At the sound, Dima shot out of his chair. He almost lost his balance so he grabbed hold of the rails of the bed. “Holy shit! You’re really awake.”
Frowning, I asked, “How long was I out?”
“Four days.”
My eyes bulged. “It’s been four days since I was at the b-bakery?”
“After the first night, you were stable enough to come off the ventilator, but then you just wouldn’t wake up,” Dima answered.
Tears sparkled in Sarah’s eyes. “Then Aleks came to get me to see if maybe I could get you to wake up.”
“And it t-took me three more days?”
She laughed through her tears. “Apparently, I wasn’t the miracle maker Aleks thought I would be.”
“Yes, you were,” Maksim murmured.
When I tried to reach up and cup her beautiful face, agony ricocheted through me, causing me to cry out.
“Easy now,” Sarah cooed.
“I’m not an invalid,” I grumbled.
Dima snorted. “Actually, you are. Just like I was.”
“I’m p-paralyzed?”
“No, no. You just have a long road to recovery before you,” Sarah replied.
“I think you might meet up with my physical therapist,” Dima teased.
I groaned. “I think I’ll just d-die instead.”
A squeak of alarm came from Sarah. “Oh no you will not.”
At that moment, that horrible night at my apartment came rushing back. Pinching my eyes shut, I gritted my teeth, trying to ride out the wave of agony.
“Maksim, what’s wrong?” Sarah asked, taking my hand in hers.
“I just remembered how I fucked t-things up with you, and how you’re only here out of p-pity.”
“Look at me,” she commanded.
Since there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her, I popped my eyes open. “I am not here out of pity. I’m here because I love you.”
I sucked in a harsh breath, which made me wince. “You are?”
She nodded. “As long as you’ll have me, I’m not going anywhere.”
All the pain and suffering and longing converged in that moment. And although I hated myself for it, I started sobbing. Like body convulsing, bed shaking sobbing.
“I’ll go get the nurse,” Dima said,
Of course crying sent excruciating pain through my abdomen. “Shh, Maksim, please don’t cry.”
“I can’t believe you’re forgiving me.”
“Well, I’m not.”
