Written In The Stars: Book Two

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: FIX YOU

The sun was blaring through his window when Elijah opened his eyes, just beginning its descent. When he'd fallen asleep after he took out the casserole, it was just a little after one. Now as Elijah looked at his watch, he saw it was seven. There was a note on the coffee table in front as him, and he leaned up to grab it.

Elijah,

You were sound asleep when we got up. I put the casserole in the fridge and we took an Uber to go get our car. We know you still don't sleep well, so we didn't want to wake you. Come to the hospital when you wake up.

-Mary

Elijah rubbed at his eyes, grabbed his keys from the table, and slid his shoes back on, this time remembering to lock the door on the way out.

The drive didn't feel nearly as long this time around, and Elijah could find a spot quickly, compared to the night before. Not nearly as many drunk accidents on a Sunday night, he guessed. He'd already text Mary from the parking lot to see if her room number was the same, but that'd been a recovery room, and she'd now been moved to another one floor above.

It didn't take him long to find, and after he tapped a knuckle against the glass, he stepped in. It was only Mitch and Mary, with no Johnny boy in sight. In his defense, he'd stayed at the hospital longer than all of him.

When he locked eyes with Madeline, she didn't glare back at him, nor did she smile. It was a more lost gaze that had a target it couldn't quite focus on.

"You came back," Madeline said, her voice stronger than it'd been several hours earlier.

Elijah shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans, glancing over and Mary and Mitch until they got the hint, and left the room. "I wasn't sure if you wanted me to, but took a chance."

"I wanted you to," she answered, her tone sort of driftless and wandering. "I think. Honestly, I don't know how I feel about seeing you. Like I'm not supposed to be grateful for it, but I am. Does that make sense?"

He nodded at her, then went over to the blue chair in the corner, and dragged it over beside the bed before he sat in it. "I get it. We're still important to one another, even if you wish I wasn't. There's a big history there that goes beyond what we were to each other last time."

Madeline sucked in a breath, then looked over at him, her stare no longer appearing lost. "I heard we had a very interesting conversation. My doctor called it a tear-jerker."

Elijah let out a laugh, then allowed himself to get more comfortable in his chair. "It was a tough one," Elijah agreed. "I'm used to playing our story in my mind, but it's never easy saying it out loud, and it really wasn't easy saying it to you. Still, it was sweet, in a morbid sort of way."

Her laugh was short-lived, dying off as quickly as it'd arrive. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

Madeline gave him a slow nod, her eyes now seeming to study him. "You look the same, better even, but feel different somehow."

"I am different," he told her quickly. "Have a degree now, which is new, and I've got another one I'm working on. Figure a bunch of two-year degrees is more exciting than one big university degree. It lets me learn different things, at least. I took up painting in rehab, and I've been enjoying it. Work at a rehab facility now, ironically. Play piano. Well, keyboard. Don't really feel like lugging a baby grand into an apartment. Moved into a new place a couple of months back, which is pretty nice. Lots more room than I'm used to. Thinking about getting a cat, but we'll see. After I got out of rehab, I found a new therapist who's great. Got me on all the right medications."

Elijah let out a breath, then continued. "I'm in a good place in my life. I mean, it isn't perfect, but I'm doing okay. My head's not as dark anymore. It's not sunshine and rainbows all the time, but I've got a sense of peace, mostly. I've learned to keep my head busy with positive or productive things."

The smile that took over Madeline's face was a gentle one, reminiscent of better days between them. "Johnathan isn't your biggest fan, but I guess that isn't surprising. Having my first big love show up right after we get engaged can't be easy on him. I'm sorry if he lashed out at you."

"He wasn't too hard on me," Elijah told her. The guy could have been a way bigger asshole than he was, but their combined worry for Madeline kept them from having the energy to really have it all out. "Do you know when you're being released?"

"The doctors are saying three days. It's figuring out what to do after I get released that's the tricky part. Jonathan and I live in an upper duplex. The stairway to get up there is narrow, and impossible in my condition. My parents want me to come home with them. Mom's already called work and has been approved for a leave of absence, but the doctors want me to stay close by for appointments."

"Stay with me," Elijah said to her far too quickly, not so much as allowing the words to register in his brain before they came out of his mouth.

But it was too late to take it back now, and Elijah wasn't sure if he wanted to. "I have a two-story apartment. I can move the couch into the basement, and put one of those fancy beds in the living room. You know, the ones that go up and down with that remote?"

"Elijah," Madeline warned.

"I'd barely be helping," Elijah explained. "Your mom can stay for as long as it takes for you to heal. Most I'd do is help you get up and down the stairs for a bath. She could switch rooms with me, since my office is in the guest room, and fuck nuts can come over whenever he wants. And I'm sorry for calling him 'fuck nuts' out loud. I swear I meant to use his real name."

Madeline laughed. Truly laughed. So much so that she instantly regretted it with broken ribs. Her hand came up and her eyes squeezed shut as she willed herself to stop.

"It's practical, M&M. He might not like it, and I'm sure you have other options in the city, but I'm close to the hospital, have a truck to put your wheelchair in for appointments, I have enough space for both you and your mom if I move things around, and I want to help.

"More than that..." Elijah tried to find the right words to say it, but realized he just needed to jump right in. "When we ended last time, it fucked with my head in the worst possible way, and it still does. I'm in a decent place emotionally and mentally, but you and I are like this constant shadow haunting me.

"I'm not a part of your life anymore, and I accept that. But I think it would be good for me if we could change our ending. Something that's not so intense or earth shattering. Just a simple, 'I wish you well' at the end of all this. It's like I traded one nightmare for another, and I just want to replace our worst memories with something we deserve. Something that doesn't haunt me every day." Elijah rubbed at his neck, then moved his hand forward, noticing he desperately needed a shave. "I don't know. I'm probably just being selfish. This right here should be a good enough ending, shouldn't it?"

Madeline gave a subtle nod. "This is good," she agreed. "Better than I thought it would be. But that connection between us was never the problem. It's always been about who's going to leave who and when. And if memory serves me right, it's your turn to leave me."

A ghost of a smile crept up on Elijah's lips. "It will be if it's from this hospital, but if it was from my apartment, you'd get to leave me again. I'm not focusing on that part though, I'm focusing on how we choose to leave it. Anyhow, offers on the table if you want it. If you don't, let me know, and I'll come back to see you one more time before you get released. If that's okay."

"It's okay," Madeline told him.

Before, he'd left last time with a kiss on her forehead. This time, Elijah got up from his chair, went to the other side of the bed, and placed a kiss against her hand. "You have my number. Use it if you need anything."