Lucas’s POV
I sit by her bed side for hours without moving. Holding her hand tightly, not willing to let her out of my sight. She slept the entire time, not moving by an inch. The doctor did say it will take a few hours for her to regain consciousness, but still, I worried.
Each member of my family came inside briefly to check on us. My mom tried to get me to take some rest, go drink something warm, or eat something then come back. But I adamantly refused to move from my place.
Eventually I made them all return to Snow. They were already tired and it was a very long day… for everyone.
I promised them that I will call as soon as she wakes up to let them know.
“Come on baby, don’t torture me further. Please… show me those magical blue eyes and that heart throbbing smile. Let me hear that angelic voice and extinguish the fire burning me alive” I whispered softly, in a pleading tone.
I kissed her hand softly, over and over again, relishing in the warmth of her skin. I let my other hand play with her strands. These were the only things stopping me from crashing again, and making me cling to hope that I finally allowed inside me.
It took her six hours to wake up.
And when she did, she wasn’t making a lot of sense.
“Lucas?” she whispered in a raspy voice.
“Angel, I’m here. You’re going to be okay. I’m right here with you” I said warmly.
Her eyes focused on my face, my heart instantly cooled down as I saw her vibrant eye color, so full of life and spirit.
“I’m… no, you… you can’t be here. Oh God please don’t be here” she said in a panicked tone.
I furrowed my eyebrows and said in confusion “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I be here with you?”
My thought drifted to the darkest, soul crushing explanation for her words. She doesn’t want me. Doesn’t want to see me. Doesn’t want me to be with her. She does believe that I broke my vow to her. She blames me. She hates me for not saving her sooner and making her experience all that pain.
“Lucas! Tell me you’re not real right now, please. Tell me I’m imagining you because if I’m not imagining you, and you are real, then that means that you’re dead too. Gosh your family must be devastated so much! Why the hell would you cause them so much suffering?” she blurted out in a very raspy, shaky voice as her eyes started to fill with tears.
Everything starts clicking in place then and I breathe a sigh of relief, glad that my dark thoughts were just in my head.
“Angel, relax. I’m not dead” I said softly with a hint of a smile tugging on my lips.
Her face relaxed and she said softly “Great! God I’m so glad you’re not. You still have so much more to live for. So you are a hallucination then. Maybe my own version of paradise?”
I chuckled at her wide range of imagination.
“Baby, you’re not dead. You are still alive, the doctors saved your life. I’m as real as you are” I said with a wide smile.
“I’m alive? I could have sworn I felt like I was dying in that car” she said in confusion.
I winced when she mentioned that dreadful car ride and said tightly “Technically you did. Your heart stopped while you were laying in my arms. But the doctors brought you back then rushed you into surgery to repair the damage caused by the stabbing”
She studied my face for a long time with a deep, thoughtful look that left me wondering “What are you thinking about, Angel?”
“I don’t know, I still think I’m dead and you’re a hallucination in my afterlife” she said doubtfully.
“Want solid proof?” I asked smugly.
She raised her eyebrows innocently “what kind of proof?”
“A physical one” I said softly and leaned close, printing a soft delicate kiss on her lips while letting my hand trace the tenderness of her cheek.
I felt like I was the one coming back to life when our lips collided. An electric shock went through me straight to my heart, making it beat faster, stronger.
I pulled away, reluctantly while gazing at her hypnotized eyes.
I smirked “Was that real enough for you?”
She breathed out deeply and said a little shakily “No, I still need more convincing. How about a real, long, deep kiss?”
I chuckled at her enthusiasm and said softly “Careful, Angel. You’re still freshly out of a long surgery with a serious wound and a broken rib. You need to take it easy”
“But if I’m dead already…”
“You’re not dead” I said more intensely.
I held her face with both hands delicately, leaned closer until our foreheads and lips touched each other and said softly “You are alive Angelina. You and I still have so many things to live for. So many things to tell each other. So many things to feel for each other. I swear to you, you’re still alive, you’re here with me. And I will make sure to remind you of that every single day, I promise”
Then I printed another soft, short kiss on her lips and backed away, gazing into her eyes to see if she finally believed me or not.
“I’ll hold you to that promise” she said breathlessly.
I held onto her hand again and squeezed it lightly to my chest.
“Are you feeling okay? Does anything hurt?” I asked in concern.
