A Silver Summer

Chapter 39

Chapter thirty nine

"Alright, she's going to wake up in a few minutes. If you need anything else, tell one of the nurses to page me." the doctor finished pushing a code in the machine by Anika's bedside. Gelsey thanked him before he walked out saying that he'll be back in a half hour. 

All eyes returned to Anika on the bed. Ryleigh and Gelsey held each of her hands where they were sitting on either side of the bed. Skinner and Ivy were wrapped up in a hugging embrace against the far wall with their eyes glued to Anika's face. Mel and Keira sat in the extra chairs on either side of the door. 

The machine's constant beeping quickened, which had everyone in the room gasping softly. Ryleigh's eyes racked over Anika's still unmoving form up to her face. 

At first the twitch of her brow was so minuscule, that Ryleigh thought his mind just wished it to happen. 

"Anika..." for some reason, Ryleigh wanted his voice to be the first she heard when she woke up. "Keep doing it, Nick. We're here. Just open your eyes and see for yourself if you don't believe me."  he heard either Keira or Ivy chuckling at the over excited gleam in his eyes and smile. 

Anika's lips moved to form nearly silent words so Ryleigh hurried to lean his head forward till his ear hovered over her mouth.  

"I trust you."

A wide smile pulled across Ryleigh's face and when he straightened to sit up, he caught Anika's cool grey eyes. 

"Hi." she whispered hoarsely. 

"Hi." he chuckled and reached over to the tray at the foot of the bed to grab the cup of water. Anika greedily watched Ryleigh's hands as he brought the straw closer to her mouth until her lips closed around the straw. She sucked the room temperature water into her mouth but couldn't find it in her to complain. 

"Better?" Anika matched Gelsey's smile with her own sheepish one.  

"Much." Anika let out a content sigh before a small frown pulled at her lips. She had been so happy to finally open her eyes instead of just listening to what was said that the pain throbbing in her head didn't register right away. Actually, her whole body felt like it was hit by a mac truck. Or a bat.... Her frown hardened at the memory of Victoria and her two minions. 

"Hey, you okay? How do you feel? Want me to get a nurse?" Ryleigh's hand was already poised over the button on the side of her bed. 

Anika held her hands out to Ryleigh's hand like a toddler that wanted her toy on a high shelf. Her stomach fluttered at being fretted over, but she didn't want Ryleigh to worry over her. 

"I'm fine. Just a small head ache." Anika felt a small but genuine smile tug at her lips when Ryleigh hesitantly relaxed back in his seat and took up playing with her fingers again. Just like how he did when he told her his past. 

Anika could now say that she never wanted to feel like how she did when she was brought into the hospital; to not be able to move or see anything. To not be able to open her eyes to put faces to the foreign voices as they talked over her. And then all of her panic left her body when she heard Ryleigh's voice. 

Partially unaware that she could in fact hear ever word, she held onto his voice as he painfully explained his past. She could also faintly register the fact the someone else was holding her hand and rubbing their thumb in between each of her knuckles. Of course, the soft warm skin belonged to Ryleigh. 

"So I have a concussion and lots of bruises. That explains why I feel like I've been run over." Anika cracked a smile at Ryleigh's surprised expression.