Promise Me Forever

Coma.

That’s what the nurse said as to why Jade wouldn’t wake up. She explained that when she fell and hit her head, a part in her brain was damaged that set in the coma. But, we were also told that when she awoke, that she might not remember us for a while.

That’s what hurt the most. The fact that she might not remember me. It would make it overly easy for Josh to come and convince her that he was her boyfriend, and I wasn’t.

They weren’t sure how long the coma would last, but the memory effect was only her short term memory. Val did some research and short term memory loss usually only lasts for a month. That wasn’t so short for me, because I’d only met Jade a mere 4 days ago, and I might already loose her.

Her hospital room was white, like most. There was a TV in the corner of the room, but it was turned off. Television held no interest for me right now. And person occupying the room couldn’t do much but breath now.

There was a table on the side of the room, by the window and Val was currently in one, while I’d drug one over to the side of Jade’s bed.

We’d been here for about four hours, and Matt, Brian, and Michelle had stopped by to see what was going on. Val started crying when we broke the news to them, and Matt redeemed himself from their small argument earlier by asking her to come to dinner with him later tonight.

“What time are you leaving?” I asked Val breaking the silence that had been present in the room for so long.

“Matt said that we were leaving at eight, so I’ll probably have to leave here at six to get home and ready on time. And it’s five thirty now,” she answered not looking up from whatever she was doing on the computer.

I slid my cell phone open and clicked on the envelope, going to my messages. I opened a new SMS text and sent it to Brian.

You can Michelle want to come to the hospital? Val’s leaving at six and I don’t think I want to be alone.

I clicked the send button and closed my phone.

I got a text back just a minutes later, but it didn’t surprise me. Both of them texted fast.

Sure, we’ll be there in 20 min.

I put the phone back into my pocket and stood up from the chair I’d been sitting in for hours on end. I mumbled something to Val about going to get a snack then stepped outside of the depressing room, and into the barren hallway.

You’d think that it being a hospital in Huntington Beach there would be more people here. But, since Jade might be one of their long term patients, they decided to put her on the top floor with the rest of them. I walked over to the elevator and pushed the button going down. The little red numbers at the top told me that the elevator was three floors away, on level three.

There wasn’t anyone in there when the doors opened, but a man looking a little older than I got on with a little boy that looked about three years old, on the second floor. That stopped and made me think.

If the guy was around twenty-seven, then he was twenty-four when the boy was born. I noticed a plain ring on his finger, and realized that his wife might in the hospital. The ‘I’m a big brother’ sticker on the little boys shirt, confirmed my thoughts. His wife had a baby.

I smiled, thinking about how much I wanted a family. And if I play my cards right, and get Jade back when and if she comes out of her coma, then I might just get my dream sooner then I thought.

The first floor of the hospital was bustling. There were people rushing to get to the places they needed to be, patients in wheel chairs being taken into rooms. But, the café was on the first floor and that was the only place where food was available.

I ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and soda. Thankfully that this hospital actually had good food, unlike most. I paid for my meal, and they gave me the cup to get my soda. I filled it to the rim of Mountain Dew, and walked back over to the register where they were putting stuff on my trey.

When the burger and box of fries were placed on the trey, I quickly snatched them up and went to the salad bar to put tomatoes and pickles on the burger.

----------------------------------

“Attention, all visitors. The visiting hours are now over, the staff would like you to please say your goodbyes and if you wish to come back tomorrow visiting hours are from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.. Thank you and have a good night,” the voice spoke from over the intercom.

“We’ll see you tomorrow man, night,” Brian said as he and Michelle left me alone in the room.

I looked down at Jade, some of her color had returned, and her breathing patterns were back to normal. I leaned down and kissed her forehead, before retreating out of the room and back into the empty hallway.

I’d come up with a theory as to why no one came to this floor.

It was rather depressing. The patients, were unconscious, and I’d bet that most of them had been here for while. It’s sad to say that most of their families had probably given up on them. I’d never give up on Jade.