The Free Pass

Chapter 46

Mallory

"Please wake up for me, baby. I love you so much. I want to tell you while I'm looking into your eyes. I want to know you heard me."

This was such a wonderful dream. Hearing Shawn declare his love for me was what I'd been wishing for since I'd fallen in love with him so many months ago. I wanted dream-Shawn to know I heard him. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do it, but I had to let him know I was there. I willed myself to squeeze his hand.

"Mallory?!" I heard him shout. It startled me. Suddenly the beeping got faster, which was scary.

I felt Shawn let go of my hand. I heard footsteps. Then a door shut.

A minute later, I heard voices.

"I was just talking to her and she squeezed my hand. It wasn't just a twitch or anything. She squeezed it hard!" Shawn said.

"That's great news, Mr. Mendes. I'll put a call in to Dr. Sutton. Let me look at her really quick," an unfamiliar voice said. "Mallory, can you open your eyes?"

I tried. They wouldn't open.

A hand took hold of mine. It wasn't Shawn's. I knew what his felt like.

"Can you squeeze my hand?" the woman asked.

I willed myself to do it, but I couldn't. Suddenly I was very tired and my head was throbbing. I could feel everything fading away again.

                              ~~~~~~

It was dark in the room except for the light from the small window in the door and from some source behind me. I quickly realized I was in a hospital.

My eyes adjusted. I turned my head slightly and looked around. I could still hear the beeping from my dreams and saw that it came from one of the machines, which I instantly recognized from watching medical dramas on TV. The beep was my heart.

Shawn was next to me in a chair. His arms were folded on the side of my bed near my hip, and his head was resting on his arms so that he was facing me. He was sound asleep. Oddly, he had a mask on.

I blinked several times. My eyes felt dry. And god, I was so thirsty. My headache was gone, though. It felt so good to be pain-free.

I slowly lifted the hand that was near Shawn and wiggled my fingers. It was wonderful to be able to control my movements. In my dreams I was frozen.

Next I lifted my other hand. It had an IV line. I set it back down, afraid to bump the needle.

I moved my good hand again and reached out and touched Shawn's brown curls. My sense of touch was heightened for some reason, and his hair felt incredible in my fingers. I gently ran them through his soft hair while he slept.

After a minute, his eyes fluttered open. He seemed confused at first. He looked at me, his head still laying on the pillow formed by his arms.

"Hi," I said, my voice hoarse and scratchy.

Suddenly, he sat upright. "You're awake!" he said loudly, his eyes wide with shock.

I nodded.

He grabbed my hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing the back of it through the mask he was wearing. He then stood up and reached behind me and pressed a button on the wall.

"I'm just paging the nurse," he explained. He looked at me. "I want to hug you so badly but I'm afraid to hurt you."

"I'm so thirsty," I said.