Page 81 of His Beloved Princess
"Yes?" I whispered, trying to locate a napkin because my face and nose were wet.
"Come to the hospital ASAP!" Peter ordered, and I froze on the spot. My heart painfully skipped a beat, and it felt as if the entire world stopped.
"Why?" I beeped, dreading to hear him say the most horrible words. I was scared he would tell me that Bastian had died.
"He's waking up," Peter announced, his voice soaked with happiness. "Get your ass here, Electra. You're the only one he would want to see."
Without another word, he hung up and left me completely stunned. I was so shocked I didn't know what to do. My hands trembled, and I barely closed the button on my jeans as I rushed to get ready. Only when Daniel burst through the door of my room did I understand it was really happening.
"Mrs. Thorn," he yelled, grabbing my bag and phone, "we should've already been on our way!"
I followed him out into the frigid night, feeling like I was in a dream. So many times, I imagined this moment, but I didn't believe it when it was finally here. What if it was only a false alarm? What if the doctors made amistake?
I shouldn't think like this, but it was all that was on my mind. I desperately needed Bastian by my side, and it was about time for him to finally wake up and join me. I couldn't fight alone.
No, scratch that, I could fight alone, but I didn't want to. It was his battle, too, and we should win it together.
38
Awaiting the News
Electra
Sitting patiently in the hall and waiting for the doctors to tell us some news was torturous.
Frederick was the calmest one. Andreas called every five minutes, Rosalind barked at everyone like she was possessed, Peter smoked so many cigarettes the entire room was full of the solid smell every time he showed up, and Mr. Thorn looked like he would have another heart attack. I watched them from a distance, remaining silent because the words stuck in my throat. This entire situation felt like a bad dream, but there was a possibility for a happy ending. If someone only told us something.
“Mrs. Thorn?”
I cringed when the nurse called my name, and everyone turned to me. My heart beat in my chest so hard I found myself wondering if it could break my ribs, and when the middle-aged woman with short strawberry blonde hair handed me a pen and paper and told me something, I didn't understand her because the pounding in my ears was thunderous. She probably considered me stupid when I stared blankly at her, but I was totally out of myself.
I’d never felt so worried, excited, and confused. My mind was shut down, only showing me images of Bastian's soft smile, and my body, exhausted because of the events of the past few weeks, was slowly giving up as well. It was just too much.
“Honey.” Mr. Thorn gently placed his wrinkled hand on my shoulder, and I looked into his concerned pale face. “You need to sign this so they can continue the treatment.”
“Of course,” I whispered, hoping he didn't notice the smell of alcohol on my breath. Maybe my shaken state was caused by the bottles of Chardonnay I drank with Zoe and not by the fact that Bastian's brain could be irreparably damaged or that this wasn't the time he would wake up.
I wrote my name on the dotted line at the end of the paper, returned the pen to the nurse, and turned my back on them. Hugging my torso with my arms, I stood before the window and watched the city. The view was magnificent, and even when I saw it many times, it always brought me at least some sort of comfort.
“It's going to be okay.” I closed my eyes momentarily when Fredy’s gentle voice reached my ears. He stroked a hand softly on my back, and I turned to face him, doing my best to keep myself together. “Have faith in him, Electra. He's fighting.”
“I'm scared, Fredy,” I breathed, my voice cracking with all the emotions that threatened to burst out of me. “I'm so fucking scared it's paralyzing.”
“I know, and trust me, I understand.” He cupped my face with his palms and wiped the tear from my eye. “We’ll get through this. I promise it's going to be exactly as it should be.”
An encouraging smile appeared on his lips, and small wrinkles formed in the corner of his kind brown eyes. He was the cutest and completely different than every man in his family. I was glad to have him with me in this time of desperate need.
Another few hours passed, and no one gave us anything. Just one young doctor came and announced that the entire neurological team had gathered, and they were closely watching any changes in Bastian's condition. They had to check and examine everything to exclude the possibility of brain damage.
“Andreas landed,” Peter announced early in the morning, breaking the silence in the room, and I quietly sighed in relief. It'd been five hours since he called, and my anxiety increased with him in the air, not answering his phone. He was the rock, not only for me but for everyone. “I'm going to check up on Dad and go to Thorn Enterprises. Keep me posted.”
He squeezed my shoulder in a brotherly way and winked at me, quickly leaving the room, followed by Rosalind, who hadn't said a word in the past two hours. It was weird, but I knew she was unbalanced. Almost seven hours in this square, dimly lit room was depressing. And after Mr. Thorn left to rest, the atmosphere was even grimmer than before.
For about the next thirty minutes, Frederick stayed quiet, reading articles on his phone while I stared at the white walls, not paying attention to anything. My last conversation with Bastian was on repeat in my mind, complemented by the letter I read every night since I found it. They were my favorite memories, even when followed by the horrible tragedy. He told me he loved me, and then he asked me to marry him. If he just did the second thing in person…
Stirring the coffee in the plastic cup, I almost threw it on me when Andreas burst through the door, crumpled. His hair was messy, and his beard needed a touch of scissors and a razor.
“What the hell is taking them so long?” he rumbled like a furious bear, but it didn’t stop my natural reaction. I placed the cup on a tiny table and ran to him like he was the only person who could help me get through this. His entire body tensed when I wrapped my arms around his torso, and I hid my face in his suit jacket, but he didn’t push me away. Quite the opposite, he pulled me closer, squeezing me tighter when I burst into tears.
