This time the darkness didn’t claim me for long. I could hear the beeping of a heart monitor and various other medical equipment. My body felt sore and stiff from lack of movement. My eyelids were heavy as I forced them open, scanning the small room with blurry eyes. When my eyes adjusted to the light I inspected my skin, afraid of what I would find. It was slightly more pink than was normal, and it felt almost overly sensitive and dull at the same time, like my hands had fallen asleep and all my sensations were dulled, but it hurt to move them.
There weren't many scars, mostly on the tops of my fingers but not nearly as bad as I expected it to be. My hands then went to my face and I winced as I touched a bandage on my neck that measured to my ear. I closed my eyes at the sudden pain from touching it a little too hard. Next, I put my hands in my hair, feeling some singed and brittle parts; nothing a haircut couldn’t fix. I was momentarily grateful I had decided on a bun that day.
Before my inspection could continue, the door opened and a middle-aged male doctor walked in. He had brown hair with grey at his temples, he was average height and build, with kind brown eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses. As he stepped further into the room he noticed I was awake. He looked momentarily stunned before smiling kindly as he pulled his stethoscope from around his neck.
“You’re awake. How are you feeling?” he asked, his tone gentle and patient as he listened to my heart.
“Sore a-and thir-thirsty,” I managed to croak out, my throat dry and scratchy.
“That’s to be expected. I’ll grab you a glass of water.” He went into the small bathroom in the room and I could hear the tap run for a brief moment before he came back out with a glass of water. I gratefully took it and slowly sipped it. “You’ll be sore for some time. Your body needs time to get used to the movement.”
“How long ha-have I been out?” I questioned before taking a sip of water.
“You’ve been in a coma for 2 months. In all honesty we didn’t expect you to wake and if you did there was an extremely high chance of brain damage. The fact that you are lucid and are having a conversation is a miracle. Be thankful that he wouldn’t let us do end-of-life care,” he explained as he ran a general checkup.
“Who wouldn’t let you?” I asked, hoping it was who I thought it was.
“James. The young firefighter that came in with you. He hasn’t left your side unless absolutely necessary. He’ll be happy to know you’re awake.”
“He’s been here?” I was shocked, but happy.
“Yes. He was here last night. Left this morning for food and a shower. Said he would be back soon. But I do have questions for you. We know nothing but your first name. We need full name, age, next of kin, medical history,” he requested, picking up his clipboard.
“Oh. I’m 20, full name is Haven Emory Thompson. I don’t have any next of kin and the only other time I’ve been in the hospital was when I was born.”
“No next of kin?”
“No, my parents died when I was 17. I have no siblings or relatives.”
“Do you have a place to go home to?” he asked.
“Yes. Though I think my power must have been cut off. And I probably lost my job,” I mused with a sigh.
“I’ll write you a doctor's note dear.” He spoke with a kind smile and a pat to my hand.
“You’re awake!” came a shocked voice from the doorway.
I looked over to see James standing there. His blue eyes looked astounded but happy, his full lips tilting up in a smile. His black hair was damp from a shower and his jaw had a few days’ worth of stubble. He was wearing blue jeans, work boots and a white long-sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Was he this handsome last time?
“Well I’ll let you two catch up. I have rounds to get back to. Someone will be back later to check up on you,” the doctor informed me before leaving.
I looked back up at James to see him staring intently at me. I blushed under his gaze. Now that he was here I could ask him the questions that had been bugging me since the doctor told me James stayed here.
“You stayed here. Why?” I asked quietly as I stared down at the blanket covering my legs. I heard him sigh and I looked over as he dropped into the chair by my bed and ran a hand over his face and through his hair.
“I stayed because… you were alone. No one knew your name, if you had family or how old you were. I was concerned because I didn’t want you to wake up alone. If the situation was reversed I would hope that someone would be here for me. I’d want someone to fight for me,” he explained truthfully, his blue eyes shining.
“Thank you. If you hadn’t stopped them I’d be- thank you, James,” I choked through tears as he looked alarmed. James leaned forward and without hesitation he wrapped his arms around me in a comforting hug.
“Shh, Haven. It’s ok. You’re fine now and that’s all that matters,” he murmured into my hair as he held me. He held me until my tears stopped and I was able to calm down.
“Thanks,” I whispered, feeling embarrassed that a stranger held me while I cried. He just smiled at me as he took my hands in his and gave them a squeeze.
