The Amendment (The Contract 2)

I walked Gracie, Laura, and Graham to the elevator, releasing my daughter to Laura’s waiting arms.

“We’ll call you,” she promised and squeezed my arm. “It will happen.”

I blew kisses to Gracie, waiting until the elevator door closed. I was glad I had let her see him. She accepted the fact that he was sleeping easily and as Maddox said, seemed calmer now that she had seen him with her own eyes.

I walked back into the room, meeting Maddox’s excited eyes.

“He blinked, Katy. I swear to God, Richard blinked.”11KatyThe next three days were filled with tension and anticipation. There were small signs Richard was waking up. The flutter of his eyelids—as quick as a hummingbird’s wings—so fast you would miss it if you weren’t looking. The tremor in a finger. The twitch of his arm. A quiet sound deep in his throat—something between a sigh and a groan.

Each action made me stiffen with anxiety and yearn with hope. Ache with the need for the next sign. I didn’t leave his side, even sleeping with my fingers interlocked with his. I rushed to the bathroom when needed, swallowed the food that appeared, and raced through the fastest showers I ever had in my life, returning with wet hair and the same determination in my heart.

I read to him. Talked endlessly. Played recordings of Gracie singing and nattering away that Laura sent me. I stretched and bent his limbs the way Colin had shown me—easy movements to help his muscles stay active. I tried desperately not to get upset at the dead weight his legs felt like in my grip. Alan had assured me it would be the case as his spine healed. Instead, I tried to send positive energy into his daily routines, wanting to do anything I could to help.

No one—not even Maddox, suggested I leave. Laura, Graham, and Jenna came and went, bringing support, hugs, and supplies. They spoke with Richard, checked on me, and left, allowing us the privacy I needed right now.

Maddox was never far away. Working on his laptop, speaking on his phone, taking long walks so I could be alone with Richard. I didn’t hold back now. I told him how much I needed him. How I missed him. Begged him to open his eyes. Cried when I needed to. I held his hand, stroked his face, and talked about the future. Our future.

I turned to Maddox late one evening.

“You have to go home.”

“Soon.”

“Maddox, you can’t stay here indefinitely. You have a job. Responsibilities.”

“I do my job daily. Bent and Aiden can reach me in a second if they have to. Dee is as adamant about me being here as I am. I have a few more days, Katy.” He raised his voice, calling out, “Cooperate, Richard. Open your damn eyes.”

I sighed as I stroked Richard’s palm. “You heard him, my darling. Open your eyes.”

His fingers twitched. Spasmed and tightened around mine. Maddox heard my swift intake of breath and was by my side in a second.

“Richard,” he commanded. “Open up, buddy. Just fucking come back.”

Richard’s eyes fluttered, his eyelids quivering, opening slowly, a glimpse of hazel peeking out at us, only to drift back shut.

“No, my darling,” I begged. “Please, Richard.” A sob caught in my throat. “I’m here. Please.”

His mouth pulled down into a grimace. The tip of his tongue appeared, and he swallowed.

His eyes flickered back open, confused and blank.

And he groaned.RICHARDConsciousness came and went slowly. Gradually.

It brought with it flickers of light.

Muffled sounds.

Pain. So much pain, my body screamed in agony.

Pain won out, and I let the darkness take me away again.

In the darkness, sounds broke through.

Loud voices that made me wince.

The sound of crying that somehow made me want to fight against the pain and help the person sobbing, but darkness overcame me.

There was a sweet little voice singing. A voice I knew. A voice I loved. A voice that made me smile, and I felt my lips curl involuntarily at the light pressure on them before I slipped away again.

At times, there was a deeper voice that cajoled and teased. Familiar, yet distant. Other comforting sounds and voices that broke through at times but couldn’t hold me. I felt touches, smelled fragrances, but the exhaustion would set in, and I would drift.

However, there was one constant voice—feminine and sweet. One filled with agony that pleaded with me to fight. To open my eyes. The sound of her anguish made me push back against the darkness and try. For her. No matter how hard I fought however, pain and darkness won, and I was gone.

Trapped somewhere I didn’t know and couldn’t break from. Names and faces circled, but I couldn’t stop them. Images swam around, yet no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make them come into focus—to concentrate on who they belonged to. Suspended between light and dark, at war inside my head, I found peace when I heard the sweet voice, not able to comprehend the words, but feeling the love soaked into them.