Chapter 35

Briefly opening my eyes, I noted that I was in a hospital room. Trying to recall what had happened and why I was there, I wanted to reach over to call for the nurse, but my eyelids were so heavy, I had no control as they closed again.

As I floated in and out of consciousness, I could hear conversations, but they sounded muddled, and I could only hear bits here and there. If I was lucky, sometimes I heard full sentences.

“What the hell did you do?” Becky’s tone was stern, but she spoke quietly, as if she didn’t want to disturb me.

“This is my fault. I should have told her when it happened.”

It was Max. He had followed me to the hospital. The place that held my heart was utterly empty, to the point I couldn’t feel anything anymore. My heart was gone; my feelings for him were destroyed at his place.

Their voices sounded jumbled and confusing. I wanted to let them know I was okay, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t open my eyes. Everything about me was heavy, as if I had sunk into the mattress. Perhaps it was from the drugs they had given me. Or…oh God…please don’t let me be paralyzed!

“You could have avoided this. Why didn’t you stop her from leaving?” Becky sounded like she was yelling at him, but in a silent way. She was still furious at him. Since I couldn’t do it, I was glad she was able to do it for me.

“I tried. But she was already by the elevator door. I tried to tail her, but it was difficult to find her in the rain, and I think she got lost. When I heard the ambulance I just had this bad feeling, and I followed it. Did you call her parents?”

Becky let out a deep sigh. “No. They’re in the middle of the ocean somewhere. I can’t get ahold of them.”

“It’s okay. I’ll take care of her.”

“The hell you are. I’m here. You can leave.” There was a long pause. “Sorry. You should’ve told her. She’s a big girl. She’s not as fragile as you think. We can take turns staying with her, but I don’t want you here when she wakes up. She’ll probably fall back into a coma just from the sight of you. Not until after I explain, or you explain to her first, or…I don’t know. You weren’t on that phone call. You didn’t hear her cry. You didn’t feel her pain like I did.”

Why was she being nice to him? And what did she mean by explaining it to me? Explain what? There was nothing to explain. I thought Becky was crying, and I thought I was crying too…at least on the inside, because I couldn’t feel any wetness on my face. In fact, I couldn’t feel my body.

Throughout the day, as I drifted in and out of sleep, I knew Nicole, Kate, and even Matthew had visited me. Poor Matthew. I wondered if he and I could still be friends…maybe not. It would probably be too painful. He would remind me of Max and his family…and of how awful this situation was. This indicated even more how I needed to quit my job.

“Max…go home. I’ll call you if there are any changes.” Becky sounded tired.

“No. I’m staying here. I’m not leaving her. Why don’t you go get something to eat? Or you can go home and rest.”

“Okay,” Becky agreed. “I’ll go to the cafeteria and get something for the both of us.”

Why was Becky being nice to him? What was wrong with her? Did she not hear what I was trying to tell her over the phone? Then I wondered if Max had fed her lies.

My left hand was lifted off the bed, and the warm feeling indicated Max was holding it. I wanted to yank it away, but I couldn’t no matter how hard I tried. I didn’t want to be touched by him.

“Jenna,” he called softly as he stroked my hair away from my face. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I need you to know. I’m just going to say it, and hope that you are awake in there even though your body isn’t responding.”

There was a pause and a sigh. “I didn’t cheat on you. I promise on my own life that I didn’t. The woman you saw was my ex girlfriend. Her name is Crystal. She had the spare key to my penthouse, and when we broke up, I asked for it back. She gave it back, but she had made another copy…I guess. That’s the only explanation I could think of. Anyway…she came inside without me knowing, and snuck into bed with me. I thought it was you at first, but when I realized who it was I kicked her out.

“She left her jacket, so I ran after her because I didn’t want any of her possessions inside my place, especially since I’m with you. When she found out I was dating you, she kept on texting and calling me. She threatened to break us apart; and not only that, she threatened to charge me with sexual harassment. Knowing her, she would follow through with her words.

“You see Jenna, you replaced her. Mrs. Ward probably told you that the lady before you took a permanent leave of absence. That wasn’t the case. Mrs. Ward fired her shortly after we broke up…not because of the break up, of course, but because of her work ethics. I should have told you what was happening from the start, but I wanted to keep you away from all of this. I thought I was protecting you. I didn’t know it would turn out like this. I swear nothing happened. Please don’t let her win. You and I are meant to be together. I feel this to the depth of my heart and soul. We belong together.”

Max paused and gripped my hand tighter to one side of his cheek. “I’ll cry…I’ll beg…I’ll get down on my knees and crawl to you if I must; I’ll do all of these and much more, just to show you my love for you. Please…wake up. I need you, Jenna. I’ve never needed anyone the way I need you.” His tone was closer. It sounded like he was right in front of me. “I don’t ever pray, but I’m praying now. If God could just give me you, I’ll never ask for anything else. Please come back to me. We’ve only just begun. We can get through this. We’re not broken…this can be fixed. I’ll fix it for us. I’ve never felt this strongly for anyone before. I can clearly say with all my heart that I love you. I know this seems too soon, but I can’t help the way I feel. I feel like I’ve known you all my life, and my past lives if reincarnation is real. And I can say with certainty that I’ve loved you all the life times ago, and never stopped loving you even after death. Every lifetime, I was searching for you…my something great.”