Читать книгу A Ghost's Story - Jenna Lynn Bretz - Страница 16

Beep, beep, beep…

Where was that coming from? I opened my eyes. The light was so intense, I had to close them again. The pain. I hurt everywhere. I opened my eyes again. The room was white. I could see what appeared to be shadows of people. I closed them again. My throat burned. I tried to talk, but nothing came out. I could feel something in my throat. The beeping became more rapid. I tried to lift my hand, but I couldn’t. Something restrained me.

What the hell is going on?

But no one answered; I couldn’t speak. I opened my eyes again and tried to make out where I was. I couldn’t lift my head. There he was. Stanley was standing over me smiling. The whites of his eyes, red and dark circles beneath them. His face covered with a heavy stubble from the lack of shaving. I couldn’t hear him, but I could see his lips moving. He was holding my hand, which was tied down with something. My mother now joined Stanley. I could see tears rolling down her cheeks. Why was she crying? Liam and Angela were there too. Liam’s face was contorted with worry. I didn’t know what was going on. Liam left the room, then returned with what appeared to be a doctor. He shined a flashlight into my eyes. I squinted and tried to jerk my head away. Everyone smiled. I closed my eyes.

I could feel the warmth of a hand against my cheek. I struggled to open my eyes and focus on the face before me.

“Stanley.” My throat burned, but I was able to speak.

“Shhh, don’t try to talk. You were intubated. You had a tube down your throat. That’s why it’s hard to talk. Let your throat heal, and then you can talk.”

“Where am I?”

“You are in the hospital, baby.”

“Why? What happened to me?”

“Juliet, rest.”

“No, Stanley! Tell me what happened to me!”

“Okay, okay, baby I will tell you. You were attacked outside of your apartment.”

“I remember. Someone hit me in the head.”

“Yes, someone hit you in the head.”

“How long have I been here?”

“Three weeks, Juliet. You have been here for three weeks.”

I looked at him in disbelief. “Why? Why so long? What’s wrong with me, Stanley?”

“Nothing, baby, nothing is wrong with you. You are going to be okay. You have a fractured skull. You had surgery to remove bone fragments from your brain. You have been in a coma. The doctors were not sure you were going to make it. But I knew you would.”

Stanley held my hands to his face and cried. I cried too. I went on to spend two months at Mt. Sinai Hospital. I required physical therapy to regain the strength to stand and walk again. I also worked with an occupational therapist to regain fine motor skills to my hands, lost due to the damage done to my brain. Stanley never left my side. My mother, Liam, and Angela were also there every day. Stanley’s mother and father came to see me as well. After my release from the hospital, I was sent to a rehab facility where I spent the next year of my life. Stanley practically lived there with me. If he wasn’t at the hospital, he was there with me.

My body healed over time. My soul took a bit longer…

I began to have nightmares. A man would be holding me down. Pulling at my clothes. Pressing his hand over my mouth as the full weight of his body prevented me from moving. I would try to scream. But I couldn’t. I tried to fight him off, but the pain in my head would cripple me. I was so terrified. Then I would hear a voice, a gentle, calming voice. I would feel a tender and warm hand against my cheek. And when I opened my eyes, Stanley would be there to hold me. He would hold me until I stopped shaking. He would hold me while I cried. He would hold me until I fell asleep again.

The dreams never stopped. Although they did get less frequent.

Stanley never failed to be there to save me.

The day I walked out of my apartment, a man was waiting for me. He struck me in the back of my head with a lug wrench. The first time lacerating my head, the second time fracturing my skull. He found my keys, unlocked my door, and pulled me back into my apartment. He sexually assaulted me, then left me for dead in the floor of my apartment. Stanley went to the café that morning to share our signature breakfast. When he arrived, I was not there. He knew in his heart something was wrong. My coworkers confirmed that it was unlike me to just not show up without calling. Stanley ran the two blocks to my apartment. He saw the blood on the concrete outside my door. He kicked my door in and found me lying there, lifeless. Stanley performed CPR on me, saving my life.

They never caught the man who did this to me.

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