Pink Ice (2 page)

             
“Hey you bitchhhh!” The sweet greeting of my best friend sent chills through my body.

             
“Well, hello there, baby. I thought you had forgotten about me.” Guilt would have to be my savior.

             
“Katie, I miss you to death, but I am living the happiest moment of my life. I love him, I really love him.”

             
I was so proud of my best friend, this was different from her usual escapades. “I know baby, that’s why I share you with him. But please, tell me, when will you bring your pretty ass back?”

             
“I don’t know. I am having a great time, but I miss you. Maybe now that Dylan is back here we can go to the city; Marc is having more free time now. We are even leaving for a 4
th
of July weekend in the woods!”

             
I knew she was talking, but I focused on the ‘Dylan’ part. “Where are you going?”

             
“To an old reserve, we are leaving technology aside and enjoying the nature.”

             
Who would want that!? Technology and comfort are essential in life.
“Thank God you are dragging someone else there, babe. I have to go, but I really miss you, Chelle. Please give Marc a big kiss and tell him to take care of you for me, ok?” My words were a little too sentimental, but I needed my friend more than ever, and she was in a different state.

             
“I love you Katie, take care of yourself.”

             
Done, the last thing before leaving. There was nothing else, just going to the parking lot to pick up my Range Rover on Friday morning. Skinny jeans, baseball black and white shirt, sunglasses and sneakers, ready to go.

Chapter 2

The reason I always loved to drive was because I felt free doing it. The speed, the air, the loneliness, and the singing out loud, those were the things I needed. Probably, it had to do with the fact that it was almost an impossible task in New York, but on the highway I could be by myself.

             
I turned on the radio and selected my playlist “Hurt like a ….”, - insert my profanity that was too long for iTunes - , and started my trip. I drove and sang to ‘The Winner Takes It All’ by Abba, ‘The Way of Love’ by Cher, ‘Chasing Cars’ by Snow Patrol and Guns n’ Roses’ ‘November Rain’, our relationship was more dramatic in lyrics than in real life. I just wanted to drive and sing, and arrive at the house to curl into a ball and cry to death. Yes, even with my closed lachrymals I knew I needed to.

             
The tears didn’t wait, with the first compasses of ‘I Have Nothing’ by Whitney Houston that was it. My eyes poured and I sang my heart out. The song ended and I played it again, and again, and again. By the eighth time, I accepted the fact that I couldn’t sing it anymore.
You couldn’t sing it since the first time.
So I let the next song come, but the first compasses made me feel sick. I went to change it as quickly as I could. “Not fucking John Mayer!” I swear I just took my eyes from the road for one second.

             
But then everything was black…black…black…

             
Black…black…the fog started moving, I couldn’t wake up but, I listened for voices. The voice took my breath away, this was a nightmare. It was his voice…

             
“When? I want her back. I need her!” Dylan was shouting, but it sounded so far away. He was in Chicago and I was dreaming of him asking for me. Even in the middle of the fog, my brain wanted me to believe he wanted me back. I needed to wake up, I couldn’t deal with this…black…black…

             
Black…black….black…I didn’t know how long I had been sleeping, but the darkness faded a little. The voice was back.

             
“I can’t live without her! Get her back!” God, my brain was playing with all my emotions. I wanted to cry, to shout, but mostly, to wake up.
Open your eyes Katherine! Open them!
Even in the middle of my despair I couldn’t wake up. I was so tired, so tired, I couldn’t. Black…black…black… I went down again.

             
Black…black…black…This time, when the fog cleared I couldn’t hear anything, but I felt. The worst pain, all over my body, made the tears try to pour, but my eyes were dry.
Open your eyes! Open them!
I tried, but the light was too much, and my head hurt, a lot. After a couple of tries I opened them slowly. There was too much light and I felt something heavy over my waist, my hand was trapped.

             
I tried to move in what I thought was a quick way, but I was in slow motion. I also tried to talk, but I couldn’t; my throat burned and was so dry that I could feel fire in it. When my eyes went to the heavy thing laying over my body, I recognized that hair. HE was laid over my waist holding my hand, the nightmare was not over.
He’s not here. You are not here babe. This is a dream.
Blue Eyes moved and noticed I was looking at him.

             
“Katherine, baby, don’t move.”

             
I tried to talk again, but he stopped me. He came to my side and pressed a button, then came closer to me and pressed his lips against my head. The pain was killing me.

             
A short middle aged woman came to the room. “Ms. Bianchi, you’re back. Don’t move, the doctor is on his way here.” My hand was still in Dylan’s and the woman, who had walked to my side to check the IV in my arm noticed it. “Mr. Berkeley, please don’t touch Ms. Bianchi.”

             
It was then when it hit me, the confusion that I had been living was getting worse when I noticed I was in a hospital room. It took me way too long to notice the obvious, first clue that something bad had happened.

             
“I’ve already told you I can touch her as much as I want.” The tone on Dylan’s voice was aggressive, harsh, but mostly scared.

             
A couple of doctors entered the room. The eldest, a gentle, white haired man came closer to me. “Welcome back Ms. Bianchi, do you know where you are?” I shook my head completely overwhelmed by the scenery.  “You are in the Mount Sinai Hospital. You’ve been in a car accident.” He came to me and flashed his little lamp to my eyes, checked my face and my heart. I noticed I was connected to some machines, the beep of my cardiac frequency was too loud, and I had something in my nose giving me some oxygen. “Do you know what day it is?”

             
I got distracted with Dylan staring at me from the corner of the room. I just shook my head without moving my eyes from him. “Do you know when you got hurt?”

