the small screen. I traded places with an elderly couple.

Maneuvering my way out of the contraption, I made my way down to the direction of Aussie’s room. Waving to the nurse at the desk, I walked past her to one of the last rooms in this wing of the hospital. A nice looking roof faced towards the Pacific Ocean. It was right near Austin’s room.

Always knocking first, I then entered. The room was cool, kept at an even eighty four degrees. Machines continued their long chorus of beeps and marks. The pulses were steady and fluid on the line. There was no change in heart rate.

There was no change in anything.

A window was covered in green blinds. I went over and opened them a little so that a single stream of sunlight poured onto the tan tiles. A dark TV screen was on the wall opposite of Austin’s bed. If he ever, when he woke up, he would want to watch whatever sport was broadcasting. I knew that.

I tied back the curtains, making sure just enough light was in the room. Austin always loved the natural lighting that filled a room. He said it made him feel not so trapped in the walls.

Taking a seat next to him, the chair yelled complaints as it squeaked across the tiles. I sat right next to my husband, taking a book out of my bag on my shoulder. I had gotten back into the habit of reading now. I mean, I used to read a lot, but once I had Beth, I was a little too busy to get back into the habit.

“Hey, Aussie. How are you? I’m good. The nurse keeps closing your blinds. I keep reminding her that you like a little bit of light in the room, but I think she forgets.” I laughed a little. People might think that I was crazy to talk to my boy who was in a coma, but I didn’t care. The door was closed and no one would hear me except Aus.

“So I think Oli finally asked out Sara ‘officially’, even though they were probably going out this whole time and never told us. That boy really likes my best friend. He always gets so excited when he talks about her. They watch after Arabelle when I come to visit you. She’s getting better with her slingshot, you know.” I smiled. The book weighed heavily on my lap. It was Pug Hill. I had always wanted to read this, and now I finally could.

“Arabelle’s birthday is in a couple of weeks. I want you to wake up so that she can go on stage with you. They haven’t cancelled the Southern California venue yet, so you got to get up for her.” I smiled sadly. His hands were laid peacefully at his side. I put my right hand over his left. The skin was colder than normal, but still had that pulse that I fell asleep to every night.

With my free hand, I ran my fingers over the spine of the novel. My eyes traced each letter with invisible lines of sight. I smiled a little, more from sadness than anything.

“I wish you would wake up, Austin. There’s no rush, as long as you wake up some time. I want you to get better, but I want you back as well.” I whispered to him. His chest rose and fell lightly and in time with the monitor.

“I love you, darling.” I whispered and laced my fingers with his, as if we were walking in the park. He would always intertwine his fingers with mine and keep me close.

With a little sigh, I stretched my legs out and got more comfortable as I leaned back in the chair that rested next to the sleeping man’s bed. Trying to open my book with one hand, I furrowed my brow in frustration until I could get it open. I held the new novel in my left hand.

Holding my lover’s hand close, I smiled a little. He might be asleep, but I still felt at peace. I started to scan the first few lines, but sighed. I don’t think hospitals were the best places to read in.

“This new book is hard to read. I feel like you would tell me to just keep going.” I chuckled, remembering when Austin would just tell me to push past the boring parts and immerse myself in the inked story.

I went back to attempting to read the story as I heard a deeper breath. It sounded different than the others. I didn’t pay much attention to it. I adjusted my hand, giving his a comforting squeeze in the process as I stared out the window.

His hand twitched as he squeezed back.

Notes