Page 7 of Protective Love

Her brown eyes scan my face, and her full brows draw downwards, creating lines across her forehead.

"Jaylen?"

Wow.

Her voice.

I know I've already heard it before, and I was in awe of it then, but hearing it now as she says my name and whilst I'm also able to see her is something entirely different.

My eyes scan the parts of her that I can see and honestly, I'm glad that I don't seem to have control of my body at this moment in time because if I did, I'd probably do something stupid and embarrassing like kneel down in front of her and ask her to marry me because she's easily one of the most beautiful women I've ever laid eyes on.

"Jaylen, can you hear me?" she asks in her smooth, velvety voice.

Yes, I most certainly can hear you, darling. I'm also damn well glad I can because I've never been so happy about something so miniscule before in my life.

Panic strikes through my body when I realise I can't hear my own voice, and I didn't feel my lips move.

My eyes dart across the room as frantic thoughts filter through my mind.

Something's wrong.

Something's very wrong.

She looks worried and shocked as she continues to stare at me and the panic inside of my body continues to rise as I try to make myself speak but consistently fail to do so.

I'm still broken.

Her head whips around to the side when the door to my hospital room opens again and my vision is suddenly filled with Sophia's tear-stricken face.

"I was just doing some checks on him when his eyes opened and he grabbed a hold of my hand."

A doctor pushes past Sophia and nods towards the beautiful nurse standing by my side.

"Are you able to remove your hand from his, Rory?"

She shakes her head.

"I've tried, but he's gripping it really tight."

"This is good news, right?" Sophia asks, worry laced in her tone.

"Well, it shows that he's responsive, yes," the doctor says, examining my face. "We'll have to book him in for another EEG scan and run some tests on him, but this does seem like a positive development."

He shines a light in my eyes, causing me to squint and he quickly moves it away.

"Well, he's responding to the light, and the fact that he's still gripping onto your hand would suggest that he's gradually gaining control over his body again."

He walks out of my view and when he doesn't reappear after a few seconds, I turn my attention back to the nurse beside me.

Rory.

The name suits her.

It's unique, and different, and I have a feeling she's the same.

"How long do you think it'll take for him to be back to normal?" Sophia asks, coming back into my view, smiling down at me as she glances between me and the doctor.

"Well, he won't be back to normal for quite a while. We won't know for sure, but we'll keep a close eye on him and as he starts progressing we'll be able to gauge what he's able to do and how much pain he is in. He'll also have to do physiotherapy for at least a few weeks and be under close monitoring for us to ensure that he's okay and that he's healed properly."