             
For the first time I did my best to talk. “I was driving on Friday morning.” It hurt, a lot, the flames in my throat were scratching my skin. My voice was raspy and so foreign that I couldn’t recognize it as mine.

             
The doctor distracted me again. “Katherine, what’s your full name?” That one took me off guard, I thought he was going to explain to me, but there were more questions; questions that seemed stupid to me.

             
“Katherine Elizabeth Bianchi.”

             
“Where were you driving to?”

             
“My parents’ house in the Hamptons.”

             
“What happened to the car?”

             
I tried, I closed my eyes and really tried, but there was nothing there. “I don’t know. I can’t remember.” Tears started to fall down my face, they were slow and silent, just like my voice. The confusion made me feel stripped in front of this person I didn’t know, and I noticed Dylan was shaking.

             
“Do you know who he is?” The doctor was pointing to Dylan, when he noticed my eyes were stuck on him. Time froze and in that moment I knew that I would recognize that face even in hell. He was a mess, the dark circles under his eyes, his untamed hair and the wrinkles on his face made him look different. His guard was down, he seemed scared, and even when other people couldn’t notice his fear, I knew him too well; I had memorized that face.

             
“He is Dylan” I didn’t want to name his role in my life, but I did as I could, given the circumstances. “He is my friend.” I saw how he shook his head. The doctor tried to make me focus on him, but I couldn’t stop staring at Dylan. Even in the most confusing moment of my life, those blue eyes were demanding my attention.

             
“Katherine, do you know what day is today?”

             
This man was exasperating me, instead of giving me answers, he was just making more questions. “Friday?”

             
Dylan shook his head from behind the doctor again, there was a lot of concern in that beautiful face and I just wanted to run to him. “Today is Tuesday evening, Katherine.” The doctor’s voice was trying to make me notice this was serious.

             
What happened? Tuesday? Ask, ask what happened!
Even when a part of my head was as fast as always, my actions were behind of it, I was in a slow bubble. “What happened to me? How have I lost those days?”

             
“You have a concussion.” He punctuated his words, giving some solemnity to the conversation. “You have three broken ribs, your wrist was broken too, but you had surgery. And your organs were swollen by the impact. Your spleen was really damaged, we have to keep an eye on it.”
Oh God!
My head was in complete shock. I was unconscious for five days, and I had a surgery that I was not aware of. I turned to see my hand, and it had a black support with some metallic instruments on it. When the doctor noticed I was not responding, he directed his words to Dylan. “We have to take her for a CT Scan, we will also take an ultrasound to check her organs, maybe some other procedures, ok?”

             
Dylan just nodded, for the first time I saw him weak, he was not the powerful man that I was used to and it scared me to death. The nurse who had checked me when I first woke up, came back to start preparing me to move.

             
Again, it was the voice of the doctor that distracted me. “Katherine, you are a lucky girl. We’ll take care of you, ok?”
A lucky girl!?
I was in a hospital bed, and I had lost five days of my life! How bad was this? Did they think I was not waking up? My head was a mess and I just nodded and waited while the nurse started making me ready for the procedures I needed. The uncertainty freaked me out, fear came to me and I started shaking. Soon I felt as if I was losing all the temperature in my body.

             
Blue Eyes was by my side in a second, he grabbed both of my hands trying to warm them,  through the cast on my arm. “Katherine,” his voice was commanding, he was in charge again. “Katherine, look at me.” I met those blue pools. “Everything is going to be ok baby. I won’t let you”, he hesitated, looking for the right words. “I won’t let you go.”
Yet, you had let me go before.
He kissed my head and the nurse interrupted our moment.

             
“Mr. Berkeley I need to take her, now.” Dylan stabbed her with his gaze, and reluctantly let me go.

             
I was examined in various ways, X-rays, CT Scans, ultrasounds, reflex tests. And I spent all this time completely numb. I couldn’t seem to make my brain focus on something; I even lost track of the time. I was trying to remember, but couldn’t, and that was killing me. Finally after being meticulously analyzed, the nurse took me back to the room.

             
Dylan stood up as soon as he saw me entering. “Is she fine?”

             
The nurse answered as cold as she could, apparently she was not a Berkeley fan.
Wise woman!
“The doctor will check her tests and come back to you. Now you have to let her rest.”

             
Before he could answer, the sound of his phone interrupted him. “I need to take this one, doll. I’ll be back in a minute.”

             
As soon as he left the room, the nurse came to my side and lowered her voice. “Ms. Bianchi, that kid has been by your side since you arrived here. He needs to rest, please send him home.”

             
I couldn’t get it. When did he come back from Chicago? I knew he needed to rest, it was evident from the terrible state of his face, but I didn’t want to let him go. And even if I didn’t want him to, I knew that was the right thing to do, he wasn’t even my friend anymore. Smiling, Blue Eyes came back to the room and walked to my side to take my hand.

             
“Thank God you are here, doll.” He kissed my knuckles. I convinced myself, even when it broke my heart, this was what he needed.

             
“Dylan, you have to rest. Go home, I’ll be here tomorrow.” I tried to smile, but I couldn’t.

His eyes were intense and that broke me a little more. “Listen to me Katherine.” His voice was harsh and he was looking at me in the most powerful way. “I am not going to leave this hospital, until it is with you by my side. Do you understand?” A wave of relief came over me, I nodded; being honest I didn’t want him to leave me. I didn’t want to be alone in that moment, but mostly I didn’t want to be without him again.