Chapter 24 - Ki

 

I was sitting in the chair at the end of Prescot’s hospital bed, waiting for him to wake up. I’ve been here every day for two weeks. The first week was rough because they kept him in a medically induced coma to help with the swelling on his brain and spine. I worked every day, but came up and stayed with him most nights. Two days after they weaned him off the medicine, he woke up.

According to the police report and the information the nursing staff was able to give me, Prescot got into an accident on the way home from the florist. He was found, lifeless, on the street clutching a broken bouquet of peonies. Apparently, someone was driving, completely out of their mind high and drunk, striking him along with a few others, on the sidewalk. The police report claimed that the driver mistook the curve and lost control of the vehicle. Prescot was the first person to meet the impact of the man’s SUV, and he had the most severe of injuries. From what I heard, the other four people had already left the hospital and are in various stages of recovery.

I needed to know what we were dealing with so I could be what Prescot needed me to be. Alexa begged me not to search for a video, but I couldn’t help myself. Somehow, there was one leaked onto the internet, probably from a traffic cam or nearby security camera. Prescot was already dressed in his suit, and when the car struck him, he flew up over the windshield; his head bounced off a pole before his body landed on the edge of the back end of the SUV. I was not prepared to watch as people screamed for help, the sickening thud Prescot’s strong body made as it made contact with the pavement, or how his body twitched and bled on the sidewalk.

Molly was listed as Prescot’s emergency contact, and that’s why she came that day to the apartment. With tears in her eyes, she told Alexa that we needed to go to the hospital and that Prescot was in critical condition. With my heart in my throat, and breath barely filling my lungs, I rushed out of the apartment with Alexa and Molly on my heels. The first night, the nurses and officers wouldn’t give me any information as per the HIPPA laws. They knew I wasn’t going anywhere, and when his lawyer showed up, Thomas Hopkins from his firm, they backed off and allowed me to see him.

I held his cold, heavy hand for one week straight. I couldn’t take my eyes off him, willing him to wake up. Every single moment we spent together ran through my mind like an unfinished movie, and I just hoped that we would have the chance to see it through.

I didn’t know what I was prepared for when Prescot finally woke up. I knew there was a chance he would be confused, upset, or scared, but I was completely unprepared for his anger and frustration. And this Prescot, another side of him I hadn’t seen before, was angry, frustrated, and annoyed.

It wasn’t good.

Prescot wasn’t good with needing help and leaning on people. His nurses stayed away unless they were doing their rounds. His physical therapist had been up a few times, but Prescot refused the help. He said he’d do it on his own and just wanted to go home. He can, just not yet. He’s not strong enough.

I knew he was awake by the change in his breathing.

“Don’t think, Prescot, just breathe. I know your mind must be going a million miles an hour, and that your thoughts are jumbled. But all you have to do is listen to my voice and breathe. Let my voice calm your thoughts and fears.”

“Why are you here?” he mumbled.

The bed squeaked, which meant he was sitting up so I closed the Kindle app on my phone. I had my feet up on the side of his bed, far enough away that he couldn’t reach them, because yesterday he pushed them off the bed.

He didn’t want me here.

But he doesn’t know me that well because I wasn’t going anywhere.

I looked up from my phone, “Why wouldn’t I be here?”

“Ki,” he warned, but that doesn’t work anymore.

“I’m not leaving, Prescot. Just like I told you yesterday and the day before, I’m not leaving.” I dropped my feet and stood. “You can’t make me.”

“I hit the button for the nurse.”

I leaned down and kissed his forehead. “You don’t want me to leave.”

“You don’t have to be here.”

I kissed his lips, even though he’s yet to kiss me back since he woke up. “I want to be here.”

“I don’t know why.”

“If you think I’m going to walk away because you had an accident, then you hit your head a little too hard, Prescot.”

“Not funny.”

I kissed his lips again. “I miss your smile, Prescot.”

“Go away,” he grumbled, closing his eyes.

He was dealing with a lot and I would be here for him regardless of what he said. “No thanks,” I whispered in his ear while running my hand over his cheek. “I miss your words.”

He didn’t reply and he didn’t open his eyes, so I sat back down in the chair as the nurse came in to check on him but he just told her to go away. She didn’t though. She checked his vitals and fluids, and I excused myself while she did a few other things that I knew embarrassed him. I pulled my phone back out to finish the chapter I was reading but got a text message before I could read.

It was from Lucas, again. Still wanting me to talk to my father, who had been silent since the night we met. I ignored him. I had been for two weeks, despite his attempts to talk to me in public. He was worried about me and I understood why, but he was overstepping. He was supposed to protect me from my father’s enemies, not be my friend. I still felt bad about the whole situation, but I had to move on from it and so did he.

I liked Prescot.

I opened my Kindle again but got interrupted before the book could even load.

“He doesn’t want you to go back in,” the young nurse told me.

“Too bad.”

“Visiting hours are over in twenty minutes.”

“I’ve been staying here every night for almost two weeks.” I pushed passed her and went back into the room. He was still sitting up watching something on the TV in the corner of the room, though it was muted.

“Ki.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“You should.”

“I know you don’t like to talk, Prescot, so I’ll tell you one more time how this is going to happen.” I sat back in the chair and put my feet back up. “I like you. I’m here for you, and I don’t understand why you can’t get that through your thick head. You had a terrible accident, and you have a long recovery ahead of you. You’ll be able to walk again, but you can’t do it alone. And I won’t let you do it alone. The times we’ve been together meant something to me. You’re the second person I’ve been with, and it meant more to me than the first time. I know you like me. I know it was just as special to me as it was to you. So, no Prescot, I’m not going anywhere. You’ll get used to me.”