BEAUTIFUL BROKEN MESS (Broken, Series #2)(108)

His dialogue is muddled and he takes a great deal of pauses, but we understand every word he utters. Even this short amount of conversing seems to be taking a toll on him already. He lays his head back against the pillow, but doesn’t remove his eyes from his girlfriend. She runs her fingers through his hair slowly, and once again they disappear into their own little world. She whispers soft words into his ear, and as long as he’s awake, I can stare at their mushy adoration all day.

Dr. Graham strolls into the room and smiles widely at Jax. He shakes hands with all of us and says, “It’s nice to meet you with your eyes open, Mr. Riley.” Jax gives a lazy smirk and attempts to talk, but his body seems to be slowing back down so he closes his mouth. Dr. Graham nods his head and says, “It’s hard at first. I’m about to look over all of your scans, but I’m sure I’ll be pleased with how everything is looking.”

Mom clears her throat and asks, “How long do you think he’ll be here?”

“He’s still got a ways to go. He’s lost some muscle mass this past week and a half, so he’ll absolutely need rehabilitation. We’ll keep you up in this wing for a couple more days, just to make sure there is continual progress and no relapses.”

“A week and a half?” Jax whispers roughly. Em stares into his eyes and nods her head. “I’m so sorry, babe,” he apologizes.

“You’ve actually improved quicker than usual, so I feel good about your recovery.” The doctor walks over to check his vitals, while trying not to disturb Em’s intense grip on him.

Jaxon’s eyes continue to droop and then they begin fluttering closed. My mom leans closer to him and I quickly walk to his side.

Em sits up ramrod straight and clutches at his shoulders. “No, no, no. You just woke up, please don’t leave me again. Please!” she yells and pleads. A wave of pain crosses Jaxon’s face, and I can tell he’s trying his hardest to keep his eyes open. A battle he seems to be losing.

Dr. Graham gently pats her hand and in a soothing voice, he states, “It’s okay. It’s okay. Emerging from a comatose state is a slow process. He’ll only be awake for a few hours at a time, if that, at first. This is sleeping, not unconsciousness.”

Mom sits back in her chair and lets out a relieved sigh. My body deflates as the stress slowly dissipates. I sink to my knees on the cold, hard tile and lay my forehead on the edge of his bed. Em continues to watch his every inhale and exhale. I can tell she’s still hoping he’ll wake up and talk to us some more, as am I. It’s a tease to have him up and then shortly after I’m staring at the back of his eyelids again. Dr. Graham finishes up his exam and tells us he will come back as soon as he has looked over Jaxon’s scans.

Two intolerably long hours have gone by when Quinn and Cole burst through the door. I notice how let down they are when they see that Jaxon is still asleep. Quinn’s eyes well up with tears and Cole pulls her into his chest.

“Quinny, he’s awake. The doctor says he’s just sleeping now,” Em utters softly, while rubbing Jaxon’s chest.

“Oh, thank God,” Quinn sighs.

“Seriously?” Cole questions.

I stand up and point to my chair so Quinn can have it. She quickly claims it, pulls her knees up to her chest, and lays her head down. “Thank you,” she says.

“How was he?” Cole asks.

“He seemed normal. His voice is shot to shit, but it just seemed like he was waking up after a long nap. It was so weird. Definitely not what I was expecting,” I reply.

“He heard everything,” Em whispers, without taking her eyes off Jax.