"Can you tell me about yourself, Haven? I’ll do the same. That way we won't be strangers.” I chuckled as I wiped away the remaining tears.
“That sounds like a good idea. Well, my full name is Haven Emory Thompson. I’m 20 and I worked as a waitress but it’s pretty much guaranteed that I lost that job. I live alone in my family’s estate. I have no siblings or relatives. I like to read and listen to music. I love the colour purple, sarcasm is my first language, I’m scared of cows and clowns. I prefer nighttime over daytime and I’m not religious. Um... I don’t know what else to say.” I ended my rant with a soft chuckle and took a sip of water.
“That’s a lot to take in. No relatives? No family of any kind?” he asked, shocked.
“No just me. That’s why I’m grateful that you were here for me,” I spoke honestly.
“I’d be here even if you had someone,” he said with a small smile.
“Well tell me about you, James,” I prompted with a blush spreading across my cheeks.
“Well I’m 29, my full name is James Owen Mathews, I live in a small condo with my dog Thatcher -he’s a mutt. I read when I have the time. I play piano and violin. I have a younger sister and an older brother. Both are married and have kids. I have dinner with my family when work allows it. Umm… I was engaged once but it didn’t work out. Hmm. That’s all I can think about right now,” he finished with a smile.
"Thatcher? That’s an odd name for a dog,” I stated, knowing that bringing up the failed engagement would make things awkward.
“Thatcher is a perfectly acceptable name for a dog,” he defended with a laugh. “It fits him. He’s a big suck, he demands a lot of love.”
“I like pets. Never had them growing up. My mom was allergic to pet dander so I was never allowed.”
“That must have sucked, not having pets. I always had pets growing up.” He shifted his position to sitting cross-legged on the end of my bed.
“A little. It must be nice to have a big family. I've always been jealous of people who have big families. It’s lonely being an only child, especially when the house is so damn big.”
“It’s a little overwhelming sometimes but it’s nice. Big house?”
“Yeah, it’s the big estate over on Rosemont St. It’s been in the family for generations and as I’m the last of my family, it’s all mine.”
“I know that place. I thought it was empty all these years.”
“Mhm. My parents passed a few years ago in a car accident and the house became mine. I was the only one there so I imagine most people thought it was empty.”
It was quiet for awhile, but it was a nice quiet. We sat in silence for a bit until the door opened and a young nurse came in. She flashed a flirty smile at James and checked over my charts.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, not even bothering to look at me.
“Fantastic.” I replied sarcastically as I shifted, trying to get comfortable. “When can I get out of here?”
“I’m not sure exactly. That decision is up to the doctor. Once he says it’s ok, you can go home,” she explained, glancing at me before smiling at James and batting her eyelashes. I rolled my eyes and coughed to hide a scoff. Could you be any more obvious, lady? “Someone will be back later to check on you.” She batted her eyelashes once more at James before leaving the room.
“If she had batted her lashes at you once more, I’d have been worried her eyes would have fallen out of her head,” I joked.
“I never even noticed,” he chuckled.
“How could you not? She was making it very obvious. You really must not notice the way women look at you.”
“I’m not into those kinds of women. I prefer women who are real and don’t try too hard to gain a man's attention,” he shrugged. In the silence that followed I decided to ask a question that had been running through my mind since I woke up.
“James… is that little girl ok?”
“She’s fine, Haven. She had a few burns that have healed nicely. She asked about you all the time when she was here. She comes with her parents once a week to see how you are,” he explained.“I’m glad she’s ok.” I was incredibly happy to know she was healed up,and flattered that she and her parents checked on me.“I have to ask: what made you run into that building, Haven? You could have died,” James asked with a very serious expression.“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “I heard her screams and cries for help and I had to help her. I didn’t care for my safety, I just wanted to help her.”“You are either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid,” he stated flatly.
