Yesterday

Chapter 34

CHARLOTTE'S POV

Beep. Beep. Beep.

That's the first thing I remember hearing. My first conscious thought was,

Crap. It didn't work.

I let my eyelids slowly drift open, almost a little scared of what I might see. My suspicions were immediately confirmed when I saw two nurses and a very official-looking doctor hovering over me.

"Why hello there, Miss Bell," he said carefully, and the two nurses quickly whipped around to face me at the mention of my name. They shuffled over to me and began adjusting all of the needles and other devices they had me hooked up to, which I had only just noticed then. I moved my arms as to stop them, but quickly pulled back when I felt the most uncomfortable pain in my stomach. I winced, and the doctor must have noticed. He let out a light chuckle, which made me angry. What was so funny about all this?

"Those pains that you're feeling are from your little procedure, but don't worry, they are only temporary and should fade away after a few hours."

I swallowed nervously. "Procedure?"

"Well, we did have to pump your stomach, but you had already been unconscious for so long that it appears you didn't even feel it. Which," he said, leaning in closer, "is a good thing. Getting your stomach pumped is one of the most unpleasant things you could go through."

I must have made a face, because he laughed again. "Don't worry, it's all over now. You'll be out of here in no time. You do have some visitors, though, and they've been dying to come in and see you -"

Before the doctor could even finish his sentence, I heard a muffled voice from the other side of the door.

"I heard her talking! She's awake! Please, let me go, let me in there!!"

This time, the doctor and I both laughed.

"You can let him in, Barbara. It's safe now."

The doctor hadn't even finished speaking yet before the door flew open and I saw Paul standing breathless in the doorway. He began to walk towards the door.

"I'll leave the two of you alone."

Paul acted as if he wasn't even there and slowly walked over to my bed, sitting down next to it. He grasped my hand firmly and my heart dropped when I saw that there were tears in his eyes.

"Charlotte...I thought I lost you," he said in nearly a whisper, rubbing his thumb in circles on my hand. I swallowed, trying to push the tears away.

"Paul, I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you anymore. It was all in the note-" Paul quickly cut me off, staring at me with wide eyes.

"Nothing would have hurt me more than knowing the most beautiful girl in the world was dead and I didn't do anything to stop it." He reached out and stroked my cheek softly. "I don't know what I would have done if I lost you, Charlotte." I didn't realize I was crying until Paul reached up to my face and wiped a tear away. Suddenly I was sobbing.

"Oh Paul, I'm so sorry," I wailed, and he leaned forward to give me a hug. I cried into his shoulder and turned my head so that my lips were nearly touching his ear. "I won't do anything like this again."

It was at that moment that I realized I needed Paul more than ever, and trying to shut him out was useless. I pulled away and looked at him.

"Paul, you saved my life."

His eyes were watery, but somehow managed to allow a quiet laugh to escape his lips.

"Actually, you can thank John for that."

Suddenly, I remembered the brief conversation I had with John moments before I had lost conciousness. I turned to Paul again.

"John, is he here? Are they all here?" Paul gave me a warm smile. "Yes love, they're all here. Even Brian came." He chuckled again before his face became more serious. "I just wanted a chance to talk to you first."

I was suddenly concerned. "Is something wrong?"

He leaned in and spoke in a quiet voice, as if it were a secret that he didn't want anyone else to hear. In fact, maybe it was.

"The doctors say you need to get some...Professional help. They said it isn't safe for you to just go home and act like everything is normal."

I frowned. "I don't need help, Paul. I'm fine and it won't happen again."

He put his hands up as if in surrender.

"Hey, I know that. But it's precautionary, and it's the doctor's orders."

I began to pout, when suddenly the door flew open and Ringo, George and John made their way into the room. "Hey Char!" Ringo said cheerfully, and the other two boys smiled warmly at me. I looked towards John and was about to thank him when he gave me a slight nod, as if to say,

'It's okay, don't even mention it.'

Brian trailed slowly behind the boys, his hands overflowing with bundles of flowers and stuffed animals, all saying "Get Well Soon!" I let out a hearty laugh at the sight of him. He made a face at me and shrugged.

I sighed in content. This whole recovery thing was going to go well, I knew it.