Chapter 23:
Nadia's POV:
'Why's my head throbbing too much?' I wondered as I blinked several times, trying to get used to the lights.
"Are you okay?" A familiar male's voice echoed in the room but his voice seemed distant and muffled in the air "Nadia, how do you feel?"
I stared at the white ceiling for few seconds before I dared to turn my head in order to face the source of the voice. The moment I turned my head, Zack's stressful face greeted me with a weak smile and furrowed eyebrows while has sitting beside me on the bed.
'Wha is he doing here?' I thought to myself as I analyzed my surroundings 'I'm still in the hospital'
The events of that days came rushing back to me, from the dinner in Sarah's house to standing up in front of the doctor to receive the new. My eyes started watering when I remembered what the doctor informed me earlier'We're sorry for your loss, we did our best to save him but his heart was already weak when he arrived here'
Jake! He wasn't a part of out world anymore, he just died, and I left it happen, I didn't protect him as I said I would, I didn't keep my promise after all, I just left his mother come back to his life and take it away, it was all my fault, the blame is all on me.
My head hurt so badly but my heart's pain was way stronger, it was pressing on my nerves and I suddenly felt out of breath. I tried to inhale and exhale deeply but my tries were useless and I ended up by being suffocated, drowning under nonexistent water.
"I need to breath, take me out" I stuttered the words, forcefully.
"Is it okay if I take her out?" Zack asked the nurse who stood beside my bed.
"It's okay, but be careful" She took my hand and pointed a light at my eyes "I want you to follow the light, how are you feeling?"
"I need some fresh air" I stated, clearing my dry throat.
"Okay, your husband will take you to the hospital's garden, can you walk?" She caressed my hand, tenderly.
"Yes, I believe I can" I answered her, hurriedly.
I just wanted to be out of there.
With that, the nurse helped me to get out of bed, and Zack was by my side in a matter of a second; I stared at him as he dropped to his knees and put the slippers on my foot, he took off his jacket and put it around my shoulders since it was cold outside, then he took my hand and started leading me out of the room.
'How can he be so nice?' I kept staring at him while he opened the door and stepped out 'But what was is doing there? How did he know that I am in Chicago?'
My head pounded a lot and I felt like I was on a roll-coaster so I pushed my questions to the back of my mind, Â I laid my head on Zack's shoulder and snuggled into him; Â I really missed him and I needed someone by my side for few minutes, I was tired of being strong.
Col was outside the room when we stepped out, he hurried to my side and put his hand on my shoulder; I eyed him then lowered my gaze to his hand and remained still for few seconds until he retreated his hand and slipped it back in his pocket.
"How are you?" He rubbed the back of his neck, nervously.
"I'm fine, just needed some air" I answered him, curtly.
"Okay, I'll be right over here if you needed anything" He stated before he sat on a chair and started playing with the cap of his cup.
Without spelling a word, Zack nodded his head at me and started walking me through the hallways of the hospital. I hated hospitals because hey reminded me of the day my father died, and back to the that moment, they were going to remind me of Jake and what happened to him.
We walked in silence, none of us dared to spell a word and I liked it that way, because I was sure that the second words were spelled, things would be ruined for me, therefore, I acted like a coward for once and just kept my mouth shut.
The hospital didn't have a big garden and the tables were packed with people although it was really late, so I just gestured at a beautiful tree behind the table at the back and we both headed to it. As soon as we were standing beside it, I threw myself on the dirt and laid my head back on the tree.
The stars were beautiful that night, they were shining and the sky was clear, no clouds to sabotage the wonderful image. I wondered if Jake was watching me, if he was blaming me for what happened to him, and if he would forgive me someday for not paying so much attention to him, for not not taking care of him like I used to.
All of my frustration from what happened with Zack and Col, trying so hard to keep up with everything at college and home, and lastly, Jack's death, it all came out in that instant when I suddenly couldn't catch my tears and I started crying hysterically.
"Hey, hey" Zack dropped to his knees beside me and caressed my cheeks "Things will be alright" But I didn't answer him "I'm right here by your side" He sat beside me and pulled me to him till I was sitting on his lap and he engulfed me in his arms.
I cried my heart out, I cried for everything that I kept inside for so long, under the name of being strong, I just let it all out, and Zack was right there hugging me like I was going to run away, caressing me like I was about to break and whispering soothing words in my ear like I was a baby, who just had a nightmare.
