Chasing Paradise (Chasing 3)

My cries vibrated throughout the room; it was so loud that I didn’t hear anyone coming towards me until a medic slightly shook me, snapping me back into focus.

“Miss, I’m sorry, but we can’t afford to waste time. Judging by the pool of blood and the faint pulse, we only have a tiny window to keep him alive,” a young man with a grim face and sympathetic eyes said before more people came in and took control of the situation.

The loud noise, the chaos that surrounded me and the alarming pitch of emergency around me swirled in my head. “Let him live,” I whispered before I fainted into darkness.

Thirty

Sienna

I heard Chad and Lucy discussing something, before I managed to open my eyes. The second my eyes saw the bright light, I squinted, memories and the horrifying events loaded into my mind. I bolted, sitting upright, gasping his name, “Blake! I need to see Blake!”

“Sienna…” Chad gave me the sorry eyes. I glanced at Lucy, who was mirroring the same look.

No, no, he couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t be. We were just starting our lives… “Tell me he’s alive,” I pleaded. “Please.”

Lucy soothed me, rubbing my arm gently. “They’re operating on him. It’s been six hours now. We were told that he has a five percent survival rate because the bullet grazed his heart. During the operation, he bled out a lot and it resulted to more damage. We’re still waiting for more news.”

A five percent chance? I trembled and allowed myself a minute to take everything in before I looked at Chad. “Get me a wheelchair. I want to be out in the waiting room when they bring any updates.”

“But you need to rest, sweetie. You went—”

I cut Chad off, “Get. Me. That. Wheelchair or I will get it myself!”

“Get it,” Lucy directed him. He made a melancholy sigh and left the room. “Sienna—”

“No. I don’t want to talk about it, not right now. I just need to be as close to Blake as possible. That’s all I need.”

She nodded and then gave me a hug. “Be strong, my love. Have faith.”

Edward, Blake’s grandfather, William, Toby and Clive were all in the waiting area when Chad and Lucy wheeled me in.

I was surprised when William sat next to me, reached for my hand and held it. “Keep talking to him. He always finds a way to come back to you. My grandson loves you that much.”

I nodded through my tears, understanding what he meant by keep talking to him. By using the power of the mind and the heart, some people believed that it made miracles.

After an eight-hour surgery, Blake survived, but was still in a critical condition. The next forty-eight hours were vital to see if he could pull through.

He was transferred into a private room. William was kind enough to request another bed to be placed alongside Blake’s so I could sleep and still be with him.

Blake still looked pale. I held his hand, kissing it and not letting go. “Goodnight, my love.” I slept on my side, falling asleep while watching him.

I remembered smiling, thanking my father for helping me out, for keeping him alive.

My haunted dreams pulled me in again, drowning in a dark sea. I could feel my lungs heaving before it felt heavy, constricted, as I fell deeper into the dark depths of the water.

“Sienna,” a voice called out, echoing in the water. It was odd, but I could hear it perfectly. It called on me again, but this time, I recognized the voice. It was my dad’s.

The second I realized it was his, my dream shifted back into our old home, tucked next to him in the sofa as he read me a story of Thumbelina. I was listening to him, picturing out the story, before I realized that daddy had stopped his storytelling.

“Daddy, come on! I need to know what happens next,” I urged on.

He patted my head and then looked out the window. “The rain has stopped, princess.”

I frowned at him, looking out the window as well. The rain did stop, but it was still gloomy with some orange tinged hues scattered about. It was pretty, but I was ready to hear the rest of the story. “Is that suppose to mean something, dad?” I glanced at him, waiting.

He studied the clouds awhile before he looked down on me, closing the book, putting it aside. “That means the sun will come out soon. It always does. It doesn’t matter how long it rains or how heavy the pour because you can always count on the sun to shine. It always comes back.”

“Okay. Can we finish our story now?”

“I’m sorry, princess, but story time is over.” Dad kissed my forehead, looking at me with tears in his eyes.

I felt alarmed. “Don’t cry.”

“These are happy tears. Come on, princess; time to get up and go venture outside. Stand in the sun, bask in it.” Dad got up, guiding me outside, out in our lawn, holding my hand as he looked up again, studying the sky. “Close your eyes. The sun is about to come out soon. I’m right here with you, holding your hand, so don’t be afraid.”

I trusted him, so I did what I was told, holding his hand tight and waiting for the sun.

The steady sound of the beeping monitor brought me out of my dream. I felt the wetness on my face before I even opened my eyes. When I did open my lids, I was greeted by the fresh strokes of the morning rays and then my eyes directly clashed with Blake’s.

He squeezed my hand. I looked down to our intertwined fingers before looking back to him. “How are you feeling?”

“I woke up from your cries. Are you okay?” he asked, concerned.

Was he serious? He was asking me if I was okay? I wasn’t the one being operated on for eight hours yesterday—then everything came flooding in. “Oh God! I almost lost you.” I started crying again, the image of him in a pool of blood still fresh from my mind.

“Don’t cry, poppet. I’m alive.” He comforted, trying to ease my worry. “You can’t get rid of me that quickly.” He pulled my hand and placed it close to the bandages, to his heart. “I’d do it all over again. I wasn’t going to fail to protect you for the third time.”

“You’re freaking crazy!” I sobbed, loving this crazy man more than ever.

“You own me, Sienna.” He kissed my fingertips. “Per sempre.”

My Knightly was back.

~S~

We didn’t leave the hospital until a week and a half later. For two weeks, I nursed him, not wanting for him to lift even a finger. I was too paranoid to the point of overkill. I just couldn’t help it. He would’ve done the same for me so his wiles and complaints were pretty much ignored. We spoke about what happened in the hospital, but we still had a lot to discuss. We weren’t ready to remember that night, nor speak about it. In time, we will overcome that, too. For now, though, I was just glad that he was alive. That’s all that mattered.