Page 54

Madison

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

Two weeks later

"Hey, sister, I'm so proud of you. Doctor Athanasios told me he is trying hard to bring you back to us, and I couldn't feel happier. You need to wake up soon, Brooklyn. There are two babies inside me, and they will want to kiss and hug their aunt."

I brush a strand of hair from her forehead and tuck it behind her ear. Despite being much thinner, my sister is as beautiful as ever, and if it weren't for the noise of the devices, she would only appear to be asleep.

"And speaking of Doctor Athanasios, I think he has a crush on you. Every time I come to visit, he's either leaving or arriving at your room." I take her hand and kiss it. "As I told you before, my wedding will be the day after tomorrow, and it would be perfect if you could be there, but I understand that you need more time before you wake up. No problem. I'll film everything, and then you can watch it. Soraya will be a flower girl, and Silas and Joseph, Zeus's nephew, will be page boys. I hope they don't make a mess when they enter. They look so beautiful, Brooklyn. I show them photos and videos of you from before, and now they point and say “mommy”. Come back to us, sister. We need you."

I hear the door open, and when I look back, I see the doctor who has become like her shadow. "Hello, Doctor Athanasios."

"Madison, how are you? Do you have a minute to talk?" He speaks to me but looks at her, and I almost smile. If I had any doubts that he was in love with my sister, they’re gone now.

"Of course." After kissing her on the cheek, I follow him down the hall. He takes me to a room on the top floor of the hospital that looks like a consultation room, but I know it's not his, as I've already been there with Zeus.

"Has something happened?" I ask, anxious as always, but before he can respond, I say, "Would you mind if I rearrange the books on that shelf?"

"What?"

"I think I suffer from OCD, and I won't be able to focus on the conversation if they're not aligned."

"Make yourself comfortable," he says, and for the first time since I met him, he almost smiles.

Two minutes later, I sit back down. "Okay. You can talk now."

"It's not the first time we've talked, but we've never gone into depth about your sister's condition, only dealing with the evolution of her symptoms. What do you know about comas?"

"As soon as Brooklyn was injured and the doctors declared her in a coma, I researched it. I know they call it a coma when a person becomes unconscious due to brain dysfunction or injury and are not able to wake up or respond to stimuli."

"That's right. Most of the time, patients in a coma lose the ability to reason and are unable to be aware of what is happening around them. There are patients in deep comas who don't show any consciousness and those who, as I explained to you previously, fit Brooklyn's case: they live in a state of partial excitement. I ran some tests to confirm the nature and degree of her coma."

"And?" I ask, feeling my heart race.

"These tests measure the flow of cerebral energy, which—in almost all cases—indicates the possibility of recovery. To put it simply, these tests tell you whether there is a chance that the patient will wake up."

"Please, I can't take the suspense. I want you to put me out of my misery and just tell me, but at the same time, I’m scared I’ll hit you if it's not what I expect."

"Your sister's results showed that her brain energy flow is close to eighty percent. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, when the patient has a number around forty-five percent, we know that there is a high probability they will wake up."

"Oh my God!" I start to cry, and he looks embarrassed.

He offers me a tissue and waits patiently until I calm down.

"I'm sorry, but you gave me the best news I could ask for."

"But I wouldn't be completely honest if I didn't tell you that there could be consequences."

"What type?"

"Orthopedic, mainly due to muscle disuse. Memory loss too. It all depends on how badly the brain was hit. The truth is that when it comes to the coma, we have more questions than answers. But it wasn't just to explain that to you that I called you. Yesterday, Brooklyn sat up unassisted in her bed? * ."

"What? Is that even possible?"

"Yes, it is possible. I've had several patients do the same thing. She also squeezed my fingers when I”—he coughs—"I...hum...held her hand to check her pulse."

Wow, I'm not good at making up lies on the spot, but this doctor is even worse. Checking her pulse with all those devices monitoring it in the room?

I hide a smile and let it go because what he’s told me is much more important than him having a crush on her.

"That means, based on my experience," he continues, "that she could return at any time now."

“I'm getting married the day after tomorrow, and then I'll be traveling to my future husband's island in Greece for my honeymoon, but the moment she wakes up, I need your word that you'll let me know immediately. I've been praying for this since she was injured, doctor.

“You'll be the first person I tell, Madison."

That same night

"Does he have any idea when it will happen?" Zeus asks.

"I don't think so, but anyway, I left the hospital almost floating with happiness!" I feel embarrassed when a tear runs down my cheek.

We're at the family-only dinner that Elina, Odin's wife, is hosting for us at their home.

Only for the family— in fact, it's total chaos, with kids everywhere because both she and Zoe also have twins, and all I can think about is what it will be like at Christmas in a few years.

Jesus!

All of Zeus's brothers are present, as is my mother, who seems very excited.

"You have to celebrate!" Zoe says. “Your sister will make it, Madison. I always keep her in my prayers."

"He said that even if she comes back, it will take time for her to fully recover, but I don't care. I just want her with us."

"We all want it, dear," Mom says.

We hear a child's laughter, and when I look back, I realize it's Joseph clinging to the new nanny's legs.

"He seems to adore her," I comment to Dionysus, who watches the scene with a frown.

"Who would have thought that, after almost running over and killing the woman," Hades mocks, "you would have the best nanny you could wish for to care for your son."

"Yes, he seems to adore her," the baby's father says enigmatically.

Hours later, we're in the car after leaving the twins and Eleanor at home along with the two nannies that Zeus hired to take care of my niece and nephew. I begin to doze off leaning against my fiancé's shoulder.

"I'm so happy that I'm afraid," I say.

"Don't be. I can't guarantee a dream life, but I can tell you that we'll be together every step of the way, baby ."

* ? When I did research for this book, I found reports of real cases where patients sat up, even though they were in a coma.