Light Me Up Again

Chapter 3

Arlo

A week has passed, and Luci hasn't woken. Day and night, I am at her side in hopes she would. I wanted to be the first man she lays her eyes on. "Come on baby, it's been a week. I need you to come back to me. I need my wife. " I feel her hand move slightly, and my heart begins to race. "You can hear me, baby, can't you?" I say as I jump to my feet.

I lean in to her and kiss her softly, and she starts to wake. I page Christian and Robert and wait for them to reach the ward. "Baby, I know you can hear me. It's me, Arlo. I am here with you. " I continue talking to her, hoping that it would encourage her to open her eyes

They rush into the room and assess the results. "Wow, your girl is one tough cookie Robert". Christian jokes as his surprised by her results. "Yeah, I know she is. That's why I knew she would wake up." He says with confidence. To my surprise, he was right. not long after she opened her eyes and looked around the room.

She meets my eyes as tears of joy fall from them. "Oh, don't cry, please," she says softly as she tries to reach for me. "Just rest, Luci. You have lost a lot of energy, and your body is tiered." She turns her head to Robert and smiles. "Dad!" she says excitedly, her voice weak. "I'm here, Kiddo, we all are."

I recline the bed, so she is sitting up enough to rest and see everyone. She reaches for my hand, so I place it on her thigh. "Arlo, I am sorry I ran off. I couldn't stand seeing Elliot up there proposing to her. " Her words shocked me, but I already knew why she ran, and I wasn't quick enough to stop her.

"Shh, it's ok baby that's not important. What is, is that you're alive and recovering. You gave me quite the fright tonight, but you're alive now, and I have you back. " She smiles. I lean in to kiss her, and she runs her fingers through my hair, kissing me back passionately.

"Did you mean it, Arlo? What you said while I was asleep. I could hear you talking to me, but I didn't know if it was a dream. Did you call me your wife?"

I pull back and sit on the bed beside her. "I mean, well, I guess so, yeah. I did call you my wife. I had planned to propose to you on new year's, I tried many times, but people just kept interfering, then we had a fight, and Elliot stole the spotlight."

"surprise" they all yell and barge into the room with flowers and balloons, placing them on whatever surface they could find. "Do you want me to stay, or will you be ok?" I ask she looked overwhelmed by the noise and number of people in one small room. She nods. "I'll be fine." I kiss her one last time and leave the room. I see Elliot and anna in the waiting room. I smile, nod and walk away.