She gave me a small smile “No, nothing hurts. But I’m thirsty as hell”
I took one of the sealed water bottles that Alex left for me on the side table and opened it, bringing it close to her lips while helping her keep her head up.
“Easy now, little sips at a time” I said carefully.
She sighed after she was finished and said in relief “Thanks, god I was so thirsty”
“You’re welcome, Angel” I said as I ran my hand over her forehead lovingly.
I made a quick phone call to my mom to let her know that Angelina is okay.
“Oh gosh Jenny! She was in bad shape, she gave herse…”she started to panic again and I was quick to reassure her that everyone was safe and sound and back home in one piece.
I explained to her the reason for Jenny’s mystery move with the glucagon shot and how it led us to them. Then proceeded to tell her that everyone in that old factory is dead including her brother, before she had a chance to ask, or panic again thinking that he managed to run away and was still a threat to any of us.
“Wow, that move was genius. Jenny has the most effective problem solving skills I’ve ever seen, especially under stress” she said in amazement.
“Apparently, she’s not the only one who doesn’t crack under pressure” I said tightly without meaning to, but I had reproach written all over my face, I couldn’t help it. A part of me was still mad at her for getting herself hurt on purpose, despite her pure intentions.
She knew exactly what I was referring to as she looked at me with tearful eyes and said vulnerably “Lucas….I…couldn’t watch him hurt someone else. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. Please, try to…”
“I understand, Angel. I do. I saw the video. You have no idea how it made me feel, baby. I admired your courage so much, I was so proud of the way you fought him and others off, I was enchanted with your sassy attitude, but one thing trumps all those feelings, and that’s pain. You were constantly, purposefully, putting yourself in danger to the extent that you got yourself stabbed! I know you did it so that no one else got hurt, I understand that, hell I even respect that because I would have done the exact same thing had I been in your place. But it still hurt like hell, I almost lost you for God’s sake! You died in my fucking arms dammit! Do you know what that would have done to me, Angel? If they weren’t able to bring you back?” I went off emotionally, tears sliding down involuntarily.
She was crying too, and I instantly regretted everything I said in a totally wrong timing.
I squeezed her hand and said tenderly as I wiped them from her face “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said those things to you. It was too soon”
“I’m sorry you’re hurt, Lucas. You don’t have to apologize to me, I’m aware of how much my actions hurt you, but I’m also glad that you understand my reasons. I’m just happy that I was given a second chance with you again. Heaven would have been so boring without you” she said gently, her tone becoming light at the end.
I smiled but didn’t say anything, after which she touched my cheek tenderly and whispered “Please tell me we can put this behind us and move on. That we’re not going to let this affect us or stop us from having the happy life we’ve been planning together”
“I should be the one to tell you that” I said sadly.
“What’s the difference? We’re one and the same” she said confidently.
I kissed her hand fervently “I’m afraid of breaking my promise again, Angel. That I won’t be enough to keep you safe”
She shook her and said determinedly “You didn’t break it. It still holds. You saved me and even if you didn’t, it still wouldn’t have been broken by you. Some things, some promises, they break against our will and that’s not our fault. It’s just the cruel fate taking action and ruining our happiness, sometimes. But the same fate that’s cruel, can be sometimes generous and grant us our hearts’ wishes as well”
She brought our hands that were joined together to her own lips and left a soft kiss that coursed through my entire system.
“I love you, Lucas. I want to spend the rest of my life; however long that may be, with you. I want to marry you and carry your last name. I want to sleep in your arms every night and wake up to your kisses every morning. I want to have your beautiful, smug, half crazy like their father, and annoying as hell children and raise them with you. I want everything with you, the good and the bad parts, the crazy and the sane parts, the action filled and boring as hell parts, because I love all of them, and I do because of one reason only. Because I love you with my whole being, I love you” she said wholeheartedly, in one breath, without stopping to think of her words, without hesitating.
I gulped past my lump and cleared my throat trying to take back my tears that sprung from the affectionate words that left her kissable lips.
“I think you just nailed your wedding vows, Angel. Make sure to remember them at the ceremony, I want to hear them again, and get lost in the beauty of them” I said hoarsely.
“I’ll never forget them, they’re a permanent part of me now” she said sincerely.
“Wanna hear my vows?”
“Yes, please”