I cried until my eyes were dry and sore, however, I remained in the position of earlier. I was sitting on Zack's lap, my head snuggled in his chest and my hands rested on my waist, awkwardly. I felt comfortable in that position, I felt safe and secure. I was so engrossed in the moment that I fell asleep in Zack's arms.
I blinked several time before I could open my successfully to meet Zack's face, he was asleep as his head rested on the tree. He seemed peaceful and extremely adorable, which was not an adjective I would use on him if he was wide awake.
A cold breeze fanned my face and I suddenly shivered because of it, making Zack snap his eyes open immediately and pull me closer to his chest. I chuckled at his reaction and just gazed at him as he took his time to understand what just happened.
"I just shivered and you almost had a heart attack" I stated, lifting my head a little bit to look at his eyes.
"I thought you were leaving already" He spoke lowly, tugging a stay of hair behind my ear "And I was really comfortable, having you like this in my arms"
"I had a peaceful sleep as well" I commented, feeling my cheeks heat up as he put his hand on my face.
"Good to know that" He told me before he added "Let's just agree on leaving this past week aside for now"
"What do you mean?" I asked him, confusingly.
"I don't want to leave you right now, and if we start talking, we'll ruin this moment and we'll lose this peace" He gestured at the both of us with his forefinger "Can we?"
I thought of what he said for moment, he was absolutely right, I didn't want to ruin the intimacy we shared, even if it was just a lie we made to find comfort in each other's presence. Therefore, I nodded at him and said "Okay but we have to talk about it later, I have somethings that I want to know"
"Yes, me too" He smiled down at me.
He shifted uncomfortably underneath me and I felt guilty since while I was sitting on his lap, he was sitting on the hard ground. So I decided to reduce the pressure on him by standing up and sitting beside him, but as I was about to move, his hands were wrapped around my waist in a matter of seconds and he pulled me closer to his chest "Don't even think of it"
"Of what?" I played dumb.
"Standing up"
"Why?"
"Because I missed how your cheeks turn red whenever I touch you" He started drawing circles on the thin material of the robe I was wearing.
"Stop making me blush" I hit his chest, playfully.
"Why would I? You look beautiful when you blush" He kissed my forehead, leaving his lips lingering on my skin for a while "I missed you"
"I missed you too" I lifted my head and kissed his cheek.
Zack's POV:
I couldn't believe that I was actually with Nadia and she just kissed me on the cheek because it felt surreal and like a dream. I didn't know how much I really missed her until I had her in my arms like before, that's why I asked her to leave the previous week aside.
I still didn't know who Jack was but I didn't want to ask her about it as well, she had a hard time controlling her tears two hours ago and I didn't want to push her to remember just yet, she would have all the time in his funeral to grieve.
We sat in the same position for about thirty minutes after, until Col came running toward us, his face seemed pale as if he had seen a ghost. As soon as he reached us, he eyed Nadia's head which was then on the crock of my neck but he recovered immediately and said "Jake's mother is here, she wants to organize the funeral"
'Jake? Why is this name seem so familiar? And wasn't the patient who died Jack?' I felt so confused at that moment but I masked it immediately 'I would find out the truth later"
Nadia tensed in my arms and told me that she had to go therefore I helped her to stand up and we all ran back to the hospital, hurriedly. We stopped at the reception of the hospital where a woman who seemed about thirty years old, was yelling at the receptionist to give her the necessary papers.
"What do you think you are doing here?" Nadia stepped-in, her hands fisted by her side.
"Jack's my son, I am responsible of the body" The woman yelled at Nadia, gaining the attention of the few people who were there.
"He's Jake to us, and he was never a son to you" Nadia retorted, breathing hardly, obviously to control her anger.
'I had never seen her that angry before' I thought to myself as I watched the exchange of words.
"I'm his mother" The woman stated proudly.
"Oh really? You only used him to get money from grandpa and when I stepped in the picture and showed you your limits, you threw him away" Nadia shouted her, madly.
"Two years ago, you gave me an amount of money like I was a trash" The woman replied immediately "You only did what you did in order to look like the hero once again"
"You almost caused his death when you didn't pay attention to his allergies nor his medical treatment, you never really cared, you only wanted the money" Nadia glared at the women, annoyingly "Heck, you didn't care about him yesterday when you took him out of school and then caused his death" Nadia's cheeks heated up and I felt like she was going to cry "I'm pressing charges on you"
"You can't" The woman flinched slightly.
