The Soulmate Collection

23 || Cross My Heart

Realistic Fiction

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"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."

--Lao Tzu

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"You'll always love me?"

"I cross my heart," Nash smiled widely, tracing an X across is chest. Adorable cheesy man, Diana thought, her lips turing up as Nash took hold of her hand, playing with her fingers. The feel of his rough farm hands, bringing her comfort. 

"Rite, on the field!" Coach whistled, bringing Diana and Nash back to the Friday night football game. Diana standing on the sidelines with the other cheerleaders in her powder blue uniform with grey trimming. Nash's hair dripping sweat, and his cheeks have heavily smudged black wax. His pads make his shoulders go up to his neck.

Nash sighs, ripping his hand out of Diana's to leave, but not before placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. A blushing Diana watches her boyfriend run to an angry coach. 

"Really, Rite in the middle of the game?" Coach screams, when Nash is close enough. 

"Sorry, Coach," Nash says, but just has the coach turns his head, Nash shoots Diana a wink. "Get on the field, boy. Run an H-Shallow," Coach whispers to Nash, before shooing him on to the field with the other guys. 

In the huddle, Nash quickly recites the play. Nash's fingers are tingling has he takes his place on the 30 yard line, like the normally do before a play. Adrenaline pumping. Nash looks over a Diana, and sure enough she is staring straight at him with a wide smile on her face cheering loudly for him. She quickly traces an invisible X on her chest with her index finger, so Nash does the same.

"Red- 24!" Tanner calls. Nash gets back into his zone, rolling back his shoulders, and taking his stance. "Red 24! Hut! Hut! Hike!" 

Diana watched as they began moving. Nash ran straight, dodging any and every opponent to get to the in zone. Then he did his signature turn and waved down Tanner for the ball. Tanner caught him and throw a perfect spiral right for Nash. Nash's eyes were glued to ball. He didn't see the two linebackers closing in on him. Just as the ball touched his fingertips, the men tackled him.

Diana let out a loud gasp as suddenly her boyfriend was covered. Whistles blew out as the reefs ran to the scene players pulled the boys off of Nash, but Nash did not get up. Diana's mind went blank as her legs began to take her to Nash's side. When she got to him his eyes were closed shut as though he was sleeping on the field, and his body was contorted. However tucked into arm was the ball. Nash won the game, but no one cheered. The boys gathered around, as the medics came. "Nash, wake up," Diana mumbled as she knelt beside him. 

The medics brought the stretcher out to the scene, and someone began tugging on Diana's arm, but she shrugged it off. "Ana you have to move," Tanner finally spoke. He knelt down to her and helped her stand. Her tear soaked face, making her vision blurry. She clung to him, and he supported her. "He'll be fine. This is Nash. He probably just has a concussion," Tanner continued.

But everyone knew this was different. Something was seriously wrong. When they all made it back to the sideline the Coach was there holding a sobbing Mrs. Rite back. "Let me see my son!" 

"Julie, we have to let the medics do their job. We need to stay back."

After one trip to hospital and seven hours in surgery, Julie and Diana finally got a report on Nash. "He will recover, but his motor speech will be servilely altered, for his Broca's area was damaged. It's very rare that this happens. However, through speech therapy, it may improve."

"I'm sorry, I don't think I understand," Julie asked.

"Your son will not speak the way he use too. We want you to be prepared when he first talks to you."

Diana's mind was going a thousand a minute. Nash talks, that's what he does. He's a loud crazy fast talker. He can't just not be able to speak. "Can we see him?" Diana asked, and the doctor nodded.

Together they walked through the white halls towards a single door. The doctor opened the door, and they followed him inside. Moving the curtain out of the way, Diana saw Nash. His large form took over the bed, his hair had been shaven in one spot, where stitches now sat. His eyes were wide open, and he was smiling at Diana and Julie. 

Nash couldn't help the smile that found it's way on to his face. Though the drugs he could still feel the happiness those to woman made him. His mother had tear soaked cheeks, and his girlfriend was still in her cheerleader uniform, but her eyes were puffy and red. The docs said it would be hard for my brain to form the words I wanted to say, Nash remembered, as he prepared to tell them he was fine. What if it came out all wrong and they got more sad for him, do he winked at them, and they both let out their own breathy laughs. Nash lightly moved his head to the side beckoning them to his side. He motioned for a pen and paper, and the doc handed it to him. 'I'm alright.' he wrote in his sloppy writing. His mom leaned over to him, and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"I know, baby," she whispered to him, but he could tell she was on the verge of sobbing again, so she pulled away, "I'll be right back," she stated, before going out the door. Diana just sat back and watched him.

Nash watched as Diana tucked pieces of hair back behind her ear, like she did before she was getting to tackle math homework. "Nash, I love you," she whispered, taking his head in hers. "I'm not going anywhere, but I want to hear you talk," she stated. 

Nash closed his eyes, and Diana knew how scared he was to hear the sound of his voice. Focus on the words I want to say, he thought to himself. Hi. I can say hi. He opened his eyes, not taking them of off Diana, while he tried his first word. He opened his mouth, but what came out what a jumbled mess. The sound was foreign. It was nothing like him. He closed his eyes again in shame.

Diana was taken back, but she knew she was trying to say, hi, based on how long the sound was for, and that's what Nash says. Not hey, or hello. He says hi. She watched her best friend close his eyes in embarrassment. "Hey," she said, squeezing his hand.

Nash peeked at her, and saw the same easy smile on Diana's face. "You may not sound the same, but you are still Nash, and I know Nash," she winked. 

He let out his same deep chuckle, and raised his hand to his heart and traced an invisible X on it. 

"I love you too," she smiled.

After coming home from the hospital, Nash fell into a dark depression, but Diana, Tanner and Julie worked with him desperately trying to get their loved one back. The loss of his speech hit him harder than he would have expected. People looked at him differently, when he tried to go out people stared at him, and pressured him into talking to them. A child laughed at him. He wasn't copping well. So, Diana decided Sign Language may help him, while he works on his speech. 

It has been it has been seven months since the injury, and Nash has been working day and night on his speech by himself. He learned sign language and uses that, but in secret practices words. When graduation came around. Being class president, he was suppose to do a speech, but no one thought he was actually going to do it. No one, but principal McCanny, who smiled at him as he rose to the podium. 

"G-Gought mourning, e-fr-y-wn. I sh-ust w-unt to sh-ey th-air will always be ab-stac-caules in ya-or lif-z, but ya-o can o-fer come them. I-I di-d," Nash smiled widely at the group in front of him. "Con-grat-z ya-oo giz! W-ee r d-u-n!" Nash went to sit down, and the whole field erupted in cheers and applauds. He found Diana in the crowd. She had tears running down her face. He winked at her, and traced an X across his heart. He was back.

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"Good morning, everyone. I just want to say there will always be obstacles in your lives, but you can over come them. I did. Congrats you guys! We're done!"