Instinctual 2 (25 page)

“You mean you don’t think I’m crazy?” Her hands were gripping both armrests on the chair.

“No, honey. We would never think that. If you say that’s what you see and feel then we believe you.” Her mom’s voice had such a soft lilt to it.

Kate relaxed, happy that they knew and she didn’t have to hide it any longer.

They all spent the next part of an hour enjoying catching up and spending time outside. Kate was already exhausted, so Rob offered to take her back to her room.

“The nurses will think we’ve abducted you.”

“Ha. They could only wish. I could only wish! I’m not ready to go back to that room yet. I need to see Jake.”

“I hope he’ll make a full recovery.” Jenny looked at Kate with irony written all over her face. “It would appear that your pleas for Jake helped, darling. Who would have ever thought that he’d end up in the very same hospital you’re in?”

Kate attempted a smile. Yes, she thought. Who would have ever thought?

Rob stood, grabbing the handles of the wheelchair and starting towards the hospital doors. “Come on. Let’s see if we can go visit Jake. I’m sure he’s finished with his tests by now.”

Kate was as eager as ever, wishing her father would push the chair faster. She couldn’t get to him quick enough. She needed to see him.

The pull was stronger than
her physical body. She couldn’t fight it.

Inside, Rob questioned a nurse who said she would go and find out. They waited anxiously for her to return with an update.

Kate fiddled with the thin papery gown she now wore, hoping they wouldn’t be denied a visit.

It took quite a few minutes but eventually the nurse returned, stating that Jake had been admitted and was on the ground floor in a room not too far away. He’d just returned from the MRI scan and was allowed visitors for a short time only.

The nurse led them through the hospital to a ward that had four beds in it. Three of the beds were occupied, one of them being Jake.

His eyes were closed as if he was sleeping and a drip had been attached to his arm. Another nurse finished taking his blood pressure, muttered a few words in Italian to the nurse accompanying Kate and her parents, and then both nurses left quietly.

To give them a little more privacy, Jenny pulled the curtain around the bed, closing them in. It was a bit squishy but better than the other people in the room being able to see.

Kate couldn’t take her eyes off Jake. He was still dreadfully handsome but his eyes appeared sunk in and his cheeks a little more hollow. Rob pushed Kate as close to Jake’s head as the chair would allow. She pulled his arm over so she could place her hand in his and entwine their fingers. She expected them to be cool but they were surprisingly warm, sending a tingle of electricity up her arm. Her Jake. He was finally here. She was able to touch him and know that he was real flesh and blood and wouldn’t be evaporating into thin air any time soon.

Rob put a knowing hand on Kate’s shoulder,

Jenny nudged Rob, motioning for the door. “Come on, let’s give them a moment.”

Rob agreed, letting Kate know that they’d be outside when she was ready to leave, she just had to call.

Kate was grateful for the kind gesture. She had so much she needed to talk to Jake about.

She squeezed his hand before beginning. “Jake. It’s funny how things have done a complete turnaround. Here I am sitting talking to you, not knowing if you can hear me or not, praying that you’ll be okay.” She stopped and waited for any sign of life but was met with silence and lifelessness. “I’m getting stronger every day. You’d be so proud of me. I even got out of bed and went outside. Well, in a wheelchair but, still. It was amazing to be out in the garden. It made me remember something that I’d forgotten after I woke. The seat outside… I remember…we were sitting on it while out of our bodies. It was so intense.” Her thumb was rubbing small circles in the space between Jake’s thumb and forefinger. “I’m not exactly sure what happened between us while we were out to it but it was amazing. I can’t stop thinking of you. Of us. I need you back, Jake. So badly. It’s crazy, I know. I just want you to get better so we can try and figure it all out. I know deep down you can feel me here as I could you, when I was out to it. It’s our connection, Jake. It’s real and powerful.”

She didn’t know what else to say at that point so she decided to return to her room. She would visit him again tomorrow.

“Dad?”

“Yes, honey?” Rob came in and peered through the slit in the curtain.

“I’m ready to leave now.”

As they walked past the nurse’s station in Kate’s ward, Maria came over to them. “I-a look for you. Doctor says we can-a take the bandage off.”

Finally.

“That’s great news, Kate. Come on, we’ll get this thing off and then brush your hair for you,” said Jenny.

“Is there any way that we can wash it first?” Kate could only imagine what her hair looked like under the bandage. She knew that it hadn’t been washed since before the fall. It would have dirt, blood and who knew what else in it.

“Maria?” Jenny looked to the nurse with a hopeful expression, eyebrows raised in question.

The woman thought for a moment and said, “The only way is-a to sit-a on the chair with-a your-a head back.”

“I guess. Mom, you could help me move to the commode chair and I could sit in it with my head back and you could shampoo it for me without getting my leg wet?”

It was agreed, so they all walked together to Kate’s room to remove the bandage and inspect the damage.

Kate was a little nervous. She’d looked like a horror show without her hair down. Lord only knew what she would turn into with a matted, stained, frizz on her head.

Thankfully Jake wasn’t with them to see it.

It was worse than she’d imagined as Maria carefully unwound the turban from Kate’s head. The dark strands were held together on the top of her head in a matted ball. There were dried pieces, not only of blood and dirt but small stones littering it here and there. Not a good look by anyone’s standards.

A deep cut which had been stitched sat amid a shaved patch of hair that looked starkly out of place on the side of her head above her right ear.

Maria tried to downplay the mess. “Not-a bad. The surgeon did-a good job.”

Kate didn’t want to see it. She just wanted her hair clean. It felt disgusting. She felt disgusting.

There was some complimentary shampoo and conditioner on the vanity.

