Last Heartbeat (22 page)

Tyler grins at me. “Well, we are going home from a party at Megan’s house that lasted all night. We haven’t been to bed yet. I guess we should go to our dorm and get ready for classes.”

Jacob laughs. “You missed a great party, man. Guess who got lucky with Megan last night?”

“Did you, Jacob? With Megan? Man, she was mad at me Saturday and even practically threw herself at me on the beach. I was with Alexia when she did that. Hope you know she might be using you to get at me. She did say she would make me sorry for turning her down. She is all yours. Hopefully she doesn’t hurt you, Jacob.” I wonder why she did that with Jacob after I turned her down. I hope it had nothing to do with me. He is my friend and I hope she doesn’t hurt him.

“Phillip, you know I was just using her too. I don’t have feelings for her, and it was just a hook-up. She wasn’t that good either. Don’t worry about me. That was a one-time thing with Megan. Come to think of it, she did ask if you were coming last night, and once I told her no, she did start flirting with me until we ended up in her bedroom. I know you don’t like her or I wouldn’t have taken it that far. Don’t worry about me. I’m a love-them-and-leave-them type of guy. Not ready to settle down yet.” Jacob grins at me.

“Glad to hear you’re still the same Jacob, as always. Guys, I have to go to my class. If I don’t leave now, I will be late. I will go down with you. How many classes do you guys have today?” I grab my keys and lock the door.

“I have two today. Jacob has one late one. He gets to go to sleep when we get to the dorm. I might get a nap in between classes. How about you, Phillip?” Tyler pushes the evaluator button.

“I have one today and it is Biology. That is the class I have with Alexia. Glad the professor picked us to do our project together. We almost have it finished.” I look at my watch and really needed to hurry. “Got to hurry, guys. or I will be late. See you later.” I hurry to my car and get to school. I have already been missing Alexia and can’t wait until I see her in class.

I make it school with a few minutes to spare. I get out of my car and as soon as I close the door, I see her coming my way.
No
! I don’t have time for this this early in the morning. She must be stalking me or something. Every time I get to school or when I leave each class, she is always around. What do I have to do to get her to leave me alone?

“Good morning Phillip. I wanted to tell you I am over you and I have found someone else.” Megan smiles at me with a sneaky smile. I wonder if this someone new is Jacob. “You missed out with me, Phillip. We could have been great together. You chose the wrong girl. Please don’t miss me too much.” Poor Jacob, I hope he knows what he got himself in for.

“Megan, congratulations. I am glad you finally found someone.” I say and start to walk off. She grabs my arm and stops me.

“
Really, Phillip
! I see how jealous you are that I moved on. All you have to do is say the word and I will be all yours.” She even has the nerve to try to kiss me on my cheek. I pull myself away from her quickly.

“I’m not leaving Alexia for you, and never try to kiss me again. What if Alexia saw what you did? She would be hurt and I am not going to hurt her. I love Alexia and I am not going to mess this up with her. Whomever you have found, I hope you don’t mess that up. Don’t follow me around and quit coming up to me everyday. Leave me alone and leave Alexia alone too. You and I are never going to be anything.” I walk off before I really have to get mean with her. I know saying those things to her that I had to be rough. She needs to know how I feel about Alexia.

She doesn’t try to stop me this time. I know now that she only hooked up with Jacob to try to make me jealous. I really don’t care or feel anything about that. I would feel bad about Jacob, but he only did it to get what he wanted.

I get closer to the biology building, when I hear another girl calling my name. Now who can that be? I turn and see Kristen, Alexia’s roommate coming toward me. “I wanted to talk to you about Alexia. Do you have time right now, Phillip?”

“Yes. I have a minute or two. What do you want to talk about?” I look at Kristen and hope it isn’t anything bad.

“I watched what happened between Megan and you a few minutes ago. I know you always turn down Megan, but she can be persistent, and this probably won’t be the last of Megan. Whatever you do, walk away from Megan and don’t hurt Alexia. If Alexia isn’t enough for you, please let her go before you hurt her. She may look strong, but I believe you could hurt her if you did something bad to her. Please don’t hurt her or I will have to hurt you. We have become great friends in a short time and I don’t want her hurt. Do you hear me, Phillip?” I am looking at Kristen and she is serious about what she said. I am glad Alexia has found a friend with Kristen.