For the next few days, my time consisted of strengthening exercises with the doctor and daily visits from James. I told him he didn’t have to come and see me anymore but he insisted. I quickly learnt that James Owen Mathews was a very stubborn man. It was mid afternoon, almost a week since I had woken up in this hospital bed. I lay backwards on my bed, my feet propped up and my head almost hanging off. There wasn’t a lot to do in this room.“What are you doing?” asked a confused voice from the doorway. I tilted my head to see James standing in the doorway with a paper bag and a backpack in his hands.“I’m laying down. What does it look like I’m doing?” I asked rhetorically.“I know that, smartass. I’m asking why you’re laying like th
We passed the time by laughing and joking, having a good time. James was fun to be around. It was easy and comfortable. I didn’t feel like I needed to be ‘on’ all the time. He made me feel at ease. We sat for a little while in silence before another knock brought our attention to the door. A young couple was standing there with a small red-headed girl.“Haven, you’re awake!” the young girl cried, running into the room to stand by my bed.I stared at her in surprise, her pretty green eyes shining up at me. I could see small burn scars on her little arms, which were very minimal compared to what could have happened. I stared at her in surprise, glancing at James and the couple.“H-hi,” I replied, shocked to see her.
The moment I felt my body waking up, I knew I wasn’t in the hospital anymore. I opened my eyes to once again see the white room I woke up in after the fire. This time I was clothed in a small white dress that reached my knees, my wings spilled from my back in inky blackness. I glanced around the room absentmindedly playing with the feathers on my wings, wondering why I was here again.“You are here, my child, because I have need of you.” A deep soothing voice spoke from behind me. I turned already knowing who I would see. He was just as beautiful as ever. He was tall and golden, his eyes a fiery green, his wings as white as fresh snow. I felt very small standing in his presence.“Need of me how?” I asked, not completely comfortable around him.“You have training to do, my de
With that I closed the door and immediately took out my shower things and stripped before stepping into the water. It felt so nice to finally be able to scrub my skin with actual body wash and not small sterile smelling soap. I nearly moaned in pleasure as I worked the shampoo into my hair, sighing as I felt the choppy and broken strands of my burnt hair. Would definitely need to make a hair appointment. I did however, let out a little happy sound as I noticed the razor in my bag and immediately shaved the important bits.It felt heavenly to finally be groomed. After a good solid 15 minutes in the shower I got out and dried off with the ridiculously small hospital towels and got dressed, sighing as I finally felt a sense of comfort to be in my clothes. I stood in front of the sink, toothbrush with toothpaste on it in my hand and let out a sigh as I put it in my mouth and started brushing my tee
Stepping into the house I let out a sigh of relief and slowly made my way into the kitchen. It was most definitely slow going as the house was huge. Was it always this huge?! God who needs this much space? By the time I made it into the kitchen I shakely made my way to the breakfast nook and sank onto the bench with a huff.I reached down and massaged my sore leg muscles through my jeans, huffing in frustration byt how crippled and useless I felt. Couldn’t even make it across the floor without needing a break because I was cramping and winded. I felt ninety all of a sudden and growled in annoyance at the unwelcome feeling. I forced myself to stand with a grunt and hobbled to the fridge, opening it a crack and when I wasn’t met with a wave of stench I opened it fully and was very happy to see that it was clean and all things gross and expired had been disposed of. In fact now that I thought abou
Ezra ascended the stairs in silence and with ease, before I knew it he was on the fourth floor and paused, waiting for me to point him in the right direction. I motioned to the right, the last door in the hall. He made his way to it and opened it, holding me with one hand effortlessly. He made his way into the room, walking softly over the spacious hardwood floor and placed me gently on the small ottoman at the end of my bed, dropping my bag that I wasn’t even aware he had, at my feet before taking a step back and looking around my room. I looked with him, wondering what my room looked like and revealed about myself to a stranger.It was large, unnecessarily so like all the rooms in this house, and open, my bed directly in the middle between the doors to my walk-in closet on the right, and my bathroom and the left. The rest of the walls were mostly taken up by shelves of books, nicknacks, keepsake to
I woke the next morning, disoriented for a brief moment before a sense of familiarity washed over me, the smells and sounds of my room making it all come back to me in a rolling wave. I was back home finally, Ezra was now living with me, I had a nightmare and a huge panic attack last night and dark, calm and steady Ezra was able to help me out of it all.I rolled onto my back with a sigh and lifted my arms out of the blankets to run them through my rats nest of hair. Going to bed with damp hair always assured it would be a mess, adding a thrashing nightmare to the mix only made it worse. With a sigh I sat up and rolled to reach my bedside table, grabbing my brush from the drawer and blinking in surprise at the time being a little after noon. So much for trying to go grocery shopping and stopping by to see my boss today.Oh well, groceries were a need, boss coul