Sadie, Someday...

Chapter 19 - Second Chances Don't Come Often

Chapter 19
Second Chances Don’t Come Often

“Time stands still, Beauty in all he is, I will be brave, I will not let anything take away, What's standing in front of me, Every breath, Every hour has come to this, One step closer.” ~ A Thousand Years – Christina Perri

Everything after that was a whirlwind.

I didn’t ask questions, although so many of them were swimming about inside my head. All I could do was slip my shoes back on and drag Mace by the arm down to his car. I felt like I couldn’t run fast enough. The car didn’t seem to go quick enough. The red lights were far too long. If I could talk, I’d probably curse out the pedestrians and cars that got in our way.

But no words were found. So many were waiting on the tip of my tongue. Was he really okay? How did suddenly wake up again? Didn’t the one-noted beep on his heart machine signal that he was truly gone? How was this even possible?

When we finally reached the hospital once again, I ran through the sliding doors, dodging people walking in and out. I bumped into a lady who scowled at me for being so rude, but didn’t bother apologizing. I didn’t ask Mason where the room was, because the schematics of the hallways were still fresh in my mind from earlier in the night. Running past the waiting room and breathing in the cleaning products as I went, my heart felt like it was on overdrive. I was so nervous, fearful even of seeing him again.

I burst through the door, slamming my palms into it as it flew open. Mrs. Grange was startled as she looked up at me. Her hand was holding his and she was finally smiling. Her eyes were much brighter, alight with simple adoration for her son’s life. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t break eye contact with her. Even though he was right there, I could look in his eyes and physically see him, my eyes wouldn’t drop down to his.

I felt him watching me though. His mother kept looking from me, to him and back up again. She smiled encouragingly, gesturing with her hand that held a small tissue, towards him lying on the bed. My feet were moving without my thinking about it. They were ushering me towards the bed and into the chair that I was pulled out of so many hours ago when my world had fully fallen apart.

Mrs. Grange squeezed his hand lightly in hers, telling him that she was going to leave the room to let us be alone. I was almost scared to be left alone with him. For the first time since I was thirteen years old, I was scared to be in a room by myself with Caden.

When the door pounded to shut, I jumped slightly in the plastic chair. My eyes never left the place of where she sat. I was just looking at a blank wall, feeling Caden’s eyes burning imaginary holes into my head so I would look at him.

“Sades…” he said, making me jump again. His voice was dry, not as smooth as I was used to. The breathing tube must have been taken out of his mouth now. He was able to breathe on his own once again.

I still wasn’t looking at him. I thought that if I did, he might die on me again. The last time I had looked into those eyes, they closed on impact. It wasn’t possible for me to bear that once again.

I jumped again, cursing myself for being so jittery, when something warm touched my cheek. His large hand covered most of it, his fingers running to the back of my hair and stroking gently. The butterflies were flying rapidly in my stomach and my skin was rising in small bumps.

“Look at me. Please,” he begged softly. “I want to see your eyes.” 

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath as he spoke. His hand never left my face, just stroking and working its magic to calm me down. “S, please.”