A New Beginning (Adopted by Ariana Grande and Jai Brooks)

29

• Jai •

I look to my side and see that Frankie has fallen asleep.

I look back at Ariana. I'm still holding her hand.

"It's gonna be okay.... you're gonna wake up... I know it..." I whisper.

I begin to close my eyes when suddenly I feel her squeeze my hand.

My eyes open immediately.

"Frankie!" I call loudly.

He jolts awake.

"What? What happened?!" He asks nervously.

"She... she squeezed my hand!" I stutter.

"Oh my god! I'll call the nurse!" He says, getting the call button and hitting it repeatedly.

A few seconds later, the nurse comes in.

"What's wrong?" She asks.

"Ariana! She squeezed my hand!" I tell her excitedly.

She comes over and takes Ariana's hand.

"Can you squeeze my hand Ariana?" The nurse asks.

A moment of silence passes by. Suddenly, Ariana squeezes the nurses hand.

The nurse smiles and lays Ariana's hand back on her tummy.

"Yes, I see Mr. Brooks. She can respond to someone giving her an action. This is a sign that she might be coming out of her coma soon." She tells us.

"Soon? How soon?!" Frankie and I ask in sync.

The nurse lets out a small laugh.

"Well, I can't tell you anything for sure, but this is big progress so hopefully she'll be waking up very soon." She tells us.

"You boys should get some sleep. I'll continue to check up every half hour. Hit your call button if you need anything else." She says and walks out.

Frankie and I look at each other with huge smiles.

"Soon." Frankie says.

"Soon." I repeat.

Frankie leans back and closes his eyes.

I do the same.

Finally, I can sleep.

--------------------

I wake up and see the nurse checking on Ariana.

She looks over at me.

"You're awake!" She says, sounding a little excited.

"Yeah... what time is it?" I ask her.

She looks at her watch.

"Noon." She tells me.

I look to my side. Frankie isn't there.

"Uhh... where did the other boy go?" I ask, not knowing if she knows Frankie's name.

"Oh Frankie? He told me to tell you that he'll be back later tonight. He had to go home and take care of the dogs and then pick up Alexa, I think that was her name, from the airport." She informs me.

"Okay... did I miss anything while I was sleeping?" I ask.

"Well earlier Frankie asked Ariana to squeeze his hand again and she did. She's progressing." She tells me.

"Again?!" I ask excitedly.

"Yes, but we didn't wanna wake you up because we knew you needed sleep." She tells me.