Page 8 of Protective Love

"Okay, but you're confident that he's going to make a full recovery?"

"He's a strong and determined man. He responded to the surgeries well, he was able to breathe on his own quicker than most people in his condition, and he's now awake and somewhat alert. I can't say anything for sure just yet, but we'll know more once the tests are back."

Sophia sighs in relief and I watch as a tear leaks from the corner of her eyes, trickling down her face as she leans forward and presses a kiss to my cheek.

"Am I just expected to stand here and continue to hold his hand?" Rory asks, raising her brows at the doctor who's almost out of the room.

"Well, Jaylen has been appointed as your main patient for the time being, Miss Daniels. I'd suggest you get comfy in that chair beside him until he's ready to let go of you."

I chuckle internally at his statement.

If I had any control over my body right now, I'd make sure I never let go of her.

I'm intrigued by her. I want to know more about her.

For the first time since I've been here, I'm actually glad that I'm going to be stuck at the hospital for the foreseeable future because it means I get to spend time with her.

It'll give me time to find out what I want to know, and unfortunately for her, she'll have to put up with it because it's her job to take care of me.

Maybe I'm going to enjoy my stay here from now on.

Chapter Four

Rory

Two hours I was stuck in that room with Jaylen King gripping onto my hand as if I was his lifeline.

Two hours of my shift wasted doing nothing.

I chomp down on my sandwich as I prop my phone up on the table in front of me, waiting for the FaceTime to connect.

"Hey, darling!" Chrissie yells, smiling widely as she sits down in her office and fiddles with her phone, trying to get it to stand up. "How's your day so far? Has Markus been nice?"

I scowl at her through the screen as I swallow the food in my mouth and shake my head.

"My day has been horrendous!" I tell her, shaking my head and pushing my sandwich away from me. "I've been given Jaylen King as a patient, and I thought it'd be okay because he's in a coma, but no, the universe hates me and enjoys throwing curveballs at me."

She frowns and opens a packet of crisps, beginning to munch on them, waiting for me to continue.

"He's been in a coma for almost a month, Chrissie, and then I come in and bam, he wakes up while I'm checking his vitals."

Her eyes go wide.

"His freaking eyes opened, and he grabbed onto my hand, which honestly scared the living fuck out of me. Thankfully his cousin was in the room, so she ran off to go and get Markus, because I was stuck beside him. He literally wouldn't let me go."

"Well, that's good news, isn't it?"

"No, Chrissie. None of it is good news." I glance around the cafeteria, thankful that it's mostly empty and no one is witnessing my freak out. "Your good friend Markus comes into the room, checks on him, reassures his cousin that it's a good sign and then just left me there. I was stuck in that room fortwo hours, simply holding this guys hand until he finally let go."

She covers her mouth as she quietly giggles.

"If you stop looking at it in a negative way, it's actually quite sweet," she says, amusement swirling in her misty eyes. "Maybe you're the reason he woke up out of his coma. You never know, this could be some sort of twisted fate. I bet his family will be happy. Honestly, you need to stop looking at everything so negatively, Aurora."

"Shhh!" I hiss, grabbing my phone and immediately turning the volume down as I sneak glances around the room, hoping that the few other people in here didn't hear her.

"Oh shit. I'm so sorry!"

I look down at my phone, cradling it against my chest and I see her worried expression peering at me through the phone.