Page 36 of Road to Absolution

The bed shifted slightly as Tucker huddled us both, his free hand cupping the top of my head vigorously. I had never heard him whisper with such pain. “He’s back. He’s back, Light. Breathe. Keep breathing.”

As if his words cracked her heart wide open, “Ahhhhhhhh!” she wailed. “Maveriiiiick!”

I leaned my head to hers with even more pressure. “Shhh, my baby. I’m right here.”

Tucker kept whispering. “He’s right here. Right here. Going nowhere again.”

Surprised that a chuckle felt strange in my lungs, I said, “You guys make it sound like I went to the moon or something.”

Into my chest, Lilah cried, “It felt like you had.”

Tucker’s body suddenly lifted a little. He asked someone, “What was that? Oh.” To me, he said, “Brother, the doc wants to know if you can open your eyes.”

Deep inhale… “I want to see my beautiful wife.”

I felt her lift her head to see me, too.

Tuck promised, “She’s right here, waiting for you.”

Exhale… My eyes struggled, fluttered, and blinked, but every time they opened, there was a blurry face in front of mine, making me try even harder to see.

The room was bright, but so different from the light I had been pleasantly experiencing. This light was painful to my eyes, frustrating me.

Lilah, right in front of me, whispered, “It’s okay. They will adjust. Just keep fighting for me.”

Inhale… “For you, I always will.” Exhale…

After more struggling, finally, like a dream, Lilah’s face came into focus. There’s nothing I will ever want to see more. Ever. “Lilah.”

Then… the dream ended.

Never had I seen her look so near death. Besides the red puffy skin around her eyes and runny nose, the rest was terribly pale. Her eyes sunken. Her lips thin. Golden orbs now dark brown. Her hair matted, messily pulled back in a ponytail.

I cupped her face. “Baby, what’s wrong?” When she didn’t answer right away, I raced for Tucker to explain, but he looked almost as bad. Like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. “Fuck. What happened?”

A man in a white coat stepped closer to Tuck, which had him scooting out of his way and over to the other side of the bed to be closer to his sister, who was still leaning into my chest, head lifted, watching me as if she couldn’t believe I was there in front of her.

The doctor was now at my right side, by a door. Where am I? Beeping machines present and tubes in my arms told me I was in a hospital. There was a deep-rooted panic starting to crawl throughout my body like an ant hill being disturbed.

The doctor being very composed somehow felt rude to me. “Welcome back, Mr. Hutton. Can I ask you a few questions?”

“No.” My agitation was hard to control. That added guilt on top of everything else I was experiencing at lightning speed. “Shit. Sorry.”

The doctor shook his head. “Don’t worry. This is very normal. Your body and mind are trying to properly wake. Mood swings and confusion are to be expected.”

His words were bland. There was so much more happening to me. “W-Wake? F-From what?” My agitation grew.

A soft hand touched my face that now had a scruffy short beard instead of a goatee. Lilah softly told me, “You’ve been in a coma, baby.”

“What?” I shrieked, surprised that my voice was froggy as fuck.

So perplexed by their words, my eyes decided to take a gander and collect information. I was desperate to comprehend all the ants…

There was a cot off to my left. It being perfectly made told me Lilah slept there. There was an end table in the corner with card games and take-out boxes that appeared perfectly stacked, as if not having been opened. A coffee table in front of a small blue couch. Lilah’s overnight bags were neatly piled in a different corner. Her yellow sweater hung over a chair. A few of her books…

How long was I out?

A nurse had come in and was examining machines. “So nice to meet you, Maverick.”