Handcuffed Billionaire

25. Past and present

25. Past and present

Marc
There was this burning sensation in my throat. Something seemed to be blocking air from going into my lungs. I struggled against the foreign object that was restricting my breathing. My eyes popped open, but closed again as I fought for control of my body. What was that noise? Something beeped loudly beside me. The more I struggled, the louder the beeping got. "I think he's waking up. Mr. Paxton. Mr. Paxton, can you hear me?" I could vaguely make out voices and even detect some movement going on around me. The struggle I was putting up against whatever it was that was blocking me from getting air seemed to loosen, until I stopped struggling all together and my eyes popped opened as I took huge gulps of air into my lungs.

"I think he's breathing on his own," someone said. It took a while for my eyes to adjust to my environment. My throat felt raw. At first when I tried to speak, it burned and no words came out. Someone put a straw to my lips and I greedily sucked down the water, although it was uncomfortable for me to do so. Am I in the hospital? I tried to glance around but my eyes could barely make it past the bridge of my nose. "Get the doctor," a feminine voice said. So I am in the hospital. I felt really weak and decided to stop struggling to keep my eyes open any longer. Soon enough, I gave in to the heaviness that threatened to overpower my eyes and went to sleep.

The next time I opened my eyes, James was there. "Welcome back, mate. You gave us a scare." I tried to form words, but I guess I was a little bit rusty at the whole speaking thing. "Don't strain yourself. The doctor will be here to check on you soon." I knew I was in the hospital. I briefly remember getting into an accident. But how long was I out for? Why the hell was James here? It must have been more than a day; otherwise he would not be sitting here right now. There was something or rather someone I should be remembering, someone important. My eyes opened wide once my brain came to the realization. "Na...Na.." I stuttered but was having difficulty.

"Mr. Paxton, you shouldn't force yourself to speak." The doctor came into my vision, and soon enough I was sitting up in bed. "Okay, Mr. Paxton, I'm going to ask you some questions. If you understand or if the answer is yes, nod your head up and down. If the answer is no or you don't understand, move your head from side to side." I nodded my head up and down to let him know I understood.

"Are you aware that you are in the hospital?" I nodded up and down. "Do you know why?" Again I nodded. "Do you know how long you've been here?" I shook my head from side to side. "I see. You've been here for five days." What? My eyebrows lifted in confusion. "You've been in a coma since you were brought in from the accident."

I opened my mouth and words finally came out. "Where's Natalía?" The question was directed at James. "Is that the woman you were in the accident with? I'm not her doctor so I can't tell you much about her." I ignored him and turned to James. "Maybe you should listen to what the doctor has to say first."
"I'm fine! A broken arm isn't going to kill me."

"Mr. Paxton, you also broke a few of your ribs. Plus you have been in a coma for five days. There are tests we need to run to ensure you are indeed fine." I didn't really care about all that.

"Marc, listen to the doctor for once. I'm sure once you've been checked out you'll feel better." I eyed him. "Why are you avoiding the topic of Natalía?" I knew we left things on a sour note and she was pissed at me, but there was no way she would not have been here. I know the kind of personality she has.

"Are you referring to the woman who has been terrorizing the doctors and nurses here?" That sounds about right. "We had to sedate her. She went a little crazy from lack of sleep. I hear she even tried to strangle a patient. I'm not clear on the details however."

"Excuse me?" I could not have heard right. "Just what the hell has been going on since I've been out? Someone needs to explain to me what the fuck has been going on. There will be no check-up or tests until someone tell me where Natalía Accosi is."
"Mr. Paxton, I really think you should let me do a thorough check-up on you. You can find out about this woman later. It's important that..."
"You shut up!" I glared at James. "Explain."