"Watch me" With that, Nadia turned her head and was about to move away when she turned her head and added "I treated him just like I treated Sam when he was around, I really loved the child"
I watched Nadia as she passed beside me and hurried to the bathroom, her eyes full of tears. I was in pain for her, she fought hard although she was breaking piece by piece inside, and she kept her facade intact in moments when she only wanted 'needed' someone to be by her side to comfort her.
The woman kept staring at Nadia's back for few seconds until Nadia disappeared in the bathroom. The woman seemed familiar, I knew I saw her before but I couldn't point out where exactly, maybe on the road? Nadia said something about giving her money two years ago, did she blackmail her?
As if someone splashed cold water on my face, I remembered the day of the accident two years ago when I thought that Nadia blackmailed a woman with her son; her son seemed a child of four years old, which meant that he would be at least six years old, Sam's age, and he was her friend. So have I seen him before?
'Jake, he was the little boy that Nadia was hugging the day of the encounter with Col in the parking lot of McDonald's' I started remembering facts and incidents.
Everything made sense out of a sudden, Nadia wasn't blackmailing the lady two years ago, she was just giving her money to stay away from Jack or Jake's life since she was only harming the poor child. Nadia was being her unselfish self again, and there I was that day yelling at her for things that she hadn't committed.
'I feel ashamed of myself! What have I done?' I scolded myself mentally for everything that I ever told her before since I was being judgmental.
Leaving Col to deal with the woman, I headed to the bathroom and knocked gently, calling out Nadia to come out. I needed to talk to her immediately. However, she wasn't answering so I asked a passing girl to go inside to check up on her for me, fearing the idea that something bad happened to her while she was just alone.
The girl came back after two minutes and told me that Nadia was just taking a moment to think and asked me to leave her all alone for few minutes. A part of me wanted to listen to her words but the other part, pushed me to open the bathroom's door and get her out. And I personally chose to follow the second part of me.
The girl told me that no one was in the bathroom so I asked her to stay outside and keep people away just for two minutes. She agreed immediately, stating that I was so romantic and that she would do anything to help reunite two lost lovers.
Teenagers and Drama.
Nadia was standing beside the wall, leaning her head on it, with her eyes closed. She seemed tensed and still touched by what happened moments ago. I walked toward her and stood beside her while she didn't even seem to acknowledge my existence.
"How are you?" I asked her, elbowing her, slightly.
"What do you think?" She lifted her head to look at me.
"You seem touched by what happened earlier and you're apparently trying to gain your composure again" I replied, turning her to face me "You don't have to feign being strong in front of me"
"I got used to it Zack, and we're not standing on the safe side anymore, you and me; so I don't know if I should drop the veil right now or keep it in place"
"Even if we fight, I will always care about you" I stroked her cheeks, tenderly.
"Yeah right, just like you were there when Abby texted you" She snapped at me.
"I came" I confessed and she snapped her head up immediately.
"Did you?" She looked at me, disbelievingly.
"You were sleeping peacefully in Dillon's arms, I didn't want to disturb you" I admitted, smiling at her, genuinely.
"But it was you that I wanted to be with, not Dillon" She bit the corner of her lower lip, nervously "I even had a dream that u were kissed my forehead and caressed my cheek" She chuckled lightly "I was stupid"
"But I did it for real"
"Really?"
"Yes" I answered her, hugging her tightly to me chest as her arms found their way around my waist. We stayed like that for couple minutes, not spelling a single word, just wrapped in each other's arms "I missed you"
"I missed you too" She buried her head in my chest.
In that instant, I had a strong urge to just grab her by the hand and take her away from that hospital. I wanted to show her how much she meant to me although we still had our issues and problems, because in moments when someone feels down, all he/she needs is someone to stand by his/her side and be comforted.
I pulled an inch away, cupped her face in my hands, leaned down and brushed my lips on hers directly since one look in her eyes gave me a new found courage and guts to do so. She was surprised at first but then she gained her composure again and returned the kiss with the same lounging I felt for her.
The kiss soon turned from a gentle and sweet kiss to a hot and needy one so I broke it and pulled back in order to inhale a deep breath. We both were breathing heavily and we needed some air so I just gestured at the door, and she nodded her head, approving shyly, her cheeks' color was as red as a tomato's. However, before we went out, I grabbed her by the waist and hugged her tightly to my chest.
I wanted her to feel safe... !!!
*****
/*What a nice way to end a chapter, isn't it?*/
/*Finally Nadia and Zack are together but will they stay in that piece?*/
/*What do you think about it?*/
/*I hope you like this chapter*/
/*The next chapter will be published next Friday March, 31st*/
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/*Kisses-N*/