Instinctual 2 (14 page)

“Where…?”

“Shhh. Don’t try and talk. Save your energy. You’re in the Alma Mater hospital in La Spezia. You had a fall but everything is okay now. Everything is great.”

Kate wondered if the words were more for Jake’s benefit than for hers.

She couldn’t piece together what he had told her. There would be plenty of time for that later. She was just so relieved that he was by her side and that she wouldn’t have to face recovery alone. She knew she had a mountain to climb but as long as Jake was with her everything would be all right.

She rattled out another word. “Stay.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m here. Always.” His unexpected gentle kiss on her mouth almost took her breath away, and as hard as it was to move her lips she tried as hard as she could to reciprocate. A little moan escaped Jake at her ever-so-slight response.

She fought her heavy lids with all she had, wanting more than anything to see Jake. For a very brief second she opened her eyes, letting them focus on his surprised and elated pools of blue. They were somewhat blurry in the dim light but she could make them out.

“Hey,” he crooned warmly with such love shining out at her. A dazzling smile lit up his face.

Kate’s mouth slanted slightly at an attempt at a smile. “Hey.”

Her lids closed again for it was just too much effort to keep them open.

“Welcome back, angel.”

That was the last thing she heard before she drifted back into sudden, deep slumber.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Kate stayed asleep throughout the night, Jake never leaving her side even though at different times he had to move to the other side of the bed to allow access for Rob and Jenny, who returned to the room after eating a meal, and Darla, who regularly came in to do her rounds. He always tried to keep in constant contact with some part of her. To let her know that he was still with her even while she was sleeping.

Darla was in every hour on the hour, elated that her patient was making progress, talking to Kate in the same cheery voice that she had the day before. This time she could communicate with Kate’s parents and have a two-sided conversation.

“Hello,” she chirped as she breezed in like a breath of fresh air.

Jenny and Rob both replied at the same time. “Hello.”

“You must be my lovely’s parents, yes?”

“That’s right,” said Jenny softly.

“Well, I bet you’re so relieved that her vitals are back to normal. We were all pretty worried. She’s one tough lady, that’s for sure.”

Rob walked over to the chair near the window and sunk into it, pulling off his shoes and undoing the top button of his shirt, looking more relaxed. “We’re very grateful to you all for taking such good care of our daughter. She wouldn’t have made it if it wasn’t for the doctors and nurses here.”

“You’re welcome, but most of her recovery has come from her sheer determination to survive. I don’t know how she’s done it because I’ve been nursing for the last six years and have seen some horrible injuries. Many of the patients with injuries similar to Kate’s haven’t made it. We’re all very shocked that she’s out of the coma on her own and so fast. Normally we have to bring the patients out of it. Someone has been watching over her, I would say.”

Jenny and Rob exchanged a look and Jake knew it was in relation to their earlier conversation. Jenny said, “Yes, well, whoever it is, let’s hope they keep doing what they’re doing to help Kate’s recovery.”

“Amen,” said Darla, taking Kate’s vitals before practically skipping out of the room.

Jake smiled at the positive energy she brought into the room. Rob and Jenny seemed more upbeat even though he could tell how fatigued they were. He wished he could tell them to go find a hotel and get some sleep. He’d be watching over Kate for the rest of the night.

They still didn’t know that Kate had spoken and probably wouldn’t until morning. He hoped she’d come around again and be more alert while her parents were in the room. They needed to see for themselves just how much better their daughter was.

Robert looked settled in the armchair, or as settled as he was going to get. His eyes were trying to stay open, but losing the battle as he closed them before jerking awake a second later.

Jenny walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “You rest, Robert. I’ll wake you if there’s any change.”

“What about you, Jen? You look exhausted.”

“I’ll be fine for now. Don’t worry. If I get too tired, I’ll have a nap for a while.”

Robert smiled at his wife as his eyes closed again. “Love you, honey.”

“I love you too, Rob.” Jenny brushed his hair back with her fingers and left him to rest. Within minutes his deep breathing could be heard above the beeping of the heart monitor.

Jenny pulled the chair beside the bed to be closer to Kate. She grabbed her daughter’s hand and held it while she tried to get comfortable.

The hospital kept up its constant noises that were quieter than during daytime but didn’t totally disappear. The odd buzzer rang out every now and then, drawing nurses to rooms to tend to patients’ needs. The faint sounds of nurses talking down the hall at the desk and trolleys being pushed down the hall kept up for most of the night.

Jake wondered how anyone could get a good night’s sleep but then looked over at Rob and decided that if a person was tired enough they’d sleep through anything. Jenny didn’t fall into deep slumber but merely dozed off and on.

All they could do now was wait.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The first sounds to hit Kate’s brain were the regular beeping of the heart monitor and what sounded like heavy breathing. Was it hers? Had she been snoring? Listening closer revealed that it wasn’t hers but someone close by. Definitely male. Carlos?

Ugggh. Why did she cringe at that name? He was her boyfriend. Her lover. With that thought came a feeling of betrayal she couldn’t pinpoint. Her stomach churned with unease when it shouldn’t have. Damn it, if she could just remember. Her head felt swollen like a melon and the discomfort she’d experienced when she’d briefly woken the night before had worsened. In fact, her whole body felt like it had been put through a grinder. Raw and throbbing. And what was with her eyes? Were they ever going to fully open?

Someone was gripping onto her right hand with all their might and the warmth heating her on the left could only be one person. All-encompassing love surrounded her from both sides, providing much needed comfort to her otherwise alien world. Whose soft hand was holding her right hand? A nurse, maybe? No. It wasn’t a stranger. It felt familiar also, although in a different way than the person on her left.

