Chapter 13
"Oh my god....Nick..." Amanda whispered, her eyes tearing as she looked desperately for the call button to get the nurse's desk. Nick's eyes watched her fumble for the button near his bed, wide and fearful. She finally found it, then held her fiancé's hand...kissing it gently. Amanda was crying tears of happiness as the nurse came in.
"My, my. He's awake...let me get the doctor right away to look him over." the nurse said with a smile.
"Thank god....you're gonna be okay, baby. Everything will be okay..." she said, more to reassure herself more than him. Nick's doctor came into the room and removed his breathing tube...Nick immediately coughed, and it was the best sound Amanda had heard in three days...it made her smile, tears still rolling down her face. Once the doctors had left the room, the two of them were finally alone....neither of them spoke for quite a while until he turned and looked at her, his eyes watering.
"Hey..." he said weakly. Nick's voice was very hoarse, his neck strained.
"Hey..." Amanda sobbed, grinning from ear to ear as she cried, his hand in her own as she kissed it over and over again.
"Don't cry, baby...I'm here..." Nick whispered, now beginning to cry himself. The two of them sobbed quietly together for a few moments.
"God, Nick....it feels so good to hear your voice again...I never thought you would wake up, but I prayed you might." Amanda replied, touching his bruised face with her hand. He smiled at her, ignoring the stabbing pains in his chest from the broken ribs. Nick felt very uncomfortable and stiff in the hospital bed...his whole body ached, especially his head and chest. He was alarmed to see that he had a broken arm and leg as well.
"What happened to me?" he asked, blinking at his casts. The neck brace tugged at his skin, he felt hot under the bandages covering his head.
"You don't remember, baby? You were in a car accident..." Amanda whispered, moving strands of hair out of his face.
"All I remember is talking to you on the phone, I looked up and saw a car coming at me....I put my arms up in front of my face...then I blacked out." he explained shakily. Amanda could hear the tires screeching in the back of her mind and the sound of the woman's car impacting with Nick's....the window breaking in and cutting his face.
"I'm so sorry, baby...I'm so sorry this happened..." Nick said tearfully.
"Sweetheart, I am not mad at you. You're lucky to be alive right now. Everyone agrees you should have died....but you're here." Amanda grinned.
"Everything hurts..." he muttered, as a sharp pain stabbed him in his abdomen.
"Okay...I will get the doctor to give you some pain meds." Amanda said. After his medication was given to him, Nick sighed with content.
"Nick...I'm so proud of you...you have come such a long way already in the past two days."
"I told you I wasn't going anywhere, remember? They have to take me kicking and screaming first." Nick said hoarsely with a small grin.
"I'm so happy you're awake..." Amanda smiled. Now that Nick was awake, it was time to go home and check on the rest of the family. Amanda went home and heard Aaron yelling from the kitchen.
"I HATE YOU!!!" the boy shouted, slamming the door and running up the stairs. Amanda walked into the kitchen where she saw AJ at the table, his head buried in his hands.
"What happened, AJ?" she asked.
"The kid took a swing at me." AJ said bluntly, rubbing his forehead.
"He what?" Amanda asked in surprise. Aaron was not usually violent or known for going around punching people.
"Aaron has been angry because I kept him out of school and took away his computer. I cut him off from everything so he couldn't find out about Nick being in the accident. You told me not to tell him, remember?" AJ replied.
"Yes, I did tell you that....by why did Aaron try to hit you?" Amanda asked.
"He was asking me about Nick. I wouldn't tell him so he got pissed and tried to punch me. That kid has a mean swing." AJ told her. Amanda smiled at a memory...one of Nick finally standing up to Lance and knocking him out cold a long time ago. It was funny how he and his brother were so similar.
"I will talk to him, Nick finally woke up today so I can tell him everything."
"Nick's awake? That's awesome!" AJ said, grinning from ear to ear.
"That's why I came home. Nick is awake and talking, but we are not out of the woods yet. He has a long way to go before he can come home." Amanda explained.
"Aaron will be happy to hear that. He's been so angry and moody lately it's hard to get through to the kid at all. He has a lot of pent up anger. Was Nick like that at this age?" AJ asked.
"No, Nick was very quiet....he didn't really express anything. Aaron is the opposite when it comes to controlling his anger. I will talk to him." Amanda said, before heading upstairs. She could hear the 12 year old crying before she even reached the room to knock on the door.
"Aaron?" she said, rapping gently on the door. She heard him sobbing quietly in his room and the sound reminded her of Nick so many years ago.
"Go away..." his muffled voice shouted. Something soft hit the door, a pillow she guessed.
"Aaron it's me...Amanda." she said, knocking again. The door unlocked and opened. Aaron stood in front of her, his blonde hair in disarray, his eyes red and bloodshot from crying. He immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and cried.
"Oh Aaron....its ok..I'm here." Amanda said softly, rubbing his back and leading him into the room. He had Nick's old bedroom, it was almost the same as it had been when he lived there. Aaron wasn't as neat as Nick...his room clearly made the statement that a young boy lived there.
"I'm so glad you're home..." Aaron said as he wiped his eyes again.
"What's wrong?" Amanda asked, sitting down on the bed.
"Where is my brother? Why didn't he pick me up....AJ won't tell me anything." Aaron replied.
"Look, before I tell you...I know what you did to AJ. I never want to hear about you hitting someone again, no matter how mad you were...its wrong." she said sternly. The boy nodded, feeling ashamed.
"I'm so sorry...I'm sorry!" he said, crying again.
"Honey, its okay. Nobody is angry with you. You were upset."
"Where is Nick?"
"Your brother had an accident, he was hurt pretty badly." Amanda said, not sure if she could stand telling the story again, her heart was already breaking.
"Is he gonna be okay? When is he coming home-"
"He was in a coma for two days....he's pretty banged up. I told AJ not to tell you because I wanted to tell you myself. Your brother won't be himself for a while, he's really hurting right now." she interrupted, her eyes watering.
"Why did this happen? My brother doesn't deserve this.....I want to go see him!" Aaron said in frustration.
"I know, sweetheart...but you can't....I can't let you see him the way he is right now." Amanda said.
"He is gonna be okay, isn't he?" Aaron asked again, tears streaming down his face.
"He woke up today, so things are looking better." Amanda replied, as Aaron hugged her.
"I can't lose him.....he is my only family....I just got him back..." the boy cried.
"I know, Aaron...." she whispered, rubbing his back gently once more.
"If something happens to him...where would I go?" Aaron asked suddenly, his brown eyes staring up at her.
"We will always be here for you....but it might not be a bad idea to find out." Amanda replied, making a mental note to talk to Michelle later. Aaron was still a minor and Nick was his guardian, they had not planned on who would be in charge of the boy should Nick be unable to care for him. She stayed with Aaron until he calmed down, then left him to her thoughts and went to see her daughter. The little girl looked so much like Nick, and she felt herself start to cry again. She just wished everything would go back to normal.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Might need tissues for this chapter...thanks for reading!
