STAY

Forty Two

Day eight. Another scan completed. Her breaks were healing well. Lots of brain activity. All good signs. Still she wouldn't wake up. I was exhausted, I barely slept, I hated leaving in case she woke up and I wasn't there. Every time I left people would snap photos of me. I didn't care I just ignored them. Her mother had cornered the doctor and demanded, "what are you doing? Why can't you wake her up?" she'd said. He looked at her in surprise, "we can't, she will just wake up by herself" he replied, as though he was talking to a child. "There must be something you can do" she snapped. "There's isn't, don't you think they would have done it already" I said calmly. She turned to stare at me coldly, "I didn't ask for your opinion young man" she'd said. "Olivia, stop being ridiculous, he's right. If they could have woken her they would have" said Gerard sharply. She pursed her lips and tossed her hair turning away in a huff, stalking out of the room angrily. I almost laughed rolling my eyes at her childish behavior, I had seen Gigi do the very same thing. "Yes, she does the same thing" murmured her father to me, motioning his head toward the bed. I nodded in acknowledgment. It was the first time in days we'd even spoken. Her father shook his head and looked down at his phone. I caught sight of the screen and looked closer. It was a photo of a very young version of him and a little girl, she was holding a teddy and had her arm around his neck. "Is that Gigi?" I asked, he turned it so I could get a better look. "Yes it is, she was about six years old there" he said smiling. "She's so cute" I said, "she was, yes. I have a few more here .." he said, flicking through his camera roll and then passing it to me. A whole load of photos of the same cute little kid that was Gigi. "She was adorable" I said grinning. I was surprised to see that he had the photos on his phone. "I get the impression that you think I don't care about my daughter, you couldn't be more wrong" he said, I was surprised by his comment, I secretly did kind of think that, but I'd never tell him that. "No, I don't ... I don't think that .." I said quickly. "I always expect a lot from her yes, but it's because I know she's capable of so much. I'm proud of her, I always have been. I may not always show it but I am" he said quietly. "Genevieve has mentioned that you have a ... somewhat difficult relationship, but she never goes into too much detail" I said carefully. He nodded thoughtfully, "Olivia can be ... self centered, so I think Gigi often felt like she was an afterthought, I can't speak on Olivia's behalf. But for me, she was always wanted and loved. But admittedly my career has been consuming. I wasn't around as much as I would have liked" he said shaking his head. I felt the same way about my career, I guess that was why I choose not to pursue a family. I nodded, "she did say you like to buy her things, because you felt she got shortchanged by the divorce. He nodded, "she's right of course"."Can I ask what Olivia was whispering to you when you first arrived? She seemed quite agitated" I asked carefully. "Her mother was hurt, when you mentioned you two were together. She had no idea that Genevieve was even seeing anyone. After we had all had lunch in New York, I mentioned to her that I thought you two seemed unusually close, but she dismissed it. She said she'd asked her and she had denied it. She said, she'd know, Genevieve would have told her. Well, she was upset, she couldn't understand why she would keep it a secret" he said. "I have no idea and frankly it's none of my business, Gigi has made it quite clear that I should not interfere and I'm not going to" I said. "That's probably a good idea" he said wryly. Her mom appeared in the doorway, "Gerard!" she snapped. "I'd better go and make peace" he said rolling his eyes. I grinned as he walked out. It seemed I'd misjudged him, but I'd learnt my lesson. I would always support Gigi and respect her decisions when it came to dealing with her parents. I looked over at her, if it wasn't for all the tubes, she would look like she was sleeping peacefully. I sat down on the chair next to her bed, laying my head on the bed by her hand and running my fingers lightly up and down her arm, hoping she'd wake up soon.

Gigi's POV -
My head felt foggy, like it weighed a ton. I couldn't lift it. I suddenly became aware of something lodged in my mouth down my throat, what the fuck?!! I was starting to gag, trying desperately to dislodge it, but I couldn't lift my hands. My chest felt heavy and as soon as I tried to move I felt something new ... pain!! I tried to scream but I couldn't get anything out other than a strangled half groan, half cry. "No no, stop, stop struggling, it's okay!!" I heard a voice tell me. I groaned again and tried opening my eyes. They felt heavy. "It's okay baby, someone's coming relax" said the voice again, but I was panicking and started to struggle again. I felt someone take my hand, squeezing it gently, "try and relax, the nurse is coming" said the voice. I could hear other voices, but I drifted off again. I started to wake once more, vaguely aware of the weight being lifted off my head. My throat, thankfully, was free of anything, as I coughed it felt slightly tender. I wasn't sure how long had passed but I slowly opened my eyes, looking around but everything seemed blurry. From what I could tell I was in a hospital bed. I could vaguely see and feel tubes coming out of me. My arm was bandaged and so was my leg. My eyelids felt so heavy they closed again by themselves. What had happened to me? "How are you feeling?" I heard the same voice as before, I coughed again, wincing at the pain and I shook my head. "Is your throat sore? Can't you talk?" I nodded, clearing my throat and coughing again. My eyes opened once more, it felt like they were taking longer to focus, finally I was able to clearly see the face smiling at me. He lifted a hand and cupped my cheek, leaning in towards me. I panicked!! Jesus he was about to kiss me! I quickly put up my hand up to stop him, blurting out in a croaky voice, "No no! Don't, stop!! Who the hell are you?"