Blink. Now Heath was here, but a group of uniformed men was holding him back.
Blink. Heath was screaming at the men, trying to force his way through.
Blink. More sirens.
Blink. Darkness.
Chapter Twenty-Five
What a lot of people didn’t realize was that dying was the easiest thing they would ever do. After letting go, it was peaceful. Everything that led up to death was what hurt the most.
All the failures. As a mother, a wife, a friend. Failures were a part of life but that didn’t make them any less painful.
All the heartache. Losing loved ones or being betrayed by the person who was supposed to love you the most in this world. Heartache cuts you soul-deep and would always leave a scar behind after it was over.
All the fighting. Forcing yourself to fight for your own happiness was also excruciating. It was much easier to just give up.
All of those things were agonizing.
Not to mention being shot, that shit hurt like a bitch.
But dying? It was like falling into the best sleep you’ve ever had. Coming back from the dead was also painful. This was a lesson I had to learn the hard way.
I heard the steady beep of the heart monitor before coming back to the land of the living. Trying to open my eyes was proving to be one of the hardest things I had ever done.
Everything came roaring back like a bad dream all at once. The blood seeping out of my best friend. The look of pure loathing from Tom as he shot me. The tears in Reid’s eyes as he begged me to hang on just a little longer. The sound of agony coming from Heath as he tried to get to me. Maybe it was better to keep my eyes closed. I could pretend everything was still okay.
Just when I thought about doing just that, I felt a soft hand grip mine and give me a gentle squeeze.
A soft wobbly voice cut through the fog in my brain. “Mom, it’s me, Lindsey. I need you to open your eyes for me. I need you to come back to me.” She hiccupped around her broken plea.
My baby was here. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn’t. Everything was just so heavy. I should be in pain, shouldn’t I? I had been beaten and shot. Why couldn’t I feel anything?
“Please,” Lindsey begged with a soft voice. I felt as she put her head against my hand, the wetness from her tears spreading on my fingers. I could feel the darkness starting to take me again. I tried to move my fingers, but nothing was working. I tried to fight it as reality faded away and I was taken back into oblivion.
****
Voices roused me from my warm, dark place. I failed as I tried to open my eyes again. I didn’t know how much time had passed but Lindsey wasn’t holding my hand anymore.
“This can’t be normal. It has been four days and she hasn’t so much as twitched.” I heard Heath’s hushed tone as he spoke to someone I couldn’t see.
I tried, really tried to move my hand. If I focused hard, I could almost feel my fingers. “It’s normal after having this type of trauma to the brain for the body to stay in a sedative state for this long, Mr. Gillup. Her body is trying to heal,” came a soft masculine voice I didn’t recognize.
I could hear the frustration in his exhale at what the doctor was saying. I was still trying to open my eyes. I wanted to see my boys so badly at that moment. I could feel the heaviness creeping back in already. I needed to tell them I was okay. That I was still here with them.
I felt something pokey brush against my hand before I felt his soft lips kiss my fingers. Reid held my hand against his mouth while he whispered to me. “You have to fight this, bunny. Do you hear me?” His voice was smaller and more broken than I had ever heard before. “I am a selfish bastard and I need you to pull through this. We need you, Kate.” His voice faded out as I slipped back into unconsciousness.
****
A demanding voice pulled me from myself. “You listen here, you stubborn bitch.” Jill growled in a harsh whisper.
I felt a surge of pure joy fill my chest. She was alive. “You don’t get to leave me. Do you hear me? We did not go through all of that just for you to leave me. You think I enjoyed getting shot? I didn’t, that shit hurt. You are not going to leave me alone. I can’t handle this life without you. I absolutely refuse to let you go. You open your eyes right now, Kathrine Hart.” Jill’s angry voice filled my ears.
I could feel my eyes start to flutter as I tried to open them. “I did not sneak all the way in here, past that bitchy nurse, for you to lay there unconscious. Open your eyes and look at me, dammit!”
If I didn’t listen to her, she was sure to start shouting. I tried speaking, but my mouth was so damn dry. I was finally able to get my eyes open and I saw a watery version of my best friend sitting next to me. She had tears in her eyes as she stared at me.
“Oh, thank God!” She sobbed. Her trembling hands grasped mine fiercely.