I smile at her. “Alexia is enough for me and I am in love with her. I will never hurt her intentionally. I want to take care of her, and from the time I met her, she has had a place in my heart. It is like I’m drawn to her and she is all I can think about. I am glad she has you as a friend. I see why she was afraid to move out of your room. You know, I asked her to move in with me and the first thing that came to her mind was you, Kristen. She was afraid to lose you. You are free to come over to visit any time.”

“Well looks like Alexia has a great guy that loves her, and since your taking her away from me, you better believe I will be over a lot. I have to get going to class before I am late. You know, I believe Alexia loves you too.” After those last words, Kristen walked off leaving me standing with a smile on my face. Does Alexia really love me like I love her? I look down at my watch and notice that if I don’t get to class now, I will be late.

I hurry to biology with a smile on my face all the way. I barely make it on time and sit down. I notice that Alexia isn’t beside me. She must be late but I wonder why. She left early enough to make it to class and, now I am starting to worry. Did Megan stop her too and harass her? She will be here soon and I will ask her.

Class has started and Alexia still hasn’t made it. Maybe it is something else beside Megan. What if she was in an accident on the way back to school? I should have texted or even called her to make sure she got back. I start thinking about Kristen; did she say that she talked to her? I can’t remember if she did. This class is lasting to long. I should get up and leave, because I know something is wrong with Alexia for her not being here. Right when I get my books put away, the class ends. I am out the door before anyone else is.

I head toward Alexia’s dorm and practically run the whole way. I almost run into Kristen as I get to the dorm. “Have you heard from Alexia today?”

“Yes. She was getting ready for class when I left and talked to you earlier. She said she was going when I left. Didn’t she come to class?” Kristen looked worried.

“No, she didn’t come to class. I was so scared to death in class and almost ran out of it. I couldn’t think about anything but why she wasn’t there. I’m afraid something bad had happened to her. Do you think Megan stopped her and said something bad to her?”

“Calm down, Phillip. I’m sure she is fine. She was a little upset after talking to her mom when I left and said she was going to call her back. Maybe the call lasted longer than she thought it would.”

“What made her upset? Do you think her mom was mad about us living together?”

“No, I think it was something else. You have to ask her. Let’s go see if she is in the room.” Kristen opens the door and goes in. The look on her face tells me that she knows more. I hesitate and think that maybe Alexia changed her mind and doesn’t want to be with me. What if it is something worse? What could be worse than that? “Come on, Phillip, let’s go.”

I follow Kristen up to the room. Each step I take makes me feel like my life will change as soon as I get to Alexia’s room. I slow my pace as dread starts to take hold of me. I force myself to keep going. When we get to the door, I pause for a minute before entering the room. Why do I have a bad feeling? I do love Alexia and I know I want to be with her. Can I handle what is inside the dorm room? I decide I can and will no matter what. I enter and I am surprised to see Kristen standing in the middle of the room. She is looking toward something. I turn my head that way, and guess what I see.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Alexia

I hear the door open to my dorm room, but something is wrong with me. I feel like I am dreaming and can’t wake up. I hear Phillip and Kristen trying to wake me, and I want to answer. My body doesn’t let me. They both become frightened and I hear Kristen tell Phillip that they need to call 911. I try my best to open my eyes. It is impossible for me to do it.

I start to think what could be going on with my body. I can remember the doctors telling me that if I missed one dose of my medicine my body could shut down. This is must be what is happening now.
Think Alexia
.
When was the last time you took your medicine?
I took it yesterday morning. I was in a hurry this morning, and then when I found out that I might have Phillip’s brother’s heart. I forgot to take it. Now I am laying here feeling the lethargic effects. I can’t even tell them what they need to do. Hopefully Kristen will remember to tell the paramedics when they get here. I hope Phillip can forgive me from keeping this secret from him.

