The Lovely Garden (20 page)

That got me another smile. “Good.” He stood up, done with my throat. “My name is Thomas. I’m the nurse assigned to the ward.” He turned away from me and I heard him pour water into a cup. “Here you go.” He passed me the cup. My bed was already sitting up so I didn’t have to worry about drowning in the water. “It’s nice and cold so it should feel good on your throat.” I’d take that.

Swallowing flared up the pain but at the same time the cold water soothed it.  “Where,” I started and had to stop. My voice was hoarse to the point I could hardly hear myself. Clearing my throat, I tried again. “Where’s Charles?” It came out a little stronger, but goddamn did it hurt. I had to keep my talking to a minimum.

“He’s outside with your parents and friends. Would you like me to send them all in?”

“Yes, please,” I said as I nodded. The nod alone would have been enough, but I felt I had to say something. At the very least to get used to talking. My parents were going to ask me a lot of questions. They were going to need to hear my voice to make sure I was alright. Pain was nothing compared to their worry.

He nodded and smiled. “If it becomes too much for you, just let me know. I’ll be sure to usher them out. I’ll let the doctor know you’re awake as well.”

“Thank you,” I more moved than said. One last smile before Thomas vanished out of the door.

An odd silence fell over the room, only the beeping of the heart monitor marring it. It was a nice and calming. But I had no time for relaxation. I needed to make sure I looked presentable for my parents, for Charles. The better I looked, the less they would worry. Because they didn’t need to. I was okay. Sore and still a little groggy, but I was alive. Ava didn’t get her way.

My mom was the first one to enter the room. The skin around her hazel eyes were puffy and red and she sniffled as soon as they landed on me. Her dress was wrinkled near where her hands would lay if she were sitting down and put them in her lap, but her hair was in order. Mom always straightened her hair excessively when she was nervous.

Dad, on the other hand, appeared the pinnacle of calm. He was the laid back one, letting my mother do all of the worrying. He always said there was no point in two people worrying. It was just a front though. He was terrified at the moment. Could see it in the way he wrapped his arm around my mother’s shoulders, psychical contact was his relief.

I managed to smile at the pair of them. My mom burst into tears, and rushed over to my side. She wrapped me in the tightest hug I’d had in a while, and I gladly hugged back. My dad joined us, though settled on patting my hand.

Jenny along with Billy trailed in after my parents. Jenny looked just as bad as my mother, only her hair was facing every direction. Surprisingly, Billy didn’t look so hot either. I mean, I knew he cared about me, but I didn’t think he would look that upset. Of course, it wasn’t every day someone tried to murder you.

The only person that hadn’t come in, was Charles, the one person I had really wanted to see. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family and Jenny and Billy, but Charles was the man that I loved. The one that could comfort me with just the sight of him. And I needed to see if he was alright. If Ava did anything to him after I had lost consciousness.

My dad noticed my gaze. “That damn boy,” he muttered under his breath, and headed out of the room. There were a few more mumbled words that were incoherent and probably unpleasant.

When she finally released me, my mom’s tears had started anew. “He’s been really worried about you.” I didn’t know if she was talking about Charles or my dad. Maybe both. “He hasn’t left your side even though the doctors keep telling him he needs rest. They had to physically remove him, but he stayed outside of the door.” She was talking about Charles then. Seemed my mother was rather found of him already. Well, that was one less hurdle to worry about.

“How long was I out?” God, talking hurt, but it was the only way I was going to get answers.

“Just a day.”

“You made it sound as if I went into a coma.” Jenny snickered at that, Billy smiled. The disapproving look on my mom’s face told me she didn’t appreciate the humor. Too bad for her. It was going to happen. I had too much of my father in me.

“Amy, so help me if you start making jokes…” my mom didn’t finish. She never finished that sentence. We both knew her threat was an idle one. I had never once been hit by my mom or dad, not even a spanking. But I knew she was upset so I kept my mouth shut. The grin, however, stayed.

Jenny was the next to hug me, squeezing tight enough to nearly crack a rib and her pregnant belly pushing into my side. Good thing the bars on the side of the bed were down. She wouldn’t have been able to hug me otherwise. “I’m happy you’re alright.” I nodded, not knowing what to say. My eyes kept roaming to the door, wondering what was taking my dad so long to get Charles. A knowing smile appeared on Jenny’s face. “He’ll be in here soon. He’s been waiting to see you. To tell you.” That earned her an elbow in the side from Billy, and a glare from my mother.

My eyes narrowed. “Tell me what?” I didn’t like secrets. Especially when they involve me. Hypocritical, I know, having my own secret I kept from Jenny. But hey, everyone has their secrets, didn’t mean we all had to like it.

A different conversation was about to be started, to take my mind off of what Jenny had said, but my mother was cut off before she could say anything. Charles and my father had arrived, and arguing about what to call my dad. Charles insisted that Mr. Jones was appropriate, my dad thought “dad” was good; I could feel my mother’s eyes roll.

