Somebody to You

Ch. 57

Nick

The moment I stepped into the hall & the door to Joe's hospital room shut, the nurse stopped, abruptly & grabbed at her hip. "Crap. I'm being paged & I need to take this. Wait here & I'll be back to get you. I'm so sorry." She said, giving me a soft smile.

"It's fine." I said in a weak voice as I leaned against the wall. Honestly, I was in absolutely no rush to get Demi's belongings. I didn't want to see the reminder that she would never wear any of it. I didn't want a reminder that all I had left of her was a year's worth of memories.

I felt a hand on my arm & looked down to see my mom. "How are you holding up?" She asked in a soft voice.

"Not well, Mom."

She sighed, looking away, probably feeling guilty for asking me that question. "Any change with Joe?" She asked.

"He woke up, then he freaked when he couldn't feel his legs. After that we told him about Demi & he was so shocked that he slipped back into the coma. The doctor said that was a good sign though, that he woke up."

Mom's eyes clouded with sadness, so I put my arm around her shoulders & rubbed her upper arm to comfort her. She let out a grateful sigh. "I'm praying. I have your dad praying. Everyone I know is praying. I left Jules with Damon. He's sleeping, now, thank God. He kept asking for Demi & Joe." Mom's voice cracked & she reached up to cover her mouth with her hand. "I can't believe Demi is gone." She looked up at me & I swallowed, not able to really form any words. "I loved her & I am so grateful for all she did for you. She changed you & it was for the better. Now you know that you can fall in love & have a long term relationship. I was always so afraid you would always be alone, but now you could have a family one day, since she changed you." Mom seemed to be rambling on & I wanted her to shut up.

"I'm not going to have a family, Mom, if I can't have one with Demi. Enjoy your grandkids from Joe because you won't get any from me. I'm never falling in love again." My chin was trembling & I felt like I couldn't control it. I looked down at my watch. "Fifteen hours ago I was on stage with the love of my life & I had just started to realize that I wanted to make her my wife. Now, she's gone. The pain I feel right now is unbearable & I want to snap that truck driver's neck for falling asleep at the wheel instead of pulling into a rest stop to sleep. The love of my life is gone because of some idiot & I'm angry. I can't do this again. I can't fall in love again only to have her ripped from my life. This hurts worse than a breakup. I'm never ever doing this again." I was raising my voice to my mom & I hadn't realized it until I saw a few people looking in our direction. Mom grabbed me to hug me & I sobbed against her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, son. I shouldn't have even brought it up." Mom said in sorrowful whisper.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you." I said when she let go of me. Her hand touched my cheek & she smiled, forgiving me. "I don't know what I'll do if Joe doesn't pull through this." I sighed, loudly. "Jesus. It's almost 11. It's been almost 12 hours since Demi....." I couldn't even finish the sentence. I shook my head, feeling so angry I wanted to scream. "I need to talk to Joe. A nurse is coming back to take me to get Demi's personal effects, so if she comes back, can you please tell her to wait?" I asked Mom & she nodded.

I went into Joe's room & felt the lump come back into my throat when I saw Chloe crying over Joe's unconscious body. I cleared my throat when I was closer & Chloe jumped, slightly. "Did you get Demi's things already?" Chloe asked sitting up.

"Not yet. The nurse got paged. Do you mind if I have a few minutes alone with Joe?"

Chloe stood up, shaking her head. She bent down to kiss Joe's lips, softly. "I'll be back, sweetie. I'm going to call & check on the babies. I love you." Chloe smiled as she looked down at Joe, then she sighed & left me alone with my brother.