Page 4 of Sweet Revenge

He must’ve felt my gaze because his head turned sharply toward the bed, and his eyes met mine. He pushed Becs away from his chest gently, turning her until she faced me. She let out a choked sob and moved quickly toward the bed, grabbing my hand in hers while she sat on the chair pulled close to my bedside.

“Maggie,” she said, her voice cracking. Tears leaked from her eyes, but she wiped them away quickly. “You’re awake.”

I swallowed hard, but it felt like I was swallowing razor blades, and I winced. She must’ve noticed and realized it was my throat because she reached behind her for a pitcher and a cup sitting on a nearby table. She poured water into that tiny cup while she called back over her shoulder. “Bear, get the nurse.”

He left the room, but not before he walked to me and leaned down. Pressing his lips to my forehead, he whispered, “Happy to see those beautiful blue eyes open, honey.”

I watched him walk away, confused by his words, considering Bear had never spoken to me that way.

“Maggie.” I slid my eyes toward Becs when she called out to me. “Here.” She held the cup up and pressed the rim to my lips. “Drink this.”

I nodded my head a little, but it hurt to move, so instead, I opened my lips as told and sipped the water, immediately feeling relief on my sore throat when the cool liquid slid down.

She fed me small sips until the door opened and a nurse came rushing in, followed by Bear. She came straight to my bedside, checked the machines still hooked up to my arm, although I had no idea why, all before she looked my way and smiled. “Look who’s finally awake.”

She fiddled with my pillow and pushed a button on my bed to move it so I sat up a little taller. “Drink some more water, honey, but only in small sips. I’ve already paged the doctor so he should be here shortly, and he’ll want you to be able to answer his questions if you’re able.” She smiled again. “Okay?”

I gave her a short nod, afraid to feel the pain again in my head, but I did anyway, and I cringed. Sympathy immediately flashed through her eyes, but again, I had no idea why. I was certain she’d seen a lot of pain in her time as a nurse, and I had no doubt she’d seen worse than me. Becs continued to feed me small sips of water, and I watched Bear across the room, tapping out what I could only assume were text messages on his phone. Nobody spoke, and the room was eerily quiet, even with Becs there who could entertain an entire room all by herself.

The door pushed open, and an older man in a white doctor’s coat moved into the room quickly, followed by the same nurse. He came directly to me and smiled. “Hello, Maggie, I’m Dr. Colbert. I’m happy to see you’re awake. Can you answer some questions for me?”

I didn’t even try to nod, knowing I would feel extreme pain, so I opened my mouth, hoping it wouldn’t hurt to talk and was relieved when my throat no longer hurt as badly as it had before. “Yes.”

“Good girl.” He patted my hand and leaned against the bedrail. “First, can you tell me if anything hurts?”

I swallowed hard. “My head.”

My words came out in a whisper. I wasn’t a loud talker on a normal day, but even I was surprised by how weak my voice sounded.

He nodded. “That’s understandable. Anything else?”

I took a minute to consider that, but I didn’t really feel anything else. “I don’t feel anything else.”

He smiled sadly. “That’s okay, honey. You’re on very strong pain medicine to control it.”

I thought of the other times I’d been in the hospital, but I hadn’t been on pain medicine that made me not feel anything. “Why?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Why are you on pain medicine?”

I blinked, feeling a little confused. “Why is it so strong?”

He eyebrows drew down causing a small wrinkle to form between his eyes. “Can you tell me what you remember, Maggie?”

I let my eyes drop to the white sheet pulled up over my feet. My mind was overwhelmed with the things I was remembering, but I was having a hard time placing them in any order. “I don’t know.”

He squeezed my hand, and I let my eyes drift back to his. “That’s okay Maggie. We’ll take it slow, okay?”

“Okay,” I whispered.

He smiled reassuringly. “Do you remember the last place you were?”

I looked across the room and stared at the blank wall, my mind trying to organize the thoughts swirling around until a face flashed through my mind, startling me. I squeezed Dr. Colbert’s hand and looked up at him. “Luke.”

He nodded, and I was relieved I’d done well. “Where did you see Luke?”

Images of him in a tuxedo flashed through my mind. I saw blue skies and green grass with flowers everywhere. “He was dressed up.”

“Very good, Maggie.” Dr. Colbert praised me. “Anything else?”

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