Times running out (a Bret Von Dehl love story)

Chapter 20

I woke up to the sound of a soft beeping, my eyes opened and darted around the white and chrome themed hospital room which had horrendous lighting.

Slowly, and with a little physical strain, I sat myself up. I was sore, REALLY sore, but it wasn't unbearable.

What really worried me was the bandage that was securely fastened around my head like a bandana.

For a few minutes I was fuzzy.

What had happened? Why was I in the hospital? who else was involved?

Thoughts bombarded me until suddenly, all at once, a wave of memory washed over me.

I began to panic.

"WHERE THE HELL IS MY BRET!? HE BETTER BE OKAY!" I cried out.

Small streams of tears began to fall from my eyes.

I suppose a few doctors heard me because a doctor and a nurse came rushing in.

"Oh my." said the nurse. " You're awake, good."

"Calm down. we'll take you to see your boyfriend... your friends explained the situation." said the doctor.

He helped me up as I panicked, needing to know if Bret was okay.

I walked down hall after hall lined with people who had ailments ranging from a virus that had gotten out of hand to cancer that had spread all over the patient's body, I was so glad that I was only in the hospital due to injuries.

They took me into a small room where Bret lay, and I was horrified at what I saw.

He was hooked up to at least six machines of various sorts and he had one of those weird masks over his mouth to help him breath.

As I walked in I saw that he could barely keep his eyes open, the copious amounts of medicine he was probably taking likely had a hand in that.

His beautiful dark hair was matted, and partially stuck to his forehead with sweat.

But as he saw me, the edges of his eyes crinkled. He was smiling.

That was absolutely it. Tears formed in my eyes and I climbed over and around the huge mass of wires, tubes and machines.

I laced my fingers in with Bret's and looked into his beautiful hazel-green eyes.

"Look at you, you must be hurting so badly... we really fucked up." I whispered.

I cried for what seemed like the hundredth time that week.

Bret couldn't really speak, but he looked up at me as if I were the world.

JC stepped into the room.

"He crashed through the front windshield." He said with a broken voice.

It sounded like he had been crying too.

I remembered Bret had been in the middle seat of the back of the car, meaning nobody was sitting in front of him to block him from flying straight through that window.

"I was still conscious when they found us, the car flipped on its left side and I was on the right, so I got the least injuries." JC explained. "but that meant I had to see what happened to all of you."

I looked over at JC with sad eyes, Bret would've done the same if he could've angled his head that far up.

"Phoenix, your forehead was sliced clean open so far you could almost see the bone, and there was glass in every exposed surface of you available. Ray's arm was pretty well crushed, Alex broke both his legs and three ribs. Bret, man you were something. Half of you was in the car and the other half was sticking out of the windshield. You were just... bleeding so much. Out of you mouth, out of the cuts that were all over you from the broken glass, it was awful..." JC whispered.

Bret's eyes filled with alarm.

The tears started to flow down my cheeks more rapidly.

Bret's heart monitor quickened, as he was probably really upset. The guys were like his brothers.

I ran a hand over his matted hair.

"It'll be okay, Bret" I whispered, even if I didn't exactly know if it would be.

He looked up at me again and put up a weak pale hand.

He stroked my cheek gently just like he used to when we were just laying together on the couch, and the heart monitor slowed to a normal pace.

He couldn't leave me, I needed him... I would always need him.