Trapped

Chapter Thirteen: The Return of All

His eyelids feel heavy as he struggles to open them. And even when he succeeds, his vision is blurred and his eyes feel as dry as his throat. He looks around the white room and wonders where he is. Had he died and gone to heaven? If that is so, where is Vera? Surely she is here in heaven with him. There is no way a pure soul like hers would be damned and his not.
The door opens and a woman in a white coat walks inside, her blonde hair tied back into a bun. She goes about the room, checking his vitals, not seeming to notice he is awake.
"Excuse me." he manages to whisper. She jumps and gasps, placing a hand on her chest which is quickly rising and falling.
"Oh goodness. You gave me a fright. Mr Carbonell, you're awake." she says as she only now notices. She rushes to the door and opens it, calling out for nurses. Multiple nurses rush in, their colored scrubs bright in contrast to the white walls.
"Do you know where you are?" the doctor asks as the nurses begin to unplug some machines that were connected to him while others began to plug new machines into him.
"Uh..California, right?" he asks. She nods.
"And your name?" she asks, writing something down on her clip board.
"Nestor." he says simply.
"Do you know your full name?"
"Nestor Gaston Carbonell." he says, wanting nothing more than to just get out of this bed.
"What's the last thing you remember?" she asks. He knows the last thing he remembers but if he said it aloud, they would have him committed. So he simply just says,
"I don't remember."
She smiles sympathetically.
"That's alright." she says with a nod.
"Can you tell me where Vera Farmiga is?" he asks, just wanting to see her. To make sure she is alive and well.
"Is she a patient here?" she asks.
"Yes I think so."
"I'll go look her up in the system." she says, walking away. He waits patiently for her return, his mind focusing on seeing Vera soon. The door opens and Nestor sits up, expecting it to be the doctor.
He has to work very hard to hide his disappointment when he realizes it is his wife, Shannon. She walks in, tears in her eyes as she rushes toward him with open arms.
"Oh Nestor." she whispers, hugging him. He hesitantly hugs her back, wishing he didn't feel so disappointed with seeing her.
"I'm so glad you're okay."
"Me too." he mumbles.
She pulls back and kisses him quickly before sitting on the edge of his bed, facing him. There is a small silence before she breaks it.
"I saw Vera." she says. His eyes light up for a split second before he quickly composes himself.
"Is she here?" he asks.
"Yes. I saw her yesterday. She seemed...off. I don't know. I gave her some flowers." she says happily. Suddenly, Nestor feels bad for Shannon. She is such a great wife, so nice to everyone around her. But she isn't what he wants. And it's unfair to her for him to think such things.
"I need to see her." he says, trying to ignore the hint of hurt on his wife's face.
"Oh. Alright. Yeah I'll take you there." she offers, helping him up.
"No. I...I should go alone. It's just-"
"I get it. You both have been through so much. I'll wait here for you. Room 107." she says kindly as she sits down in the chair in his room.
He pulls himself out of the bed, clamping his hand down on the back of his hospital gown in an attempt to keep it closed. He walks down the hallway to the room his wife told him.
He pauses outside the door, his heart racing as his hand hesitates on the doorknob. He has waited so long to see her.
And now that he is here, only a door in between them, he cannot contain his excitement. A smile stretches across his face and he quickly opens the door, looking inside at her bed.
And there she sits, in all of her glory. Her blonde hair sprawled out across her pillow, her bright blue eyes gleam at him as her lips pull up into a surprised smile.
"Hey there. Remember me?" he asks. She smirks.
"Bad boy. Good lips. Somehow your name escapes my brain." she says jokingly. He laughs at her words, missing having her around.
"Vera Ann. I've missed you." he says, closing the door behind him. He closes the distance between them, pulling her small, frail form to his chest. She wraps her arms around his neck, breathing in his familiar scent.
"Oh god i've missed you." she whispers against his neck, making him shiver. They pull back only a little, their foreheads touching.
"Nes, what happened between us...it was-"
"Beautiful." he finishes for her.
"And I would do it again." he admits. She pulls back to look at him.
"You would?" she asks.
"Yes." he says.
"But your wife-"
"It's different now. We were...in our own world and we agreed it didn't mean anything. I would do it again but not in this world." Nestor says, explaining himself. Vera can't help but feel the sting of his words. He liked doing what he did with her but he won't do it again. Not in this world. The problem is, she doesn't know how to get back to White Pine Bay.
"Oh." is all she can say. He continues to smile, either not noticing her disappointment or not caring. His hand reaches up to touch her face but she moves away.
"You should go. You're married." she says. His smile wavers.
"Yeah but-"
"No. Nestor you need to leave. What happened between us it was..a mistake. It shouldn't have happened and it won't happen again. Not in this world, not in any world." she tells him.
She can't help but think of his hand on her body again, setting a fire as they explore. And now that he is sitting here in front of her, she can feel her control slipping and the need to touch him grows stronger.
"Leave. Please." she whispers, knowing that if he does not leave soon, all arguments she had just made will go down the drain.
Nestor slowly stands, already missing being so close to her. Where did things go wrong? Why is she so distant now? So adamant that things go back to the way they were. He walks to the door, opening it but not leaving. He glances back at her, taking in her naturally beauty. He felt the words tumble from his mouth before he can stop them. They drop off of his tongue like honey.
"It wasn't a mistake. Not to me anyways."
And with that, he leaves.