There was a huge smile on my face until my eyes fell on Charles. He was in a wheelchair, right leg casted in white all the way up to his knee. My eyes bulged out of their sockets and would have leapt from the bed if my mom hadn’t stopped me. “What happened?!” It hurt to yell. Oh boy, did it hurt, but I didn’t regret it. My boyfriend was in a wheelchair and I didn’t know why.

“This idiot,” my dad started, wheeling Charles next to me, “jumped out of a two-story window.” He set the brake. “Just in time to save you, you little damsel in distress. Good thing he called the police first, and they had the foresight to bring an ambulance with them. Might have lost you then,” dad said with a wink. If the police had been involved, Ava was in jail. Thank god. I didn’t need her running around trying to kill me then. But the police were going to question me, which I really wasn’t ready for. A problem for a later time.

Sniffling came from the direction of my mom. Dad rushed over next to her. “Alright, alright. I’m sorry! I’ll stop making bad jokes.” He gave her shoulders a vigorous rub as if warming her up. “Why don’t we give the two love-birds some time to themselves, hmm?” He suggested, much to my appreciation. I wanted to talk to Charles alone and I was starting to get a tad overwhelmed. Too much was happening.

The others agreed as well, and started to head toward the door, Jenny with a weird smile on her face that was sort of making me uncomfortable. Just as they were walking out, the doctor came in, giving them pause. “Hello, Mrs. Jones,” she greeted, a bright smile on her face. A handsome woman in her late-thirties with bright honey-blonde hair and olive green eyes. “I’m Dr. Heinz. How are you feeling?” She glanced over the chart in her head, giving it a nod of approval.

“Tired. Sore. A little overwhelmed.” I mouthed “sorry” to my family, hoping they didn’t think it was them that was overwhelming me. Well, they were, but they didn’t have to know that.

Dr. Heinz nodded her head, her hair reflecting in the sunlight. “All completely normal and understandable. The ordeal you went through was very frightening and stressful on your body. And waking up and finding out you’re pregnant,” Charles made a noise between a choke and a whimper, “on top of it must have been
very
overwhelming.”

Blood rushed through my ears and I wasn’t sure I had heard the doctor correctly. I certainly didn’t hear her tell me that everything looked fine and I could possibly check out that day. “I’m sorry. What?” I was pretty sure she said I was pregnant, which, of course, was wrong. There was no way I was pregnant. No way at all. It was why I took birth control. So, I wouldn’t get pregnant until I was ready to. The doctor had to be wrong. Or was just pulling my leg. Not a very funny joke for someone who just woke up after nearly being killed. “Are you fucking with me?” Came out a bit more hostile than intended.

The doctor’s face fell and she turned to Charles. “You didn’t tell her?”

“We were working on that,” my dad interjected. “Wheels over there was a bit nervous and took his time getting here.”

“But I can’t be pregnant. I’m on birth control. I’m careful. We use condoms, mostly.”

“Didn’t need to hear that,” my dad muttered under his breath. Daggers were glared at him by my mom.

“There’s just no way I’m pregnant. I can’t be. I-” It all clicked right then, and I sunk deeper into the pillow if possible. “The antibiotics,” I said mostly to myself. The antibiotics I was prescribed when Ava had shoved me and I hit my head on the edge of the bathtub. Antibiotics nulling the effects of birth control was something that I knew. That I should have known considering I have been on the pill since I was nineteen. But in my concussed state, it must have slipped my mind. We had had plenty of unprotected sex during the two weeks I was taking antibiotics. Stupid, stupid, Amy.

There was pressure on my hands. A nice tight, reassuring pressure combined with a smooth palm and strong fingers. Charles. He was holding my hand. So I turned to him. My eyes landed on the most beautiful smile that had ever graced his face in my presence. He was happy. He was telling me that I could be happy about this as well. Sure, we didn’t plan it, but shit happens.

I returned his smile. Then, tears started to well in my eyes and spill over. I flung myself at him, wrapping my arms around him as best as I could, and him doing the same. “At least, we sort of talked about this,” he said, whispering in my ear.

I pulled away from him, just far enough to look him in the face. “We can do this,” I told him.

He smiled and nodded. “We can do this.”

We could do this. We could be together. We could have a child together. And we would be happy. It was going to be a lot of work, all relationships were, but we could do it. We could work through all of the fights and manage to stay together. It wouldn’t be the fairy tale romance that people craved, not that it was to begin with, but we could have our happily ever after.

About the Author

Emma Mohr is a Midwestern girl who happens to be a writer. She loves reading, her three cats, and fiancee. Makeup is a secret obsession, and coffee is what separates the waking and dreaming worlds for her. When she isn't writing or reading, you can find her on the couch drinking wine and playing video games. Sometimes, you can find her camping, and hiking when she's feeling really frisky.

You can get more information by visiting
http://www.emmamohr.com/

Other Works by Emma Mohr

Dealing With Death: A Short Story