Till death do us part

Chapter 28: Do you know me? - Present time

Cora's POV

I had been in the cafeteria since the incident. I often wondered if I should just give up and go home. Maybe I should let Rose be for now. Maybe I should go home and be a mother for Hope. Maybe I should just let it all rest.

I emptied my cup of coffee and sighed deeply. Another one down. Another hour had passed. What was I still doing here? My presence clearly didn't help Rose. I should just go home... Yes, I should.

I got up and brought my cup of coffee to the trash. I threw it away and started making my way to the exit of the hospital. Before I left though, I turned around to look back. It felt weird to leave this place after so many weeks of staying here day and night... But it was time to leave now.

"Cora!"

I looked up, at the top of the stairs. I saw Dara, waving frantically. I frowned. What was she doing?

"Cora!" She gestured me to go to her.

I sighed but decided to go to her. I slowly made my way towards her. I figured all she could say was that Rose was still forgetting everything. Or she would blame me again for how I reacted to Rose... I just wasn't in the mood to hear anything else about Rose's condition.

"Cora," She said again as I approached her. She was a bit out of breath, it seemed she had run to me. "It's important..." She breathed in and out a few times. "It's Rose..."

I put my hand up to stop her. "I know," I put my hands in my pockets. "I know I acted wrong, I don't need to hear it anymore."

"No, Cora," She breathed in and out again. "Rose, she - "

"Yes, she forgot, I know," I sighed deeply. "Honestly, Dara, you could've saved yourself the trip here," I zipped my jacket closed and turned around. "I think we can bury the hope of Rose ever remembering anything again." I then started walking away.

"No, Cora, it's important," She ran after me, pulling on my sleeve. She clearly wanted me to follow her. "Cora, please!"

I groaned and looked at her. "What is so important that you don't leave me be?"

She seemed to get angry then. "Rose!" She breathed out a few times. "She remembers you!"

My mouth opened but nothing came out. I was just shocked. I blinked a few times, as if I wanted to wake up from a dream. I looked at Dara and saw she was smiling at me and nodding, showing me she was also happy to deliver me this news. "S-she remembers me?"

"Yes," She got a hold of my hands. "We visited her and talked to her but she was looking for you," She squeezed my hands a bit. "Her wife."

I gulped and looked away. For so long, I had been trying to make her remember. For so long, I had been by her side so she'd remember me. Finally, she did. I looked at Dara again. "I have to see her."

She nodded. "Let's go to your wife."

___________________________

We ran to the elevators and were catching our breath during the elevator ride. We then ran towards Rose's room. But, before I'd go in, I stopped.

Dara looked at me. "What's wrong? Why aren't you going in?"

I gulped. "What if she's angry with me?"

She frowned. "Why would she be angry?"

I looked down. "I was so mean to her last time, it was wrong," I gulped. "I should've been more patient."

"Cora," She said, gaining my attention. "You have been very patient with her," She paused a bit. "You were frustrated by the lack of progress and it got to you," She patted my shoulder. "Rose won't blame you for that."

"Do you think so?"

"I know so," She showed me a small smile. "Rose is a very sweet person, and she loves you."

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Let's go."

We entered the room and saw Naheed and Rose laughing. Naheed was doing some stupid acts, probably to try to make Rose laugh. It worked, so I won't comment on it.

When they saw us enter, they both looked at us. Rose looked at me and smiled. "Cora, you're here."

I gulped again. "I am," I slowly walked to her and sat down on the chair next to her, my spot for the past few weeks. "I'm here, Rose."

She smiled at me. "I was worried when I didn't see you, you're always here."

I nodded and looked down. "I'm sorry I left," I gulped again. "I was mean to you and I'm sorry," I looked at her and saw how she was looking at me with the love I once saw. "I'm here for you now, I love you."

She smiled. "I love you too."

Dara and Naheed seemed to feel a bit much in the room. While Dara tried to exit the room slowly and quietly, Naheed had to bump into several things before shutting the door loudly.

I chuckled a bit. "Naheed..."

She nodded.

I looked down briefly before looking at her again. "Dara told me you remembered me," I said, gaining a nod from her. "How?"

"Hope made a drawing for me," She took the drawing and showed it to me. "This is us," She said and pointed to 3 figures on the drawing. "I always felt a connection to you but seeing this drawing," She then looked at me. "I just remembered."

When she said that, I couldn't help but get emotional. I started crying instantly. Those words, it was all I wanted to hear for so long. Finally, it was here.

"Why are you crying? I thought you'd be happy."

I chuckled a bit. "I told you before: only bad things happen in hospitals."

She smiled and responded in a way that I knew she was becoming the old Rose again: "Hospitals aren't always a bad thing, Cora."

I shook my head, I was so happy. I got up and got onto her bed, I finally hugged her the way I've wanted to since we first got here. And when she hugged me back, I knew we were finally making progress.