Don’t Forget to Remember Me Read Free Page B

her as soon as I possibly could.
    My face was surely swollen and red and I
couldn’t speak without the telltale signs of my tears lacing my
voice, but I didn’t care. I had a new resolve. Julia was going to
be fine. She was going to live and I would be right beside her for
the rest of my life. This was a detour, a little bump in the road.
I would expect a full recovery, to move to New York as planned and
then our wedding.
    My vision blurred again.
    And, we’ll have more babies, Julia. Gorgeous
babies with your amazing eyes.
    I’d felt such joy at the knowledge that she
was carrying my child, however fleeting it was before it had been
replaced with horrible devastation at the loss. Sharing that with
her was something I wanted. Desperately.
    The elevator doors opened into ICU and I
stopped to use the hand sanitizer that was located in the hall
before the double doors and then pushed my way through. Jenna, who
was off of her shift in ER, was waiting with Aaron and she motioned
toward a room to her right. I preceded them in, bracing myself for
the sight I was about to face.
    Julia was lying in a mire of wires and
machines; beeping and wheezing noises violating the silence. There
were cold packs around her head, her face swollen and bruised. The
vent tube was coming out of her mouth and there were IV’s in both
arms. Everywhere I looked there were tubes. Her arms lay above the
covers, pale even up against the white blanket. I dropped to my
knees beside her bed, fresh tears beginning again.
    “Julia, I’m so sorry, baby. I’m here, my
love.” My voice aching as I bent to kiss her cheek softly, my hand
closing around her still one. “Please…come back to me.”
    Of course she didn’t move and maybe she
couldn’t hear me considering her drug induced coma, but I had to
say the words. My forehead rested on the hand I held as I willed
her to feel my presence beside her.
    Aaron pulled a chair close to Julia’s
bedside and offered it to me. “Ryan, I’m going to take Jen home.
I’ll be back.”
    “Uh,” I turned and stood to embrace them
both. “Aaron, you don’t have to come back tonight. It’s so late.
I’ll wait for the others. They will be here soon.”
    “Mom and Dad called while you were outside.
They landed at Logan and are catching a cab. Dad’s coming straight
here, but sending Mom to get a hotel room and drop off their bags,”
Aaron said as I let him go and sat down in the chair.
    “Okay. Thank you both for being here.
Especially you, Jenna. I can’t tell you how much it helped having
you in there when I couldn’t be.” I hugged her again and she wiped
her eyes as I released her.
    After they left, I moved closer so that I
could hold Julia’s hand and my thumb rubbed back and forth over the
top of her fingers. The nurses came in to monitor her vital signs,
although I was watching them myself, and to change the cold packs
around her bandaged head. Her breathing was shallow, even with the
vent, but her pulse was strong. I was told that Dr. Brighton would
be in at 6 am to check on her.
    I couldn’t take my eyes off her or the damn
machines that kept reminding me of the gravity of the situation
with their sounds. Every second felt like a year. My eyes were
burning and dry. I pressed the heels of my hands to both of them
and rubbed. I brushed her right hand with my lips and then settled
in, looking away from her face, unrecognizable with swelling and
angry bruises, only to check on her vitals.
    Paul arrived first, still in a suit, but
rumpled…looking as rough as I felt. I stood to embrace him. We both
held onto each other for dear life. “I’m so sorry, Paul. I’d give
anything if I could take this away.”
    He didn’t say anything, but moved to the
edge of the bed and looked down at Julia. He gasped in shock as he
took it all in. “It doesn’t even look like her.” His voice broke on
the last word. “Julia?”
    I put my hand on his shoulder and
squeezed.
    “Can you fill me in?” he asked