Charlie

This is the forth chapter in the Charlie series. All characters, events, places, and anything else you can think of are figments of my imagination that I put down on paper (metaphorically) for your viewing pleasure.

Also, as a side note, no sex this chapter so if that’s what you’re looking for, sorry!

--

I woke up briefly. It was like trying to walk through a dense fog. I was fighting for consciousness. I heard sirens and voices. My mind was fuzzy. I couldn’t comprehend any of the words that were being spoken. There was a copper taste in my mouth. The only thing I knew was that I was still in my car. I tried to move but there was too much pain. My head started to spin and everything faded to blackness again.

--

I was still fighting for consciousness. I was afraid of what could happen if I stopped fighting. There were too many what ifs and people I still loved in my life to just give up. Everything was still fuzzy. I was laying flat now. I tried to open my eyes but it was bright I assumed I was in a hospital. I tried to move but there was a shock of pain that seemed to course through my entire body so I concentrated on what the people around me were saying. I was fading in and out but I caught a few pieces of information.

“She’s waking up, let’s get some pain meds in her. We have lacerations on her head and upper body, suspected broken left leg and ribs. Get the portable x-ray; she’s too unstable for transport.”

I faded out to blackness again.

--

When I awoke next, it was still like trying to fight through a dense fog but it seemed more manageable than before. I gave my body some time to reboot before I tried testing out my senses again.

I was scared. I didn’t know where I was or exactly what had happened. I could feel the bed underneath me and the tubes that I assumed were giving me medicine and nutrients. I knew I was hurt, but I couldn’t tell how badly.

When I listened, I heard a steady beeping that had to be a heart monitor. I also heard a steady breathing close by and footsteps that sounded farther away. I took into stock that my hearing was working, I didn’t want to chance too much movement yet due to the pain I had experienced the last time I tried so I tried to open my eyes. I groaned at the bright light and instinctively shut my eyes. A second later I heard some shuffling and the lights in the room were turned off.

I felt a presence in the room approach my bedside and as soon as I heard the whisper, I knew who it was.

“Please, please wake up this time” I heard Casey whisper.

That was all the encouragement I needed. I knew I had to fight. To make the pain that I heard in Casey’s voice go away. I had to fight. For her.

I opened my eyes, slower this time to let them adjust which wasn’t nearly as bad since Casey had turned the lights off. I opened my eyes just enough to see. I still feeling the effects of what I assumed was a pain killer, making it hard to open them the rest of the way. I turned my heard towards the side of my bed that I heard Casey at. Her head was buried in her arms on the side of my bed.

Painfully I picked my right arm up and gently stroked my hair. She immediately raised her head as she covered her mouth with one hand and squeezed her eyes shut trying to fight back tears.

“Hey” I barely whispered to her. My mouth and lips were dry.

She didn’t say a word, she just reached out and ran the back of her hand down the side of my face. Her concern for me was evident as she pushed the nurse’s button. Her eyes never left mine. I found comfort in the deep blue richness of her eyes like I had many times. Suddenly I knew I would be okay because I would never stop fighting.

I wanted to talk to Casey but the nurse promptly arrived.

“Hi, I’m Nancy, I was wondering when you were going to wake up, we stopped the medicine for your medically induced coma this morning. Do you know where you are and I guess I should start with who you are, you had a pretty good head injury.” Said the older nurse as she put a straw in some water and let me sip on it.

“Um well I know I’m Charlie, as to where I am I assume at a hospital, and judging by the amount of flowers in this room probably Mercy General” (the same hospital that I worked at)

“Well you have good deductive skills” the nurse said as she checked the monitors that the steady being was coming from. “Do you remember what happened, how you got here?”

I kept looking at Casey, she was like a drug to me, I couldn’t stop looking.

I didn’t want the nurse to know what had transpired between Casey and I since I didn’t know Casey’s reaction yet.

“The last thing I remember is leaving from work” I said.

“Well you were in a pretty bad car accident. Somebody was texting and driving and ran the light at the intersection you were crossing. The driver’s side of your car, basically right where you were sitting took the hardest hit. You have lots of bruises, a broken leg along with a few of the bones in your foot, a few cracked ribs, and a total of 76 stitches in various places.”

I was shocked, my mouth kept opening and closing but nothing was coming out. I knew the only reason I had survived was because of Casey. I looked at her again. I could tell that she had already known what had happened but it was still painful to hear again. There were tears silently running down her cheek.

“The accident was a week ago, you’ve been in a coma and your friend here” the nurse said indication Casey, “hasn’t left yet.”

Now it was my turn to choke back a sob which despite the pain it caused in my ribs was more of a response to knowing that Casey hadn’t left after I gave her the letter. A knowing