Nick sat still on the bench outside the emergency
room, staring at the operating light on the top of the door. Inside that
room, laid the woman he adored, the thought of him as the reason she was
in there the first place, tore him apart.
"Nick!" Brian waved at his friend as he ran down
the hall, ignoring the nurses' attempts to make him slow down.
"Hey." Nick tried to smile, but that smile was
turned to a frown.
"How long has she been in there?"
"Three or four hours." Nick replied, turning his
gaze back to the light.
"Why didn't you call me?" Brian accused, a hint
of annoyance in his voice.
"I forgot, it all happened so fast..." Nick mumbled.
"How bad was it?" Kevin asked as he approached the two men. Behind him,
Krystina and Amanda glared at Nick.
"Her face was cut up, so much blood." Nick whispered
as the horrible scene replayed in his mind. "She'll be okay though, right?"
Brian stared at his best friend in pity, Nick's eyes were screaming for
a few comfort words of reassurance.
Silently, Brian nodded and was glad to see the
line smoothed a little on Nick's forehead. The two cousins sat down next
to their friend.
"It's hella hard finding a parking spot in here." AJ commented, with Sarah by his side and Howie following them, as all three of them came down the hallway.
"Shut up." Sarah elbowed him on the sides. "You pick the worst time to complain." She hissed and AJ shrugged carelessly.
"What happened?" Howie looked at his little brother in concern.
"She ran a red light then..." Nick stopped when he saw the doctors leaving the room. "How is she?"
"Not so good. She lost a lot of blood due to the slit caused of the glass on her face, which will probably leave a scar. But plastic surgery will fix it. Tonight is most important, if she survives it, the chances are greater, if not..." Even though the doctor swallowed his words, everyone knew what the whole sentence was.
"Can we see her?" Kevin stood up.
"Sure. She's in room 741, we just transferred her there after the surgery." The doctor's expression clearly told them to say whatever they wanted since Angela won't make it.
"Thanks." Brian smiled weakly as Nick leaped out his position and shot down the quiet hospital hall then dashed into a room at the corner.
Nick set himself next to the woman he loved dearly. Her face was whiter than the clean linen bed sheets.
"Hey." He whispered as he ran his hand over the bandages on Angela's left cheek. The bandage covered half of her face. Her eyes closed as if she didn't have any strength to hold them open. Without knowing fully of what he was doing, Nick lifted the edge of the bandage and peeked in. The cut went It was a hideous cut, even though Nick wasn't sure there would ever be anything hideous about Angela, that cut sure changed his mind. It went from her temple to her delicious mouth. Pushing her lipline down into a frown, her feature changed, she looked like a stranger to him.
Oh, how much had he earned just to kiss her or even to hear her talk, even if they were words of anger or hatred. Nick remembered how delicate and tiny Angela had seen when she was close to him, his height towered over her, giving her a sense of protection and giving him a feeling of being a hero and what a crappy hero he turned out to be. Yet somehow he was relieved to see the face familiar to Michele's had disappeared. Michele felt like an old memory to him, hidden deep in his mind's file cabinet.
"I'm so sorry. I should have tell you this sooner, but hell, here I go." Nick grinned as if Angela was listening to him attentively.
"Your appearance was part of the reason I ask you out, but there were something else. Your laugh, your smile, your wink, the way you looked at me, the emotions your eyes had shown when we were together. I wanted to protect you when I first ran into you at Kevin's apartment door, so badly that I just wanted to snatch you up and lock you in a safe." Nick brushed his hair back as he recalled their first encounter. Her whole body had shouted innocence, vulnerability and fragility when she had turned and bumped into him. Her entire demeanor screamed for a person, anyone, to keep her from life's harsh reality. All the person had to do was to gaze into those big, frighten brown eyes and catch a glimpse of the disenchantment buried in their depths and he would be ready to slay dragons or move a mountain, Nick was the one of them. He pushed the bandage back down and smooth the sides.
"I just realized something while I was sitting outside. I don't care what you look like, whether if it's like a model or my past love. I fell in love with the you inside. Under the layers of defenses and walls you build up to keep yourself from hurt. I loved the way you say you love me, the way you giggle at my stupid jokes, even the way you yelled at me. Please, don't give up. For me and for yourself, don't make my realization become regret, I need you to go on. You're like the air I breathe, the water I drink, the ground I walk on. Without you, I can't go on with life. Not when I know what we had and what our future holds for us. Don't give up." Nick sobbed as he gripped on her hand harder.
The rest of the group stood at the doorway, staring at couple inside. Nick's speech shook them and moved their hearts. The girls eyes wet as the guy held their love ones closer.
"Let's leave the two of them alone." Howie whispered and the rest agreed with him then left the hospital.
Nick opened his eyes sleepily as the rays of sunshine shone on his face. He glanced around his surroundings. Filled with confusion, he soon remembered that he was at the hospital and Angela's accident. Angela! Nick jolted out the small, uncomfortable chair provided by the hospital and rushed to the side of the bed. It was empty. "Where is she?" Nick shouted, ignoring the 'whisper please' sign on the door as he ran out the room with the worst thought in his head. Angela was gone...