SWNOVELS Chapter 16
"Okay, I'm going to go outside for a bit." I said standing up and pecking Paxton's forehead before I exited the room. When I reached the platform and was about to place my hand on the scanner-like thing that would take the platform down I was stopped by Penelope calling my name with tear-brimmed eyes. Her face spoke volumes, she looked happy and relieved, and in the situation that we were in there were only a few things that came to mind that could cause such a reaction. I couldn't help but to become tearful myself as I ran back to the room with my heart beating at 4,000 miles an hour. I was about to push the door open when doubt flooded in and instantly stopped me in my tracks. What if he didn't want me anymore, and most of all would I be able to withstand his rejection if he didn't. I couldn't help but to bite my inner lip as I contemplated on what my next move should be. Should I just leave and go home, but how would I do that? Or maybe I should stay out here so that he can see his parents and then when they are done, I'll plot out my next move?
"Sweetie, I think that he wants to see you." Penelope said instantly snapping me out of my cloud of worries. A gentle smile mirrored her features as Derek and her exited the room. Their faces held nothing but relief and happiness as they approached me.
"Don't worry Dear, he loves you, he won't reject you." Derek voiced out his words of encouragement, not a single amount of doubt in his voice as he gave me a smile full of encouragement.
"I see that this world has given you the power to read minds, or is it just mine?" I teased and watched as Derek laughed and shook his head in amusement.
"Something along those lines," He said. "Now go on, I'm sure that you don't want to make him wait even longer than he's been waiting." Derek said with a raised eyebrow to which I just nodded with a small smile as I hesitantly pushed open the door and walked into the room. The moment that I entered I saw Paxton's eyes dart over to me, they softened and began filling with tears. So many emotions were swirling in the warm brown eyes of his, so much so that I couldn't decipher how exactly he was feeling, or what the most prominent emotions were.
"Hey, I'm happy to see that you're awake," I said with a watery smile feeling so happy to see him awake, it felt as though it had been ages since I had last since his eyes looking at me with so much love, love that I thought would have disappeared. I felt so relieved and happy as I watched as his tears rolled down his cheeks with his eyes still glued on me and just like that my own tears began flowing down my cheeks. I wasn't able to hold myself from wrapping my arms around him hoping that I wasn't hurting anything. "Never do that again, Pax."I said uncontrollable sobs escaping from my lips as relief flowed into me. His gentle breath brushed over my jaw and neck as I laid my head on his shoulder.
"You came back." I barely heard him say in a tiny barely audible voice.
"Yeah, I'm back," I said pulling away and wiping away his tears and then my own. "Why did you do this to yourself, Paxton, you had everyone worried sick about you." I scolded unable to hold it in. The pent but worry flooding out in those words. Besides that I also wanted him to know how much pain he had caused to his parents...and to me.
I saw him mouth something but I couldn't hear anything so I leaned in again in hopes of hearing him better.
"I'm sorry." He said sounding genuinely apologetic and remorseful. His voice sounded so frail, and honestly broke my heart.
"I'm also sorry for leaving you like I did," I told him after I had straightened myself up. "Let me call your doc... I mean Healer." I said just to hear a forced out and pained 'stay'.
"I'll be back," I gently said, caressing his cheek. "I just want her to make sure that you're okay." I explained looking at him but he did nothing, which was concerning because it seemed like he couldn't move anything except his mouth and eyes.
As I was about to leave, the healer came in and shot me a smile before she made her way to Paxton. "Good morning Mr. Woods. It's good to have you back here with us. You must be wondering why you're unable to move your body right now and the simple response is that your body is still paralyzed from the sleeping potion that you took, but with you being awake you should have more mobility by tomorrow," She explained as her hands began glowing as she moved them over Paxton's body. "Everything else seems fine," She said before she came to me. "Could you help him to drink some water, his body is dehydrated." She gently instructed before she made her way out of the door.
I moved over to the the table near his bed and poured some water into a cup for him and then I moved over to Paxton and helped him to sit up. I balanced his body using my own and brought the cup to his lips. He slowly parted them as I kept giving him bits of water until he had drank half the cup and then I helped him lay back down on his bed .
"You still look a bit pale, then again, it's not something that will just change overnight, I guess." I said as I took a seat on the chair that had become my home in the past three days. I won't lie, I can't wait to go home so that I can sleep on a comfortable bed again. Three nights of sleeping in a chair was more than enough to make my body as stiff as a stick. The awkward sleeping positions that I've been sleeping in were nothing short of uncomfortable. The tension in my body was killing me at this point.
I heard Paxton groan, but his eyes didn't say anything about him being in pain or anything, so I took this as a sign that he wanted to say something. With that in mind, I leaned down and placed my cheek on his so that I could hear him speak.
"Where have you been sleeping ever since I've been out?" He asked, seeming as though he already had an idea of where I had been sleeping.
"Well, I've been here." I told him, knowing that he probably wasn't going to be happy about this, but it couldn't have been helped.
"Why didn't you go to my house to sleep? It would have been more comfortable for you. With this being a hospital, I know that the chair isn't comfortable enough for you to have some proper rest in." He softly said with audible displeasure and worry in his words.
"I wanted to be here when you woke up, and it didn't feel right to just leave you here besides Penelope and Derek were also here until the end of visitation hours." I explained, trying to get myself out of this mess.
"What about eating? Have you been eating?" He asked, sounding concerned, which was touching considering the fact that he was the one that had been admitted into a hospital, not me. He was definitely worse off, and he needed to be more worried about himself than me.
"Yes I've been eating and bathing, Penelope made sure of that and lucky enough for me there is a bathroom right in this room so I didn't have to travel very far in order to take a quick shower." I explained, hoping that he would feel more reassured. The last thing I wanted and that he needed was to worry about me.
"Don't you want to come and lay down with me?" He asked with puppy dog eyes, making my eyes widen at his request.
"No can do, I don't know what that barrier would do to me." I said even though Paxton's bed looked way more comfortable than the chair that I had been sleeping in for the past couple of days. But I'm sure that it was against hospital policies to sleep with the patient.
"Please, do it for your sick soulmate who needs to be near you more than anything right now," He tried to guilt trip which was sadly working because even the doctor had said that my touch would be helpful for him, then again that was during the time that he was in a coma. "You're tired, Rosie. I can tell, and it's worrying me, and I'm sure that worrying is not good for me. But, if you were to climb in here and sleep with me, I'm more than sure that I'll feel better." He continued making me bite my bottom lip as I argued with myself, not knowing what to do. To go against possible hospital principles or not. It was such a tempting offer, especially because of my already sore body. All because of that awful chair. This elf sure was good in his game of manipulation.
"Okay," I silently said, but I knew that he heard me. The smile on his face more than reasurred me that he did. I climbed onto the floating bed, and I have to admit it felt nice and warm here, a complete contrast to the chair.
"Sleep." Paxton softly said, and being the tired girl that I was, I did just that. For the first time in the past three days, I was finally able to get some good sleep.