Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 149606 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 499(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149606 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 499(@300wpm)
“What’s going on?” I demand, pacing by the window. “Is she waking up? Can she see us? Can she hear us?”
“Mr. Valentine, please calm down. It would be best if you left—”
I halt in my tracks to stare at him. “Are you insane? I’ve been waiting almost eight years. I’m not going anywhere.”
“We need to run tests to determine if there’ve been any significant changes. We see activity like this all the time in patients, but it rarely leads to anything. They occasionally drift in and out of levels of consciousness. You know that, Mr. Valentine. Looking at us is not the same as waking up.”
The weight of his words threatens to crush me like an elephant. “This time is different. She looked at me. Her hand moved in mine.”
“I understand, Mr. Valentine, but please, before you get your hopes up, we really do need to run some tests. We’re going to take her upstairs. You’re welcome to stay here and wait, but we most likely won’t have any solid answers for a few days.”
Is he kidding? My hopes have already soared to the moon.
“I’m not leaving. I’ll sleep on the floor right here until we know what’s going on.”
Dr. Simms removes his glasses and rubs his forehead. “Mr. Valentine—”
“Asher.” For years I’ve been asking all the doctors and nurses in this place to call me by my first name.
“Asher. I understand your excitement. I can assure you I’m also pleased and hopeful to see these changes in Ember. But I can’t stress the importance of patience enough. Especially if there’s further progression. You cannot sleep on the floor or hover over her twenty-four hours a day.”
Wanna bet?
I’m sure if I were anyone else, my sleeping-on-the-floor comment would’ve been taken as a figure of speech. But I’ve got a bit of a reputation, for lack of a better word, from past behavior. I have slept on the floor and in the chair in the corner.
We all know I’m going to do it again.
Chapter Five
My phone vibrates on the couch beside me, and I almost drop my guitar in my rush to answer it.
“Mr. Valentine?” An unfamiliar female British accent fills my ear.
I set my guitar on the floor, a dull pain radiating through my lower back as I turn. After sleeping in Ember’s room for two nights, I finally gave in and came home earlier this afternoon to shower and sleep in a bed.
“That’s me.”
“I’m sorry to call so late. This is Karan. I’m one of the night nurses at—”
A jolt of panic steals my breath. “Is my wife okay?”
“Yes...um, I’m new to this wing. The doctors are with her now, but I was told to call you immediately if there are any changes in Mrs. Valentine’s condition.”
Doctors.
More than one.
I jump off the couch and grab my car keys from the coffee table. “Did something happen?”
“Yes. It appears she’s trying to talk.”
The shock of her words freezes me in place. It takes a few moments for me to regain the ability to move my feet and speak.
“Sh—She’s awake?” The last word catches in my throat and barely comes out. “And talking?”
“She’s in and out, but she’s trying to speak,” she says as I slip into my boots and head for the front door.
“Oh my God.” I gulp the cool night air as I step out onto the porch. “I can’t believe it. Is she okay? What’s she saying? Is she asking for me? I’m on my way there right now.”
“It’s very hard to tell, but it sounded like she was trying to say butterflies.”
“She said butterflies?” I curse under my breath as I smack my head on the doorframe climbing into my Porsche. I never should have left the hospital. “You’re sure?”
“Patients are usually very confused when waking, even from anesthesia. Your wife—”
Butterflies.
“I’ll be there in half an hour. Please tell her I’m coming. Tell her I’m on my way right now.”
I end the call and toss my cell phone onto the passenger seat, focusing on the road I’ve been driving with a mix of hope and dread for almost eight years. My hands shake as they grip the wheel, and my eyes blur with tears.
Finally, the scales have tipped to hope.
Ember’s awake.
My wife, my twin flame, my everything has come back to me.
Chapter Six
I used to show up at the facility in the middle of the night a few times a month. Some nights I came because I missed Ember so much, I couldn’t stand to be away from her. Other nights I was plagued with paranoia, and I’d have to come and see with my own eyes that she was still breathing.
Her waking up alone—without me there—has always been on the top of my worry list. And now it’s happening. She’s awake and talking, and she’s surrounded by strangers while I’m breaking twenty traffic laws trying to get to her.