The Song

Part Seventeen

“Aston I don’t want to upset you…”

“No, you need to hear this,” he said, “It’s important.”

“Ok.”

“Where do I start?” he sighed, running his hand over the top of his hair.

“How about I get you a beer?” I smirked.

He looked up, giving me a half-hearted smile, “Thanks.”

I got up from the table and grabbed a beer out of the fridge, struggling to uncap it and then passing it to Aston. I got myself a glass of water and sat back down, my eyes trained on him as he played with the label on the bottle.

“Ok, so…” he started, still trying to find his words, “It started out like a normal day I guess. We woke up at the same time and got ready. You were supposed to teach lessons down the road… There’s a fancy primary school and you teach a few of the kids during the week.”

“That’s cool.”

“Things were a bit rushed,” Aston said, “My car to work was fifteen minutes early and I hate leaving them in the front drive. You know, don’t want them looking in my place and stuff. I grabbed a banana for breakfast and pretty much ran out, leaving you to fix yourself something to eat and get ready for the day.”

“Sure,” I said, sipping my water. So far this all sounded kind of normal. Like how a married couple would live their lives on any given day.

“Fast forward maybe an hour and a half,” Aston said, “I was sitting in a waiting room at a radio station, ready for an interview with the boys, and my phone would not stop going off. It was an unknown number, and I never answer those so I switched it off completely.”

“Oh,” I said, “It was the hospital?”

“Yeah I had a few voicemails,” Aston said, “Maybe ten minutes later one of the receptionists at the radio station came running in saying I had a phone call. I was a bit confused as to why I was getting a call at the radio station, but when the woman on the other end of the phone said she was calling from the hospital it all started to fall together.”

“How did they know to call the radio station?” I asked. This seemed weird to me.

“Luck. One of the nurses on the floor had overheard them stressing out about not being able to get a hold of me or your Mum and mentioned she heard I was going to be on the radio.”

“That is lucky,” I said.

“I honestly have no idea what the nurse said to me,” Aston said, “I was so shocked when she said you’d come in by ambulance that I tuned the rest of it out. Without a word to anyone I left the radio station and got in a cab… There were a ton of fans outside and they seemed pretty shocked by my sudden departure.”

“Seriously,” I muttered, enraptured by the story.

“I got to the hospital maybe twenty minutes later and was told you were in emergency surgery.”

“Surgery?” I asked, “The doctor never mentioned surgery!”

“Your arm,” Aston said, “They put a pin in it.”

“Oh yeah,” I replied, remembering that it had been mentioned. I had to go get it out in a few weeks time.

“A doctor explained to me what happened and I nearly lost it then and there.”

“What happened?”

“You were riding your bike to the school,” Aston said quietly, his eyes staring at the beer bottle in front of him, “There was a witness who explained everything. They said there was a lot of traffic and a cab cut out in front of a bus that was trying to change lanes. To avoid colliding with the cab the bus went back into its original lane, right to the place that you’d just moved into on your bike. There wasn’t much you could do… You got thrown off your bike onto the sidewalk, broke your arm, and knocked your head pretty hard.”

“Oh my god,” I whispered. Not fully comprehending what he was saying.

“Everyone at the hospital said if you hadn’t been wearing a bike helmet you would have died.”

I felt my mouth go dry at this. No one had said anything about that to me. The thought of how close to death I’d been was absolutely and utterly terrifying.

“The next bits you know,” Aston said, “You were out for a few days and then woke up. No memory and a broken arm.”

“Wow,” I said, not realizing that my hands were shaking in my lap.

“It’s hard to put into to words how I felt,” Aston continued, “At first I was in shock. They said you were in pretty bad shape, and you were under almost constant care that first twenty-four hours. I wasn’t even allowed into the room with you so I stayed all night in the waiting room. I just sat and stared at the tiled floor, begging whatever fate that had turned against us to take care of you, to help you pull through.”

I felt the tears start pricking my eyes at this, Aston already crying freely.

“The thought that I could lose you was unbearable. I refused to do anything but sit at the hospital until you woke up. I needed to see those pretty green eyes of yours again.”

“Ast…”

“I know you don’t remember us, but you’ve got to know that I’d die for you Jess. I’d so rather it had been me than you… I really can’t live without you. I love you so much…”

I watched on as he completely broke down, dropping his head into his hands. It was heartbreaking to watch, a grown man totally destroyed over something that was completely out of his control.

“Aston,” I whispered, trying to calm him. He didn’t respond so nervously I slid off my chair over to the one round the side of the table, touching his back gently.

“I gambled with them,” he whispered, “I told the fates that if I could just get you back I’d do anything… And they did this to us…”

I pushed a stray tear off my cheek, gently touching Aston’s back again.

“I’m so sorry Jess,” he finally said, sitting up and catching my eye. He looked so hurt and lost, and honestly I had no idea what to do to help him.

“It’s not your fault, none of this is your fault,” I told him, “This was all just bad luck.”

“Still…”

“If everything you’re saying about us is true, we’ll figure it out. We’ll pull through.”

“I hope you’re right,” Aston said, another sob coming on.

I put my hand on his shoulder and watched him try to compose himself, hoping that what I said was true.

“Can I hug you Jess,” he asked after a minute.

“Yeah…”

Carefully he wrapped me up in his arms, burying his head in my shoulder and continuing to cry unreservedly.

I allowed myself to melt into his warm embrace, my body comfortable and surprisingly at ease. Tentatively at first, I put a hand on his strong back, rubbing it gently in an effort to soothe him.

“It’ll be ok,” I whispered.

“I hope so,” Aston said into my hair, “Because I miss my wife.”