Come Back to Me

Chapter 3: Paul

                                                                                    Briing! Brriinng!

        "Really, Paul? You didn't turn off your phone? This is your last night of freedom." My best friend and best man, Andrew jokes.

        "Sorry, I forgot. I'll be right back." I stand up and walk out of the room. We were at Andrews's house for the end of our bachelor party playing poker. "Hello?"

        "Paul? It's Ms. Jones." Ashley's mom. Why is she calling me now? She should know where I'm at. "I'm calling about Ashley."

        My brain freezes for a second, "Is she okay?" I ask slowly. Then I laugh "she doesn't have cold feet now does she?"

        Ms. Jones sighs heavily, "Um... she's..." it sounds like she is starting to cry and my heart starts to race in fear. "She's been in a car crash; you need to come down to the hospital now."

        .........

        "Are you still there?" I let out a long breath that I hadn't realized I was holding. Without answering I hang up the phone and run out of the house.

        "Paul? Where are you going?" Andrew says behind me as I try to open the car door unsuccessfully. I silently curse myself for not getting a new button to open the car door after losing my first.

        "Paul" he says more urgently this time. "What's wrong?" He asks again.

        "Ashley's been in a car accident." I'm finally able to answer as I open the door and climb in. Andrew reacts much quicker to the news than I did.

        "I'm going with you." he says and runs to the passenger door without waiting for my reply.

        After a few silent moments I hand Andrew my phone and ask him "Can you call back Ashley's mom and tell her that we are driving over to the hospital? In my rush I kind of hung up on her."

        "Hello... No, this is Andrew, his best man... yea he's sorry about that... he wanted me to tell you that we are on our way..." Andrew glances at me then speaks into the phone again a little quieter this time, "like he just saw a ghost. Okay, yea... we're almost there... see ya soon... bye." Andrew looks at me with worry in his eyes like he's trying to gauge my reaction to what's happening and then glances at the speedometer, "Dude, slow down! I know you're scared I am too, but we don't want to get in a crash ourselves then what help would you be to Ashley?"

        I sigh then slow down knowing he's right. How could this have happened? Especially on the eve of our wedding?

        "I don't know but let's just get to the hospital and see what's happening; we don't even know how bad it is yet." Andrew says.

        "Did I say that out loud?"

        "Yes, yes you did say that out loud. Dude, you are going crazy calm down." I open my mouth to reply to him, but it feels like if I speak I will completely lose control so I shut my mouth again.

        We finally make it to the hospital and I fly out of the car. Andrew comes up behind me when we make it the door and hands me my car keys, "You forgot to turn off the ignition." Wow. I really am losing my mind.

        I walk in and Ms. Jones races towards me and envelops me into a bone crushing hug. We usually didn't hug much but this was a special case. She pulls away and I ask, "So, what happened?"

        "Well, I guess she was driving to her bachelorette party and a drunk driver ran a red light and ran into her. They were going pretty fast and her car flipped over. The doctors said that she lost a lot of blood but they are doing their best to well . . . keep her alive." At her own words she burst into tears and I pull her into a hug again. After a few moments she pulls away, brushing the tears from her eyes. "We can sit down over here, the doctor says that they should know exactly how critical the situation is soon." I sit down in between Andrew and Ms. Jones and put my head down with my hands covering my face. She has to be okay, she just has to be. I don't how I'll live without her; my life wouldn't make sense. For four years my life has revolved around her, with my mom dead and my dad off who knows where; she's the only family I have left. Why am I not crying? I should be crying right now shouldn't I?

        "You're probably just in shock, its okay." Andrew says.

        "I said that out loud again, didn't I?" I ask. He opens his mouth about to say something else but is interrupted by a doctor walking towards us, his face is unreadable and that makes me even more anxious.

        "Are you here for Ashley Jones?" he asks, and we all reply yes at the same time. "Well, we have good news and bad news," he hesitates; I nod as if to encourage him to go on and if its possible even more worry swarms into my head, "Ashley is alive with just a few broken ribs, a broken leg, and some scratches, but we had to put her into a coma to keep her alive." he pauses again, "she also hit her head pretty hard and there was some internal bleeding. Head injuries are really difficult, sometimes just a little bleeding can lead to more serious issues, or she might even have brain injuries; we wouldn't know that until she wakes up though. But otherwise she is alive, although she isn't steadily breathing by herself yet. You guys can go see her but there is a very very small chance she will wake up; it could be days maybe even weeks before she does." He smiles somewhat sympathetically as he finishes then motions us to follow him, " come on, I'll show you to her room." We stand and Ms. Jones grabs my hand as we follow him deeper into the hospital.

        He stops at room 219 and opens the door for us Andrew and Ms. Jones walk in but I stay outside "Are you not going in?" the doctor questions.

        I shake my head, "Just give me a few moments please." I smile at him but I'm sure he can tell its fake; he just smiles back though and walks in. I don't want to see her all beat up; I want to see her wonderful smile and beautiful eyes looking back at me. I feel like I should have saved her, but I know that isn't possible. But I told her I would always care for and watch out for her and I didn't. The doctor comes out again and smiles again, as he is walking away I say, "Thank you; for keeping her alive."

        He turns around and looks at me, "Of course, it's my job." he continues to walk and then turns the corner, out of sight. I sigh, open the door, and walk in. As soon as I see Ashley's face the long awaited tears come pouring out of my eyes; a mixture of happiness and despair of seeing my baby like this.

        She is covered in bruises and cuts, her left leg is in a huge brace, and a tube is sticking out of her mouth; to help her breath I guess, and I'm sure that her ribs are bandaged up too, although I can't see them. I just stare at her from the door unable to walk in any further.

        "Paul," Ms. Jones stands from her sit and walks to me, "its okay. Come here she's fine." she grabs my hand and pulls me towards Ashley and places my hand in hers. "See you can feel her warmth. It's the same Ashley and she is going to be perfectly fine." she smiles at me and I want to smile back but it's like my body won't listen to my brain. Ms. Jones sits me down in the chair she had been previously occupying, my hand still grasped onto Ashley's; my tears now dried onto my face. She's going to be fine. I'm right here next to her I can feel her warmth. It's the same Ashley; my baby is going to be perfectly fine.