That is the last thing I think before I black out completely

Beep. Beep. Beep. What is that awful noise? Beep. Beep. Beep. I slowly move my hand but find I can’t because something is sticking in it. Beep. Beep. Beep. That noise is driving me crazy.

I open my eyes to see what it is. When I finally force them open, I realize that I am in the hospital. How did I get here? What happened to me? I look around the room and I see Phillip asleep in a chair next to my bed. I stare at him for a minute and then I remember everything that happened.
No
! Not like this! I was going to tell him after classes. What day is it, I think? How long have I been in here?

I wonder if my parents are here. They are going to be upset with me. I am upset with myself too. Now I am here and have made a mess out of everything. They are going to make me go home after this stunt.

Beep. Beep. Beep. How can anyone sleep with all that beeping? I look to see where it is coming from and notice that I am hooked up to a heart monitor. Did I damage my heart by forgetting to take my medicine? I have so many questions. I wish, Phillip were awake.
No
, I don’t. I would have to tell him everything and that scares me. I lie there watching Phillip sleep. He looks tired although he is sleeping. I don’t feel as bad as I did, so maybe I will be okay.

I watch Phillip sleep for a little while before he starts to move. Now I have to tell him everything, and I hope he forgives me. He rises up from his chair and looks right into my eyes. He has been here too long. I can tell because his clothes are the ones he had on when I left his condo. He hasn’t shaved in a while either. He moves his chair closer to the bed and grabs my hand.

“Princess, how do you feel? You had me scared to death. You have been in this hospital for three days now. The doctors say you will be fine, but you must take your medicine everyday without missing a day.”

I look into his sad eyes, “I am sorry Phillip. I didn’t mean to forget. I had a lot on my mind and forgot. That was the first time I have ever done that. I didn’t mean to scare you and I sure didn’t want you to find out like this. Can you forgive me for keeping my heart transplant a secret? I wanted to tell you after classes the day I got sick. Before I moved in with you. You should have known from the beginning, what you are getting into with me. I am this weak, sick girl who will never be strong. I can’t give you kids if we ever get that far into our relationship. Mostly, I should have told you that I am broken and barely hanging on. You should be with a girl who you wouldn’t have to take care of and a girl who can give you kids in the future.” A tear escapes my eyes and he takes his fingers to wipe my face.

Phillip looks at me with sad eyes. “Baby, yes, you should have told me. I understand why you might have been afraid to tell me. I did wonder how you got your scar, but it is beautiful on you. I know what it means, and it means another chance of life for you. I don’t need to forgive you for anything, but I am mad because you didn’t take your medicine. You scared me to death. Kristen and I couldn’t wake you up. I have been here the whole three days waiting to see those beautiful eyes open.” He gives me a big grin.

“Oh Phillip, you didn’t have to stay everyday. You need to go home and rest. You look very tired and look like you need to change clothes. You haven’t changed your clothes since I got here. Those are what you had on when I left your condo. Did you happen to call my parents?” I give him a weak smile.

“Yes. I called them and they flew down the same day you were checked in. I sent them to our condo to rest and get cleaned up. I didn’t leave you because I wanted to see you when you opened those eyes. I never want to leave your side, Alexia.” He squeezed my hand, brought it up to his lips, and kissed it tenderly.

“Now that I’m awake, you should go rest and get cleaned up too. Do you know anything about my condition? How long do I have to stay here in the hospital?”

“I will not leave you until your parents are here with you. Since they left about an hour ago, so I would say you get to keep me around for a while. Your parents didn’t tell me anything, and they said that was up to you to tell me. I want to hear all about what happened to you, only when you feel comfortable enough to do it. I will wait, but I would love to know since we are together now and I might need to know incase we run into this problem again. Not that I will let you forget to take your medicine again.” He looks at me with such loving eyes; I know he means what he is saying.

How long does one mean those words when they have to take care of you? How long until Phillip grows tired of taking care me? I have so many things going on inside my head, and need to tell him everything. As I decide to tell him more about my heart, the room door opens and in comes Kristen. She looks at Phillip and then over to me.