The One After [SHAWN MENDES]

Chapter 128

I couldn't open my eyes, but I heard a familiar beeping sound. It was a heart monitor, which I vividly remembered waking up to after my coma.

Was I in another fucking coma?

"She just moved her hand," a voice said excitedly. It was Shawn.

"Are you sure?" This time it was my dad.

"Yes. I felt her fingers wiggle in my palm!"

I tried to focus on my hand, and as I did so, I was aware that it was being held. Whatever I'd done before had been unintentional, but this time I made an effort to move my fingers on purpose.

"She did it again! Lulu...can you hear me?" Shawn asked. "Please open your eyes."

I centered my concentration on my eyelids and willed them open. My vision was fuzzy at first, and I suddenly remembered that something had happened in the restaurant. I'd gotten a headache and things turned blurry. Was this how I'd see from now own?

"Thatta girl!" my dad said enthusiastically. "Welcome back!"

I blinked a few times and things came into better focus. Shawn and my father were sitting side by side looking at me with happy expressions. This made no sense since my boyfriend was in Europe. That's when a devastating thought crossed through my muddled mind. What if I was just now waking up from the coma after my attack? Was the entire last year a dream?

"What day is it," I asked, my voice hoarse.

"It's August third," Shawn replied.

"What year?"

The two men exchanged a look, and then Dad stated, "2023."

"Oh thank god," I said with relief. I turned my gaze towards Shawn. "Are you my boyfriend?"

His face twisted in confusion. "Yeah, baby. I am. Do you not remember we got back together a month ago?"

"Just making sure."

An older female nurse hurried in the room and approached me on the other side of the bed. "Nice to see you awake, sweetie! We thought it might be a couple more hours. Let me contact Dr. Morris so she can come check on you. How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts. What happened?"

"You had several small brain aneurysms and emergency surgery to fix them. We've kept you in an induced coma to allow your pretty noggin to heal."

So I was in another coma.

She left and I looked at the two most important men in my life. I'd undoubtedly put them through hell, which made me feel terrible, so I started to cry.

Shawn leaned towards me and kissed me cheek. "It's okay, honey. You're going to be fine."

I didn't feel fine and the longer I was awake, the more my head hurt.

The nurse returned with a cup of ice chips. "Thought you'd enjoy these. One of these handsome men can help you eat them. Dr. Morris is in surgery, but she'll be here in a few hours. I'm going to give you something for the pain in your IV, which will make you sleepy. That's not a bad thing, though. Sleep is when you heal the most, and that's one reason we kept you sedated."

She put the medication into the injection port and while she checked my vitals and made notes on her iPad, I began to feel relaxed. I still had a headache, but it didn't bother me quite as much in this state. My head itched, so I reached up and touched it. I could feel a bandage covering most of my scalp, which alarmed me. "Am I bald?!"

The nurse smiled at me. "Nope, but try to keep your hands off your noodle, please. I cleaned your incision last night and you lost very little hair. It won't be noticeable at all."