Her curiosity grew. A need to find the owner of the soft skin. She turned her head to the right, feeling a dull throb reach her temples and shooting pain behind her eyes that made her wince quietly.

Kate had no idea what time it was or even what day it was. How long had she been in the hospital? She’d need to ask Jake later. First, she needed to survey her surroundings.

Once her head had adjusted to having moved, she let it sink into the pillow and opened her eyes as far as they would allow, straining against the weak muscles. The fuzzy image of a person hunched into a chair sat beside her with their arm outstretched. She blinked a couple of times to try and get rid of the haze, finally able to focus better, although it still wasn’t perfect vision.

A moment of confusion had her suck in a quick breath as she tried to figure out how it was possible for the person beside her to be in Italy.

“Mom?”

The woman beside Kate jumped and became lucid in an instant.

“Kate?”

Their eyes locked for a moment, recognition in both before Jenny went into a flap.

“Kate! Oh my God! You’re awake! Rob! Kate’s awake. My darling!” She was off the chair and over Kate in an instant, tears staining her cheeks as she framed her daughter’s face with both hands and peered into her eyes lovingly.

Robert woke, looking startled for a second.

“What? Where am I?” He rubbed his eyes and shook his head. “Oh!” He rose from the chair and walked over to Jen as he cracked his neck. With one look at Kate a huge smile lit up his face as he crooned to his daughter. “Hey, Katie bear! Welcome back!”

“Dad?” She didn’t think he had heard her because the words didn’t seem to come out any louder than a whisper.

“Shh, honey. You’re mom and I are here with you. It’s okay. You’re going to be just fine.”

Her parents. Here they were by her side. They’d traveled so far to be with her in her time of need. She couldn’t have asked for more. Even under such horrible circumstances it was so good to see them after so long. Her eyes automatically closed again, unable to stay open for more than a couple of minutes. It didn’t matter, though. She’d seen her family. And Jake was beside her.

He had propped himself up on one arm and was silently watching with joy, not interrupting the moment with her parents.

She could feel him shift on the bed as if to rise and so she called out, “Jake!” He paused, sitting on the edge, watching Jenny and Rob.

Her mom’s voice rang in her ears. “Honey? Jake’s not here. You haven’t seen him for a long time. Just rest now. You’ve been through a terrible ordeal.” Jenny fussed, pulling the sheet up higher, ignoring Kate’s cry. “I’ll go and get the nurse and tell her you’ve woken.” She kissed Kate’s head and whispered, “We’re so happy you’re awake, darling.” With that she went to get the nurse, leaving Rob at the bed.

“Dad.”

“Hi, honey. You gave us quite a scare. How are you feeling?”

It was so wonderful to hear her parents’ voices. Like the tonic she needed. They probably hadn’t slept decently in days. Her dad’s voice sounded tired. They were all suffering because of her. There were so many questions she had, yet she couldn’t find the strength to ask them all. One being, just how close had she come to death? It must have been pretty serious for her parents to have traveled to Italy at a moment’s notice.

Kate’s eyes were still shut but that didn’t matter. She managed a couple of words.

“Water. Thirsty.” She attempted to swallow. Her throat felt like it had been wiped with sandpaper. Scratchy and sore. Hopefully a drink would help unglue her tongue from the roof of her mouth.

“I’ll just go grab you some, sweetie. I’ll be right back.”

With both parents out of the room that left Kate alone with Jake. She felt him move off the bed and then in an instant he was on the other side where her parents had been.

“Hey, beautiful.” He leaned down and brushed Kate’s lips with his, resting his fingers lightly on her neck. “You came back to me.”

His silky lips felt so right on hers. The energy that coursed through her at his touch was lighting her up from within. His voice soothed her like a soft blanket, wrapping her up in its folds. It felt like he took up the whole room. Kate basked in his presence before a little nagging question appeared in her head.

“Why… Mom… see… you?”

“Don’t try and talk. Wait to have a drink. The tube you had down your throat has irritated it.

Something wasn’t right. Kate’s mother had said Jake wasn’t here and that she hadn’t seen him for years and yet, here he was. He hadn’t left her side. Even when she couldn’t see him she could feel him. Why had they both snubbed him? It was a bit rude. And why wasn’t her mind working properly? Was it the drugs?

Before either of them could say anything else some people entered the room. Kate strained to open her eyes wider, noting her mother and father walking with a young nurse, her father carrying a jug of water.

Jake moved away to the corner of the room. Kate lifted her arm to stop him from going. “Don’t… leave.”

“Darling, we’re not leaving. We’ve got Darla your nurse here and your father brought the water for your dry throat,” her mom said.

Damn! She hadn’t been talking about her parents leaving. She wanted Jake to stay close by. She needed him. What was going on? Why were they treating him like he was invisible?

“Hello, gorgeous! Nice to see you’ve decided to join us,” crooned the nurse, who walked over to Kate with a thermometer in hand. “Oh, you are beautiful. Look at those eyes of yours!” She placed the digital thermometer in Kate’s right ear and waited for the beep before removing it to take a reading. “Well, your temperature has come down, too. You’ll be running the halls of this place before long. That’s some fall you must have taken.”

Kate tried to unblock her frozen mind and recall just where or how she’d fallen but it was pointless. Not with the cracking headache that seemed to be getting worse.

“Pain.” Kate choked it out, closing her eyes again.

“Yeah, I know, sweets. I’ll see about getting you some more pain meds. How about that water you wanted? Let’s see if you can drink on your own, yeah?”