The Expansion of the Universe

Fifty-Nine | "Anything."

Liza's physical progress was similar to her mental progress.

In other words, she wasn't about to break any records for the speed at which she improved.

Still, she became more and more excited as the days slipped by, accompanied by little victories: First, she moved her fingers, then, her hand, then, her arm. She was able to move her lips, too, just enough to smack them together when the nurses applied lip balm to prevent them drying out.

But the day she was able to crack open her stubborn eye lids was easily one of the best days of her entire life.

Unfortunately, she didn't accomplish the feat for the first time with Elijah present, as she'd hoped. Rather, she blinked open bleary eyes to find the room lit with dim light from the outside—so, sunset or sunrise—with a nurse hovering beside her, adjusting a bag of fluids by her head.

As if the man could sense the change in her status, he shifted his gaze down and found her eyes with his. Then, he quirked a smile. "Good morning," he murmured, finishing with the fluids and grasping a pen-shaped device from his pocket. He held it up and flashed a light in her eyes, muttering a quiet, "Looks good, Miss Garner," as she flinched, before tucking the light away again.

Liza just blinked dumbly, not quite grasping that she was actually seeing.

When it hit her, she didn't pay any attention to the loud beeping from that stupid heart monitor.

The nurse grinned. "It's exciting, isn't it? Really good work, Miss Garner. I'm going to message the doctor, but are you in any pain right now?"

Her mind still felt slow and sluggish, and it took her a moment before she was able to shake her head just the slightest to indicate that no, she felt fine. Just exhausted.

"I'll be back in just a moment," he told her, but Liza was already drifting back into sleep.

After all, if Elijah or her mom weren't there, then why bother staying awake?

God only knew what would happen if her anxiety caught up to the fact that she was in a hospital bed, again, without anyone she knew beside her to offer a layer of protection.

***

When she woke the next time, she was almost scared to try peeling open her eyes, if only for fear that her earlier success had been some sort of hospital-driven fever dream.

Still, she tried, and she was thrilled when her body obeyed.

The room was brighter, and it took a moment for her to absorb the details of her surroundings, but she didn't miss the man sitting in the chair pulled right beside her bed, his head tilted back towards the ceiling.

She cleared her throat as best she could, and Elijah whipped his head to her, his eyes wide and stunned as he took her in.

Liza blinked the sleep out of her eyes, focusing on him as best she could through the daze that still covered her brain.

"Missed you," she croaked hoarsely, her voice barely audible, grimacing when she realized how pitiful and raspy she sounded.

Any shame was immediately erased when Elijah graced her with a smile so wide and stunning it looked like it hurt his cheeks. He stared at her in silence for a moment, his eyes darting all over her face almost frantically, before he met her gaze again and breathed, "You have the prettiest fucking eyes I've ever seen."

And then, in a sharp change of emotion, he clasped a hand over his mouth, bent forward over his knees, and began to sob.

His shoulders shook with each loud, gasping heave, but Liza's brain was still operating sluggishly. For several moments, she could only stare at him as she tried to comprehend what was occurring.