A Sibling's Love

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

January 14, 2014

          Jake jumped from the chair that he had been sleeping in as the petit nurse walked in. She had a terrible sense of timing. She always breezed into Laura’s hospital room while Jake was in the middle of his nightmare. If she wasn’t more careful, they both would be in some serious trouble.

          “Hi Mr. Sullivan,” the young nurse greeted Jake as she swiped a loose strand of her honey colored hair out of her face and made her way to Laura’s side to check her vitals.

          “Hey,” Jake muttered as he sat back down in the chair next to Laura’s bed and grabbed the bar that separated them. She has been in the coma for nearly three weeks now. Even though she looked a little healthier, it still killed him to see Laura in this state. She looked so pale and beaten down. The bruises all over her face had turned a ghastly shade of yellow, but at least she looked halfway recognizable. It was a far sight better than what she looked right after Daniel’s assault.

          The bastard had gotten away. Ever since Laura had been admitted to the hospital, Jake had been by her side to make sure her recovery was progressing and to make sure that Daniel didn’t try to come near her. He had somehow managed to slip under the radar, and until he was apprehended, Jake didn’t plan on leaving Laura alone. On the few occasions that Jake wasn’t in Laura mundane hospital room, there were always armed body guards by the entrance of the room.

          “How is she?” Jake asked without bothering to look at the young woman.

          “Her vitals are all good,” the woman sighed heavily feeling sympathy towards the very tired looking man that she assumed was the girl’s boyfriend. Too bad she couldn’t find someone that was as attractive as the man to care about her. “All she has to do is wake up.”

          Like the woman, Jake sighed heavily as he reached for Laura’s hand, but then retracted it at the last moment. He had already broken several promises, and that is why she was where she was today. He didn’t need to break anymore. Who knows what he could do to her if he continued to break all of his promises.

          “Don’t worry,” Mary, the nurse smiled reassuringly at Jake, “Your girlfriend will come out of it.”

          Jake then covered his face with his hands and mumbled through them, “She’s not my girlfriend. She is my stepsister, and her name is Laura.”

          “Oh,” the woman gasped, “I am so sorry. I just assumed that you were an item. My bad. I’ll be back later to check on her again. You know what button to press if anything changes.”

          Embarrassed half to death, the woman darted out of the room leaving Jake alone with the unresponsive Laura.

          How long would Laura be like this? Jake wasn’t sure, and although he wasn’t a very religious man, he prayed every minute that it wouldn’t be much longer. When he wasn’t praying, he just simply tried to talk to her. The doctors said that it was healthy for coma patients to be visited by people that they were familiar with, or even play music that the liked. Jake was told that sometimes, it brought the person out of the coma. That is why Melody, Bill, and Jake saw Laura every day. Well, Bill tried to visit her every day. His health was spiraling downwards rapidly, so some days he couldn’t see Laura.

          Because of Laura’s accident and Bill’s health, Jake sold his private detective business in Chicago. He needed to be near his family that was falling apart. Even Minnie, who was usually as perky as a kid in a candy shop, was depressed and sluggish.