His Maid

Chapter 35

"I'm sorry, for fainting on you." I apologised as we turned onto the house grounds. After seeing James up in bed, I had fainted which is embarrassing.

"It's alright." Luke chuckled. "I expected a reaction like that, mostly because of your drunken state but your fainting has sobered you up." He pointed out, I nodded slowly and unclipped my seatbelt.

"Actually, I think it was mostly because I didn't expect dad to wake up. It was... a shock, that's all."

"Of course. I understand that completely. Thanks Bill!" He thanked the driver and unclipped his seatbelt and left the car. I followed him out and we slowly made our way up to the front door, mostly to stop me from stumbling and falling flat on my face. I knocked on the door and it opened in less than five seconds. "Hello Damien. Do we have a hell of a story to tell you."

****

The ceiling seemed to be the most interesting thing to look at as I waited for Damien to get out of the shower. I can't believe I fainted, I actually fainted in front of my brother, my dad and my dads nurse. How embarrassing! A flush grew on my cheeks as I thought back to what happened at the hospital. I groaned and covered my face with my hands, shaking my head as I did.

"Are you alright?" I take my hands away from my face and look up at Damien who was looking sexy as ever with a towel draped over his shoulders. I gulped as my eyes trailed down his dripping wet body and landing on my favourite place.

"Y-yeah," I cleared my throat and nodded, "yeah I'm good, just have a headache is all."

"Good job I have a packet of paracetamol in my drawer, there's some water on the top of my bed side table as well."

"Oh thank you, you are a God." I look at him again and eye him up and down. "Quite literally too." I wink and blow a kiss which he catches and presses against his chest. "Ha!"

"You're cute."

"Oh I know." Maybe I'm not as sober as I thought I was. The sheets ruffled next to me as he climbed into the bed. "Did you put on some clothes?" I reached behind me. "Nope, no you didn't." His hearty laugh fills my ears and I instantly calm down, relaxing at the sound. His arm wraps around my waist and pulls my back against his chest.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright, just a little shocked that James is awake. I know it's only been a month since the accident but after everything Luke has been saying, I was starting to believe that maybe he was never going to wake up. I thought that that was it, that I would have only known about him for a short while and he would be gone without me getting to know him. I would hate myself for not giving him a chance sooner."

"Hey," he pushed down on my shoulder and twisted me around a little, I sighed and turned the full 180, "you have another chance to make this work. This is something you should be happy about, not worrying about. You're relationship has started off at a shaky start but now he will heal and when he is well again you can start over again and bond, grow the attachment that you've been needing since you was seven years old."

"But what if something goes wrong in the healing process, his health might decline, he could die and I might never see him again and I-" He presses a chaste kiss against my forehead.

"Breathe. Inhale, exhale."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I sob.

"Shh. Shh it's okay. Let's go to sleep baby." He continued to hush me to sleep.

****

"Hi dad." I say as I enter the room with an Earl Grey tea and a jam donut.

"Hello love." He smiled. I sigh and put my bag down onto the floor next to the chair.

"How are you feeling today, dad?" I asked as I plumped his pillow.

"Marley you don't have to keep asking me that question."

"Does that mean you feel unwell? Shall I call the nurse? I'm going to call a nurse maybe she could-"

"Marley!" I step away from him and almost trip over the chair leg and my bag. "I'm sorry I just- I feel overwhelmed with how much you are trying to care for me. Darling, the nurses look after me, they're doing an amazing job stop trying to take over." I sigh and realise that he was right. I am over caring and over worrying about him. I slump down into the chair behind me and lean against my hand.

"I'm sorry, I just worry about you and that I'm gonna wake up and it's all a dream, that you're actually still in a coma but this time you're dead and there's nothing I can do to bring you back. No amount of hoping or paying or begging would bring you back and that's when I would realise that I should have made an effort with you, I should have forgiven you sooner. So I forgive you, life's short and I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I had done nothing to build a relationship with you."

"Darling, you do not have to do that. I don't deserve your forgiveness, I haven't worked for it and after being out of your life for twenty six years of your life. I regret every second that I missed because of my stupidity but I will work for the rest of my life for your forgiveness and for those twenty six years that I missed out on. I love you darling."

"I love you too dad. I love you too." He pat his hand on the hospital bed and moved slowly across so I could fit next to him. My whole body shook as several sobs racked through my body.

"I'm so sorry, Marley." His words made the tears fall faster and the sobs became harder.

Twenty six years of saved up tears towards my father rolled down my cheeks in a fast pace. All of them came at once and there was no way of stopping them, no words of comfort could stop them. Twenty six years of waiting I finally had a dad and it felt so surreal that I had to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming. I just didn't think it would come to an end so soon.