Permanent Memories

Luke

Olivia's mother had been here for an entire day and hadn't left the side of her bed. Vanessa hasn't been part of her life for six years. Now all of a sudden she never wants to leave it. I'm happy she got here I'm happy she is back with Olivia, but she never cared what happened prior to the accident.

I don't understand what makes her think that she can just waltz back in and be a big part of her life again.

"So, who are you again?" Vanessa questions me for the millionth time, holding her daughters hand going out of the window.

"Luke. Your daughters fiance. Been dating her for five and a half years." I say bluntly because I've told her this a thousand times over.

"Oh," She simply says, she goes to say something else, just as she begins to speak, her phone rings. "Excuse me." She says holding her phone and walking out of the room.

I sit carefully next to Olivia, taking her hand in mine and kissing it ever so softly, her engagement ring dangling around my neck. The doctors told me I had to take it off before she went and had X-rays to check for breakage, she then had to have a CAT Scan to check her brain, which was okay, thankfully.

"Please Olivia, don't be mad at me for bringing her here... I just wanted to see you happy... I didn't know she would make me this angry. I'm so sorry..." I whisper into her hand.

I hear the door open and my heart jumps and I stand up backing away from Olivia just to see Miles with a bag of Chinese food and pizza. I didn't realise I was holding my breath until I felt like I had just run a marathon. I sit back down next to Olivia.

"We sent her Mum into the city with yours. We saw her on the way up." Miles plainly states.

"We?"

"Yeah, boys came with me." He walks over to the table in the room and puts the food down.

Not long after, Asher and Carter tumble through the door giggling, holding bottles of Sprite and Coke in their hands. I watch as Miles pulls the food out of the bag and walks over to the boys and smacks them over the head.

"She's sleeping you idiots." He says taking the bottles from them and putting them on the table along with the food and plastic cups. Asher apologises and Carter nods zipping his lips.

I haven't had a proper meal for ages. I've been living off of hospital food and leftovers of whatever the boys bring me.

By now my hair has flattened and I had started growing stubble. It had only been five days, but I haven't shaved for just over a week. I turned my chair and the boys dragged the table over to me and we sat quietly talking.

Behind me I hear mumbling and the sheets move. I put my pizza down and wipe my hands and mouth and turn to Olivia, who is now whimpering.

"That smells delicious..." She quietly says. I had pulled some hot chips out of the bag, and some of the chicken off into little bits and had a slice of pizza cut up small, and put it aside for her for when she woke up. I move her bed so she is sitting up slightly and I sit on the edge of the bed with the plate in my hands.

"What would you like?" I asked. By now, the boys were all watching Olivia and I. She pointed to the chicken. I asked if she wanted it with a little bit of gravy and she nodded. Carter poured some into a small container and handed it to me with a plastic spoon.

I coated the chicken with a little bit of gravy, I blew on it to make sure it wasn't too hot, and guided it to her mouth. She closed her lips around the fork and chewed before swallowing. We all sat in silence, we had all stopped eating, just so we could watch Olivia do something she hadn't done for days.

We all smile when a grin creeps across her lips, and she giggles, asking me for more, but this time a chip. I fed it to her and she started crying. When we asked why she was crying she said she couldn't remember something that tasted this good. I wiped her eyes and fed her a piece of pizza, which she took back what she said before and that pizza was the best tasting thing ever.

The boys sit with us long after we finished eating. We sit talking about things that have happened while Olivia was asleep and she tells us about the dreams she has had while being asleep. We listen to every word she says right up until the moment she falls asleep.