Stealing Kisses

Chapter 33

Faith POV: 

I walk out of the bathroom in his sweats and a t-shirt, my hair still soaking wet despite towel drying it. All my makeup has washed off, and this certainly looks nothing like the white dress I had on earlier. I pause in the doorway, noticing him lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He turns his head toward me, seeming somber still. 

"What are you doing?" I ask quietly, as he shrugs, looking back to the ceiling. I stagger toward the bed, sitting down on the edge and watching him. 

"You know, we'd have three kids right now?" He lets out, as I nod, the thought nauseating and beautiful at the same time. "I don't know. I can't really wrap my head around that." He confesses, biting the inside of his lip for a moment. "We would've been together for almost eleven years. That's insane." He says, before I look out the window. It's now pitch black outside, the crickets chirping loudly. 

"Yeah." I reply quietly, as he sits up, looking my way once more. 

"What if this wasn't real... and the things we've seen... that's real?" He lets out, making me laugh. "I'm serious." He says, smiling at me. I shrug, before looking down at the comforter. 

"How much did you drink while I was in there?" I question, as he shrugs back to me. "That's a little abstract." I reply, watching him scoot himself toward me. He leans forward so our foreheads are touching, then places his hand on the back of my neck. I lean in to kiss him, feeling something shoot through me like a shock. 

I feel my head throb, as chills cover every inch of my skin. I force my heavy eyelids open, feeling a hand clinging to mine. My eyes travel the room, trying to process what is going on around me. There's paneled ceilings painted bright white. The walls are pale blue, with whiteboards coating them. My name is written on one of the boards. I try to read it, before someone ducks in the way. 

"Faith?" I heard a woman croak. I glance toward her, watching her force a smile although she looks like she's been crying. "It's okay." She says, stroking my arm. Mere sits beside her, seeming somewhat traumatized. I try to turn my head, but I can hardly move it. "You're in the hospital." The woman continues, causing me to stare. 

"Does she understand you?" Mere asks quietly, as the woman sighs. 

"I don't know." The woman admits in a whisper. "Faith, can you hear me?" She questions. I continue to stare, before trying to nod. My neck feels as if it's in a brace, forbidding me from moving my head. 

"Yes." I force out, my voice sounding coarse. The woman exhales a sigh of relief, as Mere seems to grow more comfortable as well. I try to lift my hand, feeling around my neck. 

"You're in a neck brace, honey." The woman says, as I lower my hand. "You shattered three vertebrae in your spine, and injured part of your spinal cord." She says, as I narrow my eyes toward her. 

"How?" My voice rasps, causing her to look toward Mere. 

"You were on stage, and the lighting trusses overhead broke off." Mere lets out, hugging herself tightly. "The stage pretty much collapsed in on itself." She adds, forcing me to try and remember the event. I can't... 

"The girls are okay. They're at home with Rob." The woman says, causing me to pause. I watch her carefully, before starting to recognize her. Is that Tim's mother? Why would she be in my hospital room? 

"Tim." I spit out, trying to figure out what's going on. Mere looks at the woman as the woman takes a deep breath. She glances to my side, causing my gaze to shift. 

A man lies in a hospital bed beside me, attached to a dozen different machines. A breathing tube is jammed in his mouth, and a tube is attached to his chest and the back of his head, draining into a bag of blood. His face looks swollen beyond recognition, and the top of his head is wrapped in gauze. He looks horrifying... 

"It's okay." The woman says, tearing up a little. It takes me a few moments to realize that I too am crying. In fact, I'm not just crying, but I'm weeping. Someone walks into the room upon hearing my cries, walking toward my IV. 

"Faith, it's okay." A doctor tells me, before glancing toward the woman and Mere. He injects something into my IV, causing my eyelids to grow heavy. "Just get some rest, okay?" He says, as it grows impossible to keep my eyes open. 

"Fuck!" I scream, feeling myself erupt into sobs, as I stumble backward, falling off his bed. Tim sits there, staring at me in shock. I grab my chest, feeling an overwhelming feeling of grief strike me. Tim slips out of bed, gently lowering himself down to sit in front of me. 

"Are you okay?" He questions, seeming confused by my reaction. I struggle to catch my breath, feeling lightheaded from sobbing so hard. "Faith, calm down." He directs, reaching out toward me. I jump back, unable to bear the possibility of seeing that once more. "Faith." He calls out, now seeming more alarmed. 

"Oh my god!" I cry into my hands, my ribs aching as I howl. He takes a deep breath, before reaching to my hand. Once again, I pull away. 

"Faith, what the hell is going on?" He asks, as I hug myself tightly, rocking back and forth. 

"I felt it." I croak out. "That was real... that was so..." I continue, before running out of breath. "What I saw was real. I felt the pain, and the sorrow... god, I felt it." I ramble, as he continues to stare at me. 

"What did you see?" He asks, while I feel myself shake. 

"We were in the hospital. I was waking up from a coma or... I don't know... and your Mom was there and Mere. They said I was onstage, and the overhead trusses broke, and the stage caved in. I broke my neck, and you were in the bed beside me just..." I start, before feeling my chest ache once more. "You were in a coma, living off of machines, and just... you looked... it scared me." I let out, as he watches me carefully. "I was so terrified that I couldn't stop sobbing, and then a doctor had to come give me a sedative." I explain, pinching my chin to my chest as I try to take deep breaths. 

"It's alright. It was just another one of the --" Tim starts, as I shake my head. 

"It wasn't, Tim." I assert, as he looks down at my trembling hands. He leans back a little, seeming apprehensive, despite what he had just said before my episode. He sighs, before rubbing his jaw. 

"So... this is just... fake? Is that what you're saying." He lets out, as I glance toward him. 

"I think we're in a coma. I think our minds are trying to wrap our heads our what happened, and straighten out our memories." I try to explain, but even I'm not sure. I put my head in my hands, feeling it pound just as it had in the memory.