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“Right this way, Prince Cedrick.” A nurse plucks me from reception and rushes me to her room, giving me a rundown that concludes with the fact that they're still finishing running some tests.
Ellie's on the bed when I step into the room, still as a block of ice. Her eyes are shut, and there's a blanket up to her chest. My very own sleeping beauty.
“Ellie?” I shut the door with my foot and walk to her side.
Quiet.
She's hooked up to an IV, and only the sporadic drops of liquid can be heard in the room.
Her beautiful face is blank, sunken around the eyes and hollow in the cheeks. I look around the room and begin to pace from the bed to the door and back.
A mix of fear, sadness, and hope flickers through my veins. She’ll be fine, it's only stress, says one line of thought.
Why weren't you with her? This could have been avoided, goes another.
What if you never see her again?
Shut up, Cedrick. Be a doctor, not an idiot.
My eyes bore into her. I long for her hazel ones to open and stare back at me. I stroke the side of her face with my fingers.
“Can you hear me?” I ask.
“I can, but I don’t think you’re asking me.” I look up, and Liza saunters in. “Sorry, had to step out for a moment to call Ishmael. He should be here soon.”
I nod, then turn back to Ellie.
“You really care about her, don’t you?” Liza says, smiling. “She’ll be okay.”
“I hope so.”
I don't know how long I stand there with my fingers against her skin. But when her eyelids do eventually flutter open, it seems like the end of a lifetime of waiting.
My shoulders slacken, as if a weight has been lifted. At the same time, I feel a strong internal punch in my chest.
“You're awake.”
Her expression is blank, but she eyes me curiously. Her eyes narrow as she takes me in. I immediately recognize that I'm way too close for comfort. I clear my throat and step back.
There's no denying the awkward energy between us. Our eyes stay locked for a long minute. I'm unsure of what to say or what she thinks of waking up to me hunched over her, stroking her face.
“The benefit…” she whispers.
I stand with my hands folded behind my back. “Is probably over by now. You're in the hospital.”
“Oh.” Her eyes flicker around the room, stopping at Liza. “I’m sorry I made you leave.”
“You didn’t make me do anything. I wanted to come with you. Are you kidding?”
Ellie’s eyes then come back to search my face, as if Liza isn’t in the same room. The air between us is a heavy bubble.
I'm contemplating how to address the intensity of emotions between us when the door bursts open. The moment is lost.
Both our eyes fly to the doctor, who walks in and sits on a stool.
“Glad to see you're awake,” he says and flips through a chart. Then he feels her forehead. “No fever. Good sign.”
He starts to scribble something on the chart. My gut clenches as we await the verdict, and my eyes lock on Ellie’s face.
