AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She felt his fingers twitch. Slightly. Or was she imagining it? Could he hear her?
The doctors straddled the fence about that. Some claimed a comatose patient didn’t hear anything around them. That they remembered nothing, not about what had happened to them to put them in the hospital, not about experiencing pain or having visitors. Some had amnesia, temporary or long term. Others had to relearn basic skills like talking or walking.
Other doctors claimed it was possible for comatose patients to remember vivid details of what happened. Conversations from loved ones who visited. Even a specific song they heard playing.
She stroked his hand again. “Can you hear me, Cord? If you can, please show me a sign.”
But his hand lay limp in hers and he lay motionless. She lifted it and kissed his palm then pressed it to her cheek where the tears had started to fall.
Suddenly, she felt someone in the room. She closed her eyes to compose herself then opened them and looked over her shoulder to see Derrick standing behind her. His body was rigid, concern in his eyes and some other emotion she couldn’t quite define.
His breath heaved out, then he spoke so softly she almost didn’t hear it. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
Ellie’s breath caught. “Derrick—”
His phone rang and he checked the number. She recognized the ring tone. Lindsey. “I have to go. I’ll give you time to figure it out.”
She squeezed Cord’s hand and then stood to follow Derrick, but confusion, pain and worry stole her voice.
And then he was gone.
ONE HUNDRED FORTY-EIGHT
Cord’s body felt weighted down. Pain clawed at his muscles and head and he couldn’t open his eyes. But he’d heard a voice. Soft and silky. Muffled. Upset.
Ellie…
He struggled to recall what had happened. If she was okay. The darkness kept pulling him under. Only a sliver of light bled through the black.
Was he dying?
He remembered bright lights. The cold steel table. The hushed voices. The needles and the… sound of voices. Doctors and nurses.
The years rolled back and he was at the mortuary. His foster father with the dead bodies. The sick, perverse things he’d done.
The way he’d tried to force Cord to do the same…
He’d run from that life. Hadn’t cared what he’d had to do to escape.
But there was Ellie. And he hadn’t told her. She’d never seen all his scars.
Ellie… he thought she was here. Wasn’t she? He tried to say her name, but something was stuck in his throat, his tongue thick, and he couldn’t move his hand to reach for her.
He’d never told her how he felt. He had to fight, to come back and tell her. Maybe his love for her would redeem him.
Another sound, a door closing then opening?
Then another voice. A woman. Ellie again?
God, he didn’t deserve her. But he wanted to hold her hand.
“Cord,” the voice murmured. “It’s me, Lola.”
His brain swirled with confusion. Too many lights and sounds. A machine beeping. A wheezing, pumping sound.
Then he felt something warm on his hand. A soft caress.
“I know we took a break,” Lola said. “But you have to hang in there, Cord. You cannot die.”
