Jealousy by Jenna Galicki Page A

bleeped in the background and bags of fluid fed into a vein in her arm.
    Justin held her hand to his cheek and continued to weep, while Peter stood by almost expressionless.  Justin refused to leave her and sat vigil at her bedside throughout the night.  One of the nurses took pity on him and wheeled a stretcher in the corner of the small I.C.U. room for him to sleep on, but sleep eluded him.  Every time he dozed off, he bolted awake to make sure Heather was OK.  He finally managed a few short hours of sleep, hunched over in a chair, while he rested his head on the side of her bed and held her hand.
    #
    By the second morning, most of the swelling in Heather’s face disappeared, and she looked more like herself.  The doctor decreased the sedative and they waited for her to wake.  But two hours later, Heather still slept.
    Justin never left her side.  He survived on coffee and the occasional snack that Peter and the nurses brought him.
    “ Why doesn’t she wake up?” he asked the nurse.
    “ She’s been through a major trauma and she has a lot of medication in her body,” the nurse replied.  “It takes time.  Why don’t you go home and rest, dear?” She placed her hand on his shoulder.  “You look awful.”
    Dark circles shadowed his eyes.  His hair, always styled to perfection, was both matted and tousled at the same time, and his usually clean-shaven face was overgrown with dark razor stubble.  He knew he was a mess, but he didn ’t care.  He shook his head at the nurse.  “I need to be here when she wakes up.”  He leaned forward and put his lips to Heather’s ear.  “Wake up, sweetie.  I need to know you’re OK.”  Her continued lack of response frightened him.
    The nurse tried to comfort him with a cup of tea and a few reassuring words, and he felt a little less anxious.  She persuaded him to get something to eat in the cafeteria.  It was only down the hall.
    Justin gulped down a small sandwich, but it sat in his stomach like a brick.  His stomach rumbled, and he wished he never ate anything.  His mind was suddenly drawn to Heather, and he feared something was wrong.
    As he briskly walked back to her room, one of the nurses got his attention .
    “ She’s awake,” the nurse said with a smile.
     
    Chapter Eighteen:
    Heather slowly opened her eyes.  Her lids were heavy and her vision was blurred.  She was disoriented and immediately gagged at the tube in her throat.  She blinked several times before she focused on her surroundings.  A nurse told her to relax, but she was scared.  Her mind was fuzzy and she didn’t remember what happened or why she was in the hospital.  Her heart pounded almost as loud as the monitor next to her, and she looked at Peter with large frightened eyes.
    “ You’re OK,” Peter said.
    Heather searched for Justin as far as her eyes could see, but she couldn ’t find him.  She traced a large letter J on the sheet with her finger and looked at Peter.
    Peter sort of half-smiled, half-smirked at her.  “Justin’s here,” he said.  “He’ll be right back.”
    She moved her arms and legs and tried to assess her condition.  She only m oved them a fraction of an inch before a sharp pain cut into her.  It shot from her lower back, ran through to the front of her body, up into her ribcage and settled in her chest.  She grimaced and tried to cry out, but the tube in her throat silenced her voice.
    “ Try not to move,” Peter said.  “You had surgery.”
    The orderlies that were at t he foot of her bed stepped back and Justin ran between them.  Heather convulsed with a silent whimper as soon as she saw him.  She reached out to him, and he took her hand and kissed it.
    “ Thank God you’re finally awake,” he said.
    “ She was asking for you,” Peter stated.
    Tears welled in Justin ’s eyes, but a small smile appeared on his lips.  “I’ve been here for two days and the one time I leave for 10 minutes, you wake up.”  He placed a