Whispers of Hope- Book # 3 (Mated Hearts Series) Complete

Chapter 7 (Marissa)

“Whispers of Hope”

Chapter 7 (Marissa)


That boy makes me madder than a hornet on a rainy day.  He has some nerve kissing me the way he did.  I didn’t ask for that.  Last time I checked I wasn’t wearing a sign on my forehead that says kiss me silly.   And the real kicker, he thinks he can ask me to not go out with Jake on Friday night. 

It’s just one night for Chris sakes.

“Ha!” I exclaimed loudly in the now empty parking lot as I headed for my car.  That boy has another thing coming if he thinks that I am going to do anything that he wants in this day and age.  

The boy even had his little girlfriend standing there at the door waiting for him and he has the gall to ask me to not go out with Jake.  He has a few too many screws loose in that noggin of his if he thinks I am just going to sit idly by and let him kiss me whenever he feels like it and still cater to his little girlfriend all of the time in between.  I am not that type of girl, never was for that matter.    

I pulled the keys out of my purse and pressed the button to unlock my car.  I was still seething about Zachary Martin and the feelings that he made me fell by the time that I slid into the driver seat and slammed my door closed.

What makes it worse, is that I actually enjoyed that damn kiss.  I didn’t want it to end.  If it was possible then I would probably still be attached to that sexy mouth of his.  One thing was for damn sure, three years had done a lot for the improvement of his kissing techniques.   

Back then I remembered our kisses always being nice and sweet.  The kiss that he laid on me in the gym was so much more and then some.  It was hot, it was erotic and it left me wanting something fierce.  

Wanting him and knowing that I can’t have him is a damn curse.  I will never again have him the way that I did three years ago and it’s all my fault.  He made that point as clear as day today.

Determined to put all thoughts of Zach Martin and his wicked mouth out of my mind I started the car and turned up the radio.  Before I put my car in gear I glanced down at my watch.  “Damn“ I murmured.  Mom’s going to have a hissy because I’m already five minutes late for my first appointment.  Throwing the car in gear I pulled out of the parking lot and made my way to the hospital.  

Zach and I as a pair was something that happened long ago.  It was the past and sometimes the past just needs to stay in the past.  It’s time that both of us come to grips with that particular reality.  We had our chance and I screwed it up.  That’s my fault and now it’s time to move on.

Pulling up in front of the hospital I let out a deep sigh.  Tests.  More freaking tests.  Three years ago they first thought it was Crhon’s Disease.  With the constant battle of stomach aches and nausea, the seizures, my prognosis wasn’t good.  

That was the reasoning of the big move.  Mom and dad wanted us to be closer to the best of the best in medical care in hopes for a cure.  

And that was why I had to break it off with Zach.  If I hadn’t of survived he would have had to watch me grow weak and eventually die.  He would have had to mourn my death and I just felt that it was easier to make a clean break than have him go through that.  His last memories of me would have been of a healthy vibrant girl and not a sickly hospital patient.

Unfortunately after two long months the experts had officially decided that it wasn’t Crhon’s disease.  I was still reeling from the episodes when they sent us to another clinic for further testing.  The strain was heavy on the family as test after test was completed and no answers were yielded.

Closing my eyes, I remembered in picture clarity that fateful night that dad had proclaimed he had enough.  I was awakened by the raised voices of my parents as they argued.  With my door closed I couldn’t make out the words but it was fairly easy to conclude that the argument was over me, again.  

Usually after about an hour the voices stopped and mom would come in and check on me.  Not this night.  The argument went on for several hours while banging noises persisted throughout the house.  Cara eventually came in the room and narrowed her eyes on me.

“Are you happy now?  Daddy’s leaving and it’s your fault.  I wish you were never born!” she screamed at me with her eyes swollen with tears.  

I was to weak to speak and all I could do was close my eyes.  She was right.  If I hadn’t been sick then the family wouldn’t be falling apart now.  It was all my fault.  

The sound of the slamming door when Cara exited made me flinch.  It was an exclamation point on my life.  The life that was and the pitiful life that I live now.  So many nights that I had begged for my creator to have mercy and take me, but yet I was still there.  The pain was still excruciating and I was still a burden to those that I loved the most.  

I knew then that my decision to cut Zach out of my life was the right thing to do.  He was far too young to go through any of this with me.  Hell, I was to young, I just didn’t have a choice.  He needed to be able to move on and have a happy life of his own.  That was the best thing that I could have done for him.

Back in the present I opened my eyes and stared at the white concrete bricks of the hospital standing before me.  Six months after daddy left, the fits suddenly stopped.  Gradually my strength came back and the doctors were baffled by my sudden recovery.  It was a miracle, mom proclaimed.  

In the span of the last two years I have only had three seizures but nothing like what I had in the beginning.  Once a month I go to the doctor for them to run the tenuous battery of tests. They adjust my medication each time in hopes to stave off the worst of the seizures and so far so good.

Stepping out of the car I head into the building.  The familiar smells of antiseptic and alcohol permeate the air as I walk up to the counter and politely nod to the nurse checking patients in.

“Marissa Combs” I tell her.  “I have a five o’clock appointment” I added.  I briefly turn towards the waiting area to see if I can spot mom when I heard another familiar voice calling out my name.

“Marissa?”  

I froze at the sound of the familiar voice.  Oh no.  Please, don’t let it be, I thought.   The fates must really hate me because when I turned around, there she was.  Amy Martin.

“Hi” I replied while lifting my hand in a half wave.

She rushed towards me without hesitation.

“Marissa, what are you doing here?” she asked standing right in front of me.  Her brow was furrowed and I could clearly see the question in her eyes.  

“Ms. Combs” the nurse called out bringing my attention back to her.  

I turned back to her and pasted on a smile, “Yes ma‘am?“ I asked.

“I just need your arm to put your identification bracelet on and Dr. Clark will be with you soon“, she said very formerly.

I held out my hand having gone through his drill may times before and let her snap the bracelet on my wrist.

“You may take a seat over there” the nurse replied and pointed to the waiting are that I has just previously scanned looking for my mom.

“Thank you” I replied to her as I tentatively turned back to Amy.

Amy’s was looking down at my arm and the bracelet before her questioning gaze turned into a mask of concern.  Great, I didn’t need any of this getting out right now.  I don’t want to be treated any differently than everyone else.  For once, I have normalcy in my life again.

At first I decided to play dumb.

“What are you doing here?” I asked inflecting fake excitement in my tone.  Maybe, I thought to myself she wouldn’t be as inquisitive as she looked.

“I volunteer here with the cancer patients” Amy answered still looking at me perplexed.  Before I could say anything else she continued.

“The better question is what are you doing here Marissa?  You’re the one seeing a doctor, are you okay?” she asked.  She had placed her arm on my shoulder and that one movement undid me.  

I pulled her over to the waiting area and told her the whole spill.  From the time the episodes started just a month before I left all the way up to my appointment today.  Her jaw had dropped as she digested all of the information.  

After several long moments of silence, Amy hesitantly asked me the one question that I knew was coming.