Take My Past And Burn Me Down

Chapter 15

"What the hell is ageusia?" I asked her.

"It's a condition caused by severe brain trauma such as his extreme concussion. It cuts off all messages sent to and from the tongue to the brain, including taste and feeling. More often than not, people who have it develop eating disorders and become severely depressed, but it's so rare that it almost never happens. I don't know for sure if he has it but I will run some tests and consult with the doctor," she said and left quickly as if ageusia were contagious.

I turned to Emmett and saw that he had started crying. I shifted and held him as close as I dared, not wanting to open his stitches again. I made soothing noises to him until he finally calmed down.

"Hey. Look at me babe." He looked up and wiped his face. "This won't stop me from loving you. It was a lost battle amid a won war. You're alive. And I can't be more grateful for that."

"Did-did you mean it?"

I furrowed my brows. "Mean what?"

"When you said you loved me..." He trailed off as he drifted back to sleep.

I sighed, wishing he would stay awake for at least an hour. Is that too much to ask for?

"Yes." I whispered. I'm not sure if I was answering his question or my own.

•••

I spent the night next to his bed and slept holding his hand. When the doctors came back in the morning, Nicole settled me into a chair across the room so that they could put him on a mobile bed and move him to an examination room. I didn't protest when she slipped a pillow over my head and draped a blanket over me.

When I woke back up, I was in the chair next to the bed again and Emmett was stroking my hair. I lifted my head up and looked at him with a sleepy smile. "How are you feeling?" I asked.

He shook his head and pointed to his mouth. I looked at him in confusion. He pointed to his mouth again and made the sign in sign language for no. He couldn't speak. I frowned even more. What did that mean?

"Emmett, they didn't cut your tongue off did they?" he shook his head violently and I was afraid when he did that because he was still recovering from everything that had happened. I sighed in relief. True it did sound a bit medieval to cut off someone's tongue, but I was so used to assuming the worst.

"Good. What-what did they do?" He rolled his eyes. "Right. You can't talk. How about I guess and you nod if I'm right." He nodded and I shifted so that I was fully facing him.

"Ok, um. Did a nerve get pinched?"

He shook his head. I knew exactly why he couldn't talk. I figured out he had been given some sort of surgery on his tongue while I was asleep and couldn't talk until it was healed. "Surgery?" He nodded.

I leaned over and kissed him softly. "I still love you."

He mouthed the words back to me and I was perfectly content in that moment despite everything going on.

•••

(Skip ahead one month)

Emmett was finally being released with heavy sleeping pills when he needed them and stern warnings to be careful. He waved goodbye to Nicole and she returned the favor, telling him not to come back or she would kick his rear.

We walked out to his dad's car and I helped him into the backseat before sliding in next to him. "Good morning, Mr. Starch," I chirped with faux happiness as Emmett's father maneuvered out of the hospital's parking lot.

"Good morning, Nina. How are you doing?" I knew he wasn't just asking about my well-being, but rather how I was handling Emmett losing his speech entirely.

Honestly, I was falling apart, but no one would ever see it. Not Mr. Starch, not Martha and definitely not Emmett.

"I'm doing alright. You?"

"Better than the Mrs." he chuckled dryly.

I liked Emmett's mom. She was sweet and compassionate and treated me like one of her own. She also made the best Thanksgiving meals.

Mr. Starch took us to my house because Mrs. Starch was at the hospital and Emmett would be going home to see her when she got back.

I helped Emmett out of the car and up the steps once we arrived at my house. I made him some chicken soup and got him a straw to drink it through, the whole time he kept his eyes on me as if at any moment I might disappear.

I left the room for a moment to get my thoughts together and will myself not to cry and make my fake smile last a little while longer. He needed me to be the strong one and by God that's what I would be.

His last words replayed in my mind when he went into his last surgery, knowing he wouldn't get to speak after it.

"Nina, I understand if you don't want to be with me anymore-"

"Stop right there. Don't ever think that. I love you, whether you can talk or not."

He started to cry and cupped my face with his hand. "When we get married and I can't say our vows, I want you remember me say them now. I do take Nina Shea Thompson to be my lawfully wedded wife, for rich or for poor, in sickness or health, to have and to hold until death do us part. I love you."

I snapped back to the present and wiped my eyes, took a deep breath and walked back into the kitchen and sat down across from Emmett grabbing his hand.

"I love you Emmett. So much."

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I will explain in a later chapter of why he had the surgery but for now I just need some tissues. What do you think? It was kind of short but to make up for it there will be some drama in the next couple updates so prepare for that. Please vote and thanks for reading 💋