I had no idea how long I had been sleeping. I just felt it had been a long time. When I woke up, my neck was stiff and my limbs were numb. My chest was the most painful area – even the slightest movement hurt a lot.
What happened to me?
I slowly recalled my memories as I blankly blinked. Then, I remembered being shot and becoming severely injured, which caused Julia to cry.
I raised my head slightly and noticed Julia resting her head on the edge of the bed. She appeared pale and exhausted. Her hair was messy and she was still wearing the same clothes she had on when we went shopping.
She was holding my hand tightly at the moment, which gave me a warm sensation. I was happy to know that Christopher’s parents cared about me; it was a wonderful feeling. I felt my world was brimming with hope and I started longing for it again.
I was thirsty and wanted to drink some water, but Julia was sleeping and I didn’t want to wake her up. It was only early fall and there was no heating in the room. I was concerned that Julia would be cold, so I adjusted my body slightly, took the jacket on the chair, and placed it on her back.
At that moment, the door opened. Darius walked in just as I was putting the jacket on Julia. Understanding what I was doing, he quickly walked over and assisted me with the task. He then said in surprise, “You’re awake! Don’t move around too much. Just remain in bed. I’ll call the doctor to check up on you.”
“Shhh.” I made a shushing motion, smiled weakly, and whispered, “Don’t be too loud, Darius. You’ll startle Mrs. Lane.”
Darius looked at me curiously as he helped me lie back down on the bed in slow motion. With a lowered voice, he asked, “How do you feel? Are you unwell?”
I felt pain all over my body, but I did not want to tell him. I shook my head and said, “I’m fine. It’s just… Cough!”
As I was finishing my sentence, I coughed. The cough affected the wound on my chest, resulting in excruciating pain.
Julia was startled awake by my coughing. When she saw that I had also woken up, she exclaimed, “You’ve finally awakened, Yvonne! That’s great!”
“I’m sorry to wake you up, Mrs. Lane,” I embarrassedly apologized.
“What’s the big deal about waking me up? You should not be concerned with whether or not I am awake. Darius, hurry and notify all of the doctors and nurses. Tell them all to come here right away. All of them!”
Julia rushed to my bedside and checked on me while ordering Darius. She was relieved when she noticed that I no longer had a fever. She also expressed her displeasure with Darius’ tardiness and said, “It’s all right. I’ll go on my own.”
“Mom, you can just stay and rest. I’ll go.” Darius sat Julia in the chair and hurriedly left the room.
“You fool, rest for what? No matter what happens, you never seem to feel nervous. Can’t you just hurry? You’re infuriating me.” Julia jumped out of her chair and marched to the door, yelling at Darius, “You should hurry up! Can you hear me? You’re moving too slowly. Why do I have a son as slow as you? Can’t you tell when you should be calling the doctors?”
When she turned around, she noticed that I was staring at her. Julia’s face stiffened and looked away. She proceeded to pour me a glass of water. She then approached my bedside and lifted my head to help me sip the water.
I felt pampered. While drinking the water, I kept my gaze fixed on her. After finishing the water, Julia asked me in a gentle voice, “Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? I’ll ask someone to bring over the food right away.”
I felt even more pampered. This was like a dream, considering I had been in an awkward situation with my future mother-in-law for over a year. She had never been nice to me. What’s going on with this princess-like treatment?
“Mrs. Lane, are you… all right?” I could not help but ask her.
