The soft body pressed against my side as I woke was a pleasant surprise. I’d been worried Madison might disappear in the night.

For once, I was unsure what was in our future and how long our relationship might go. And I’d take that every day over knowing that we had an expiration date shorter than a carton of milk.

A stretch revealed how stiff my muscles became overnight. A marathon of lovemaking interspersed with rough sex and everything in between had drained both of us until we collapsed in bed, unable to go on any longer. The near-endless passion had put our third date to shame, a feat I wouldn’t have thought possible until I lived through it.

I grinned as I remembered all the different ways we’d proven our devotion to each other.

Madison shifted in her sleep and splayed her hand across my chest. It was interesting how even while unconscious, her hand gravitated toward my scars as if drawn by magnets. After years of hiding them, I couldn’t believe someone would be able to not just look past them, but accept them as part of me.

My phone rang from the nightstand, and I reached for it to turn the ringer off before Madison woke. I glanced at the screen before I put it back down and froze.

Instinctually, I swiped to answer the call.

“Hello?” I answered as quietly as I could.

“Carter? This is Gloria.” I’d known who it was from the caller ID, but hearing the voice of Mia’s mother took me back to the dark days after the accident.

All vestiges of happiness fled. It wasn’t her fault, but Gloria’s voice would always carry those associations. Ever since her daughter fell into a coma, we’d had little reason to discuss enjoyable topics.

The real question was why was she calling? Mia was supposed to be taken off life support in two weeks, but things should be normal until then.

“Good morning,” I said, still trying to say as little as possible to spare Madison the early morning awakening.

“I should just get right to it. Mia’s awake.”

My heart stopped. I could barely breathe. “What happened?”

A sniffle on the other end of the line met my question. “I want to apologize, Carter. I know you wanted to pull the plug years ago. We weren’t ready to let her go. You planned to be there when it happened, but we decided to spare you the pain, especially after all this time. Mia was taken off support four days ago. Her body started working on its own. The doctors say it happens sometimes but rarely lasts long. Then, yesterday, she woke up.”

My heart had restarted, beating loudly in my chest and in my ears. It was hard to hear Gloria over the rushing sound that overwhelmed me.

“I can’t believe it.” It was all I could think of to say. My mind couldn't process the information. There were so many questions, so many ramifications, and I couldn’t handle any of it.

“I know. It’s a miracle. It truly is. She’s been confused and foggy since she woke up, but it’s her. She’s back, Carter.”

My hand shook so badly that I nearly dropped the phone. How was this happening now, after so long? I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t know how to feel.

“It’s a lot to take in,” Gloria continued when I said nothing. “I know I’m still struggling to believe it. I keep expecting her to slip away again. She’s having a hard time remembering a lot of things, but she keeps asking after you. I think it would be good for her to see you.”

I swallowed. “Yes, of course. Should I come this morning?”

“If you’re free. I know she would appreciate it.”

“Yes. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Thank you, Carter. I’ll see you when you get here.”

I took the phone away from my ear and stared at it. Everything felt surreal, like I was still dreaming. I pinched myself, and the pain shot up my thigh.

Madison stretched against me. “What’s up? I only caught the end of that call. You have to go somewhere?”

She looked up at me with sleepy eyes, her hair delightfully mussed from sex and sleep. The perfect woman for me, as I’d professed last night. Exactly what I needed. My future.

And now I had to explain that maybe I wasn’t as free to love as I’d thought. That my past had come alive in the most dramatic fashion and with the worst timing possible.

It was a miracle.

Emotions welled within me, bursting forth so quickly that I had no opportunity to tamp them back. Recovering from my post-trauma depression had emotionally scarred me so deeply that I thought I’d never cry again. Now tears filled my eyes for the second time in two days in front of Madison.

She frowned, catching the look on my face, and propped herself up on an elbow so she could look at me more clearly.

“Carter? What’s wrong? Is everything okay?”

I failed to speak past the lump in my throat on my first attempt and had to clear it before I could continue. I took the time to get myself under control but it barely helped.

“Mia’s awake. That was her mom. They pulled the plug early, and it woke her up.”

It was the briefest of explanations, but I couldn’t manage anything more.

The look on Madison’s face broke my heart. Even more so because I could tell she immediately hated herself for her instinctual reaction.

She thinks she’s lost me, I thought. That I don’t need her anymore.

I pulled Madison close, and she hugged me tightly as she kissed my chest.

“What does this mean?” she asked. “About us?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know what’s going on. I can’t wrap my head around it. All I know is that nothing I said yesterday about my feelings for you has changed. It’s just… more complicated now.”

Madison’s eyes were cloudy, and she kissed me on the lips this time. “I understand. That was a selfish question. You only just found out. I’m going crazy over here. I can’t imagine what’s going on in your head right now.”

She was so understanding. I didn’t deserve her. “Thank you,” I said. “I don’t know what happens from here. But we’ll figure it out together when I get back.”

“Go see her. Mia deserves that. Everything else can wait until after.”

I nodded and sat up. “About last night—” I started, but Madison cut me off.

“Last night was a simpler time than this morning. Go and figure out what you need to do.”