The days that came. . .

Chapter Eight. . .

:Reminder:

‘Maria had another seizure and she fainted like you did. She’s at the hospital and Quinn is there with her.’ I knew that she has had seizures before but she always took naps afterwards. She only went to the hospital once after she had one because she hit her head on the way down.

‘If she’s fine then why is she at the hospital?’ I asked while furrowing my eyebrows.

‘I never said she was fine.’ I closed my eyes and opening them a moment later. Nick was ready to sign again and my breathing picked up while my heart started to pound. I started sweating slightly at what he said next.

‘Cara, Maria went into a deep coma.’

Cara’s POV:

I sat on the couch clutching a pillow to my chest. Gina tried to get me to eat but I refused. Nick wanted me to go see her but right now I couldn’t. She’s like this because of me. There was a box of tissues on the coffee table. The Olympics was muted on the TV. I saw the front door open out of the corner of my eye. Quinn came in and went straight for the kitchen. He kissed Gina on the cheek while she was leaning against the sink with her hands on the edge. Nick was eating a sandwich at the small table for two next to the deep freezer. It’s been a few hours since I heard the news and it was starting to get dark. I looked at my coat on the chair next to the couch and then at my keys on the coffee table. I hoped that I was silent as I slipped my shoes on and inched over to get my coat. I still had the pillow hugged against my chest and kept them in the corner of my eye. I kept glancing over towards the kitchen where every one was at. I reached over to the coffee table and hurriedly grabbed my keys. I stood up and started walking towards the door. No one notice that I was leaving. Gina had her head in the crook of Quinn’s neck and he was facing the small window over the sink. Nick was too engrossed in his sandwich to even bother noticing anything around him. I smiled at them and made my way out the door. I went down the many flights of stairs as I lived on the top floor. I had a door to the roof in my bedroom. It was the cheapest apartment in this building. And plus I got a bit off my rent every month because I would go up to the roof and clean up any trash and wash off the billboard that was up there. I smiled because that was where I took Maria on our first date. I brought her back and at first she thought we were going to get it on. But then I opened my closet and motioned her to go in. She shook her head and backed away. I grinned and moved my clothes and showed her the door leading to the roof. There was only two flights of stairs to reach the top and you had to go through a glass door that was flush with the roof floor. She followed me hesitantly but she was right behind me. I opened the door to the outside and stepped off the lip of the roof floor and helped her out. I shut the door after her and led her to a table set for two. I had a small white tent over the table with white and red Christmas lights. On the table was a white table cloth with a black one on top in a star shaped. There was a small vase with a dozen red roses. The chairs were red fluffy plush with black wooden legs. I had my laptop on mute but playing a romantic song. It was on the bars right now showing the beat and tempo of the song. I had black and white china with sterling sliver cutlery. The moon was out and full. There was not one ounce of fog covering up the stars. If you looked down off the ledge you could see people on the sidewalks and the car’s lights on the road. I smiled when she let go of my hand to cover her mouth. I saw that she had tears in her eyes and my smile got even bigger when she turned to me.

‘You did all this for me?’ She signed slowly. We were both new to the American Sign Language. I was in an accident and lost my hearing and she had cancer so she had to get her eardrums out. My smile turned into a full on grin and I nodded.

‘Would you give me the pleasure of having dinner with me?’ I know I messed up on some words but this time she smiled and nodded. I reached for her hand and she interlaced her fingers in mine. I led her under the tent and she stopped me. She turned me toward her. My eyes probed her features. She has a sharp nose. Emerald green eyes and pink lips that formed a perfect cupid’s bow. Her smile is so radiant it makes the stars look like they’re not shining. Her hair was so dark it had a slight blue tint to it. She stopped me and then she pulled me quickly towards her. I knew that it took every once of courage for her to kiss me. I closed my eyes and started to kiss her back. She wrapped her arms around me and I put mine on the back of her head pulling her as close as humanly possible. I felt her bite my bottom lip and I licked her back. We pulled apart and rested our foreheads together. I knew I was breathing heavily and I could see Maria’s chest rise up and down slowly but it looked like she was panting.

            After that, dinner wasn’t the least awkward. We shared stories about our ex’s. I laughed at one she told me about. It was with one of her coworkers and she told me that slut ruined her life. But she got her back. She kissed one of the woman doctors that she was really close friends with right in front of the ex. I saw her eyes sparkle with suppressed laughter and I grinned at her. This was the best date I’ve ever put all my effort into.

            Back in reality, I was still running down the stairs. Trying to get away from my apartment without anyone following me. I had no idea where I was going. I had tears in my eyes and I wasn’t thinking straight. I found my car on the street and got in. I started the engine and just sat there for a few minutes with my head in my hands crying. I didn’t realize that I was moving and stopping at red lights until someone cut me off. I knew I was yelling at them because my throat hurt but this time I didn’t hear anything. I still didn’t know where I was going. I made three circles around the city before going to the lake. I stood there at the edge for what seemed like hours. I shivered and got back into my car. I sat there for ten minutes and started moving again. I drove up to a Starbucks and went through the drive-thru.

            As I waited for the car in front of me to pull up so that I can place my order at the window, someone opened my passenger side door. I pressed my back against my door and reached behind me for my pepper spray. The guy still had his hood up but he put his hands out in front of him. He started to sign in ASL.

            ‘I will not hurt you, Cara. I promise.’ I removed my hand from behind me and I signed,

            ‘How the hell do you know my name?’ He smiled.

            ‘My name is Jonathan and I’ve been watching you.’ I wanted to scream but he just motioned me to order my whatever. He got my attention and told me that he wanted a frappe and a cookie. I hesitantly smiled at him and turned back to the window. I signed my order and gave the guy behind the glass a twenty. After I received my items I drove away from the Starbucks. I kept sneaking glances at the guy beside me, but I couldn’t see much because he still had his hood up. I was shaking slightly and the only thought going through my head was: Please don’t kill me! That thought was on repeat.