'Til Death - Chris Motionless Love Story

Chapter Eighteen - A Hopeless Romantic and A Frigid Bitch

SALEM'S POV
I stood before Chris, silenced by his preposterous advance. He was a begging man, and showed it by getting on his knees, a sight I never in a million years thought I'd see. I never held such power to bring a man to his knees like this. His eyes were pleading, but I knew I couldn't give him the answer he wanted to hear. I pulled my hands back slowly and backed away from him. I left him there stranded on his porch with his heart practically yanked out of his chest. What does one even do when they turn down their bosses proposal? I couldn't just run again, that's what I did with the last one! My train of thought was recklessly derailed as I tried to figure out what the hell had actually just happened. I needed a drink. The moment I got into my apartment I put Gizmo down, then wandered over to my liquor cabinet. Ah, yes, good ol' Jack Daniels, you never let me down. I mixed it with a can of coke over ice, then stood in my kitchen as I tried to piece the puzzle together. One glass wasn't enough, though. Not even three, four, five... fuck, I'm out of coke. I gave it a shrug as I grabbed the bottle by the neck and chugged. It only hit when I tried walking to the bathroom to throw up. My vision was blurred, and there were two of everything in my house. It was almost as if someone had moved that damn table. My foot caught the leg of it, and I went down with a thud and a clatter, hitting my head on the way down. The last thing I saw was Gizmo whining in front of my face.

CHRIS' POV
"Fuck, come on, Salem, pick up your phone," I muttered as I neared her apartment. I needed to fix this, it was my fuck up. I need Salem to stay with me, to make my complete, whether she wants to get married or stay as partners, I need her. When I pulled up I swung into the parking spot next to her car, and rushed to the door. I began to knock and ring the doorbell, but nothing. I looked at my watch. 10pm, there's no way she's asleep by now. I could hear Gizmo whining and barking, which was highly unusual. She was usually fairly quiet even when someone knocked. Is Salem okay? Is Gizmo trying to tell me something was wrong? I began to feel around in my pockets, and found a bobby pin. Thank you difficult families for always making me prepared. I picked her lock and swung the door open only to see Gizmo howling and barking at an unconscious Salem. There was blood coming from the side of her head, and a bit of vomit coming from her mouth. I got down on the ground and pulled her onto my lap, then dialed 911.

"Salem, please, wake up, come on, baby," I begged, "don't do this to me, not you. I can't  lose you, too." Her eyes started to flutter slightly, and then they opened, revealing the beautiful emerald color that lays behind her eyelids. "Salem! Stay awake, damn it, don't close your eyes!" I exclaimed. Her eyes kept fluttering as she struggled to keep consciousness, her face going pale from blood loss. The paramedics arrived and quickly got her loaded, then let me get in the back with her.

"Does she have any allergies?" One of them asked. I struggled to think on it. Come on, Chris, you know this, damn it!

"Yes, she's allergic to acetaminophen, that's it." I hope that was all at least. That was all I remembered.

"Is she on any medications?" I knew this one!

"Yes! She's on Effexor, two times daily for depression. She doesn't have any other medical problems, though. Just depression and anxiety." When we arrived they had me stay back and begin the check in process.
Name: Salem Brook Alastair
Age: 23
Birthdate: 01/25/1999
Occupation: Funeral Director/Embalmer
Emergency Contact: Christopher Thomas Cerulli
Relationship to Patient: Significant Other
The nurse told me to take a seat and wait patiently, so I called the only person I knew to call in times of crisis...

"Thank you for showing up, Ricky. I'm just... I haven't been here since Lilith, and I am terrified," Ricky pulled me into a hug and gave my back a couple pats.

"Dude, I promise it will be okay. You said she hit her head? What happened?"

"I found an empty bottle of Jack Daniels in the kitchen, so my assumption is that she tried to make it to bed or the bathroom, and tripped over something. There was so much blood, so much. I mean, who knows how long she had been there!" As I panicked about all of this, the doctor came out. It was the same one from those months ago when she got raped.

"Ah, it's nice to see you again, Mr. Cerulli! I have an update on Salem, don't worry, it's all good. She did hit her head very hard, but there's no evidence of brain injury, or anything. We did staples on her head, it was an easy fix. Now, as for the alcohol, she was walking a fine line on alcohol poisoning. We have her hooked up with fluids right now, she will be just fine. I'll let you go sit in the room with her," he began to walk us back to where she was. I pulled a chair to her bedside and sat down, then grabbed her cold hand tightly in mine. I placed a soft kiss on it as I studied her face. She was incredibly beautiful, even when she was a drunken mess. Ricky took a spot on the uncomfortable hospital room couch and propped his feet up as he watched us.

"Chris," his voice was hushed, "not to be rude or anything, but what is so special about Salem?" What's so special? Everything! Everything under the moon! I wasn't even sure how to put it into words. I struggled to pull my thoughts together.

"It's almost as if her voice alone could tame every demon in me. But her touch... the moment I felt it I relied on it to give me oxygen. I'm such a fucking hopeless romantic that as she tried to leave me tonight I begged her to marry me. Ricky, I can't lose her. Anyone but her."

"Do you actually want to marry her?"

"I just need her by my side for the rest of my life. I know it sounds ridiculous, I know we just started getting serious, but I can not bare the thought of her leaving me. I am so stupidly in love with her, it's fucking ridiculous. She's everything to me, Ricky. Everything." Just then I watched as her eyes opened and heart rate started to rise. I never thought I'd be so relieved to see those green eyes in all my life. I quickly stood up and bent over her, placing a kiss on her forehead. The doctor came rushing in right away.

"Well, hello again! I'm glad you're awake!" The doctor exclaimed as he walked to the other side of the bed. He looked at her vitals, then pulled the rolling stool over to sit on it. "Alright, good news, there's no sign of concussion, your body is taking the fluids very well, and the baby is just fine!"

"The fucking what!?" Salem and I shouted in unison. The doctor scooted back, shocked by our response.

"The child that you're carrying. You didn't know?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Salem asked, her brow furrowed. The doctor pulled out a couple sonograms and handed them to her.

"You're about two, maybe three weeks along. So not too far in." Holy shit, it's mine. Salem studied the dark photos, looking at the tiny speck. Her eyes were filled with many emotions, and I was terrified of which one would come out first. I was frozen where I was, also fixated on the sonograms. It was hard to believe, but it was going to be harder to make a decision. "When you get released I suggest the two of you talk about your options. You have until 23 weeks to decide whether or not you'd like to go through with an abortion." That's a lot of pressure to place on a 23 year old.