Maria showed Jenny how to use the removable shower head and then left them to it. Kate was positioned back towards the shower cubicle which was nothing more than a washing bay with a curtain. Jenny put the brake on and turned the water on, adjusting it until it was warm and not too hot.

Kate put her head back as far as she could and waited. As soon as the spray hit her head she sighed out in relief at the amazing feel of it on her scalp. The small beads of water helped to ease her headache and relax her.

Jenny tried to be careful not to get the water on Kate’s gown. When all the hair was wet, she lathered it up with shampoo. “I used to enjoy washing your hair when you were little.”

“Hmm. I love having it washed by someone else. This feels nice.”

Jenny massaged Kate’s scalp, being careful to avoid the shaved area where the stitches were.

Kate groaned at the release of pressure in her head. She hadn’t realized how uptight she’d been since waking from the coma. Worrying about Jake had done it. She was now happy that he was in the same hospital where she could go visit him, knowing he was away from those monsters. Everything was going to be okay.

Jenny rinsed the shampoo and repeated the process before putting conditioner through, drying it with a towel and setting Kate in front of the mirror so she could brush it.

Kate noticed her mother watching her in the mirror with a small smile on her lips. “What?”

“Nothing. I was just looking. You’re still beautiful, you know.”

Kate balked. “Yeah, right. Look at me, Mom. I’m so beautiful. Swollen and stitched head, puffy eyes, burned, dry skin.”

“Oh honey. You can’t see it, can you? Even with all those things going on, you’re still gorgeous. I’m not just saying that because I’m your mother, either.”

“Yeah well, it will remain to be seen whether Jake still thinks so when he wakes up.”

Jenny momentarily stopped brushing and looked Kate in the eye. “About that. What’s going on with you two?”

Kate looked away from her mother’s inquiring stare and focused on her hands on her lap. “It’s complicated, Mom.” She wasn’t ready to reveal her feelings for Jake to her mother yet. She wanted to savor them alone.

Jenny started brushing again. “It’s okay, I won’t dig. I’ll wait until you’re ready to tell me. I just want to see you happy, honey.”

“I know. I will be.” Kate lifted her hand and put it on her mother’s wrist, stilling the hairbrush again. “I’m so glad you’re here, Mom.”

“Me too, sweetie. Me too.”

Epilogue

Three days after Gary was admitted he was released. He traveled with Rob to Rome where they proceeded with Carlos’ criminal charges and built a case against The Organization.

There was no change in Jake. The test results failed to show any sign of trauma and his vitals had come back to normal. His finger that had been severed was stitched up and unsalvageable but apart from that, it was just a case of him waking up.

The bullet wound in his chest was left alone after the surgeon decided that whoever had operated on Jake had indeed known what they were doing and had probably saved his life.

Kate visited Jake twice a day. Her mom accompanied her, the nurse letting her stay with Jake for an hour each time.

Kate talked to him, telling him of her recovery and that every day she was getting stronger and was eating regular food and using the bathroom.

His lids never fluttered and his hands remained motionless.

Kate didn’t care. She loved her daily visits. It helped pass the boring time in the hospital and just being near Jake brought her happiness.

“The doctors think I’ll be able to go home in a few days. I’m so excited! I can’t wait to get back to Vernazza and into routine again. I’m so behind in my work but I’m sure Cindy will understand. Mom’s going to stay on for a little while to help. It’s so great having her here, Jake. I wish they could stay forever.”

Kate knew she was rambling but it also felt cathartic, like writing in a diary or journal.

“Anyway, enough about me. You need to get better, Jake. I know you’re in there and can hear me even if you can’t respond. I know what that’s like. Being in darkness, hearing sounds and voices and not being able to find your way out. It sucks. You really have to try, though. Let my voice pull you. You’re so strong after everything you’ve been through. If anyone can fight the black, it’s you, Jake.”

She was leaning forward on her chair, her left elbow resting on the edge of the bed, her other hand drawing shapes on Jake’s forearm absentmindedly. She wasn’t even looking at Jake as she spoke. She was some place far away, lost in her thoughts. “Here’s the thing, Jake. These feelings that I’ve got stabbing into my heart and filling my mind are so powerful. I don’t know exactly what went on when I was out of my body but over the days I’ve been coming to visit you, one thing has become clear. I love you. I always have. Even when I thought I hated you, I still loved you. You make me angry. You make me happy. You make me laugh. You make me feel. Maybe it’s taken all of this to kick some sense into me, I’m not sure. What I do know is, I don’t want anyone else. I want you, Jake. Always.”

Maybe it was the fact that it was easier to say while Jake was out of it or maybe it was the fact that with everything that had happened over the last couple of weeks, she had come to realize what was really important in life and how fragile life actually was.

A movement brought Kate back to the present. As she turned and looked at Jake, she held her breath.

His head had turned and his eyes were open, staring at her. Tears dripped down onto his cheeks.

“Jake! Oh my God! You’re back!” Tears started to fall from Kate’s eyes too and fell onto Jake’s arm.

Jake licked his dry lips and spoke in a raspy voice. “That was beautiful.”

Kate smiled fully at Jake, ecstatic that he’d heard her, but as she looked into his eyes she noticed them cloud over. Confusion marred his handsome features as he cocked his head to one side, studying her.

He added, almost in a whisper but loud enough for Kate to hear. “But do I know you?”

Kate tensed, the smile disappearing instantly. “Jake? It’s me, Kate. Don’t you remember?” Panic started to well inside her at the thought that he didn’t recognize her.

Jake’s eyes narrowed as he tried to think. “Can’t remember.”

Kate called out to Jenny. “Mom! Come in here!”

Jenny hurried in, worry marring her features.