Page 122 of Broken Bonds

Sometimes, I didn’t recognize him. Lying in this bed for two months had made him frail. He’d lost some of his muscle definition. The beard covered so much of his face, hiding it from me.

Holding his hand in mine, tears roamed down my face. “They want to let you go, but I’m not ready. I have so much left to tell you, to do with you. We didn’t get a fair chance, Ace. You didn’t have a fair life—always being tortured. I wanted to be good for you.”

Dropping my head to his hand, my tears soaked the blanket. “I called your family, but they didn’t care. They didn’t care if you lived.” The familiar ache crawled into the pit of my stomach. “I hate anyone who doesn’t love you because I love you with my entire heart and soul. I wanted to spend the rest of my life falling in love with you every day. You made me feel beautiful every time you looked at me, every time you called me princess or baby girl, and now, I’ll never hear you say it again.”

Tears flooded my swollen eyes as I cried onto his hand, wishing he would just wake up. “Please don’t leave me. Please, Asshole, don’t leave me.”

Hours passed. Mom and Dad brought me food, which I couldn’t stomach eating. Mom sat with me, holding my hand as I cried, the tears never-ending. Ryan and Amber came back into the room a while later and remained on the couch with Dad. I couldn’t even look at Ryan for making me go through this.

We all sat in the small room through the night. Nobody slept or spoke. The only sound filling the room was the ventilator breathing for Ace. When the sun eventually came up, my chest caved in. Each breath I sucked in hurt, and my heart raced as I looked at Ace, taking in every detail.

The doctor came into the room an hour later, and grief hung heavily in the air. I couldn’t breathe anymore.

“We’re going to do this slowly. First, we’ll decrease the amount of air the ventilator is giving Mr. Danvers to fifty percent for thirty minutes.” He fidgeted with a few buttons on the big machine before turning to me. “Keep talking to him. Miracles can always happen.” He walked out of the room as I stared at Ace.

I didn’t know what to say. I opened my mouth and closed it. “You need to wake up. Don’t make me be the reason my sister has a broken heart, Ace,” Ryan begged. “Open your eyes and make her happy. I take back everything I said about you. I wasworried. I just wanted her to be happy, and now, she’s miserable, and it’s because of me.” Ryan stood on the other side of Ace, clinging to his other hand, tears running down his cheeks.

“I know I called you an asshole a lot, mostly because you are one, but you can’t leave my best friend. She needs you like I need Ryan. We haven’t had a chance to go on double dates or annoy the crap out of each other. Wake up, and make this girl smile again.”

Ace was still unmoving.

“Please don’t leave me.” I sniffled, my lips trembling. “I love you.”

The doctor came into the room again. Those thirty minutes passed by so quickly. Shaking my head, I looked at him as he steadily walked to the machine.

“Time to turn off the machine and extract the tube. It seems like he’s trying to breathe on his own, which is a good sign, Ms. Wilson.” He turned the machine off and pulled a tube out of Ace’s throat with the help of a nurse.

I could barely watch, feeling my stomach in my throat, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. A shuddering gasp for air escaped Ace’s open mouth, and then, he started coughing, gasping.

Is he going to die like this?Do I have to watch him gasp for air?

“Oh, God! Do something! Please make it stop!” I screamed, clutching my throat, my body cold. Mom’s arms wrapped around me in a vice grip as Ace’s chest rose and fell quickly with each gasp. Then, he stopped gasping. But the heart monitor was still steady—no flat line.

“He’s breathing on his own!” the doctor shouted, shocked.

My jaw hit the ground. He was breathing without the machine. He was breathing.

He’s fighting.He’s not leaving me.

The doctor left a nurse to monitor him for the next few hours. She came in and out of the room every twenty minutes. No one moved. The air was tense, all of us waiting.

Eventually, Mom and Dad went in search of food, leaving Amber, Ryan, and me staring at Ace. “He’s going to wake up,” Ryan muttered eventually, his eyes red from exhaustion. “He’s a sucker for dramatics. He won’t leave you. I know he won’t.”

“He has to wake up. I have to tell him I love him,” I croaked, my throat raw. My hand was still wrapped tightly around his, hoping he could feel me.

Amber had fallen asleep on the couch the next time I looked at her, and Ryan smiled affectionately at her. “I want you to have what we have,” he whispered, looking at me.

“I want it with this man right here. I want forever with him.” Ace’s hand in mine twitched, and I jumped. “His hand just moved!” I shouted, waking Amber.

“I’ll get the nurse!” She scrambled off the couch and out of the room.

I watched his fingers curl around mine. Tears formed in my eyes and spilled over—a waterfall being unleashed. I looked from his hand to his face, and I was stunned to see his ocean-blue eyes staring back at me, a weak smile playing at his lips.

“Oh, my God!” I squealed just as the nurse rushed in with the doctor. “He’s awake; he’s awake!” I chanted over and over, holding his hand tighter than ever before. Relief swept through my body in one gust, and I felt like I could finallybreatheagain.

Just keep those eyes on me, Ace.

“Let’s get him some water. His throat is going to feel like sandpaper,” the doctor instructed the nurse, who disappeared from the room. She came back with a pitcher of water and a glass. She raised it gently to his lips, and Ace sipped it slowly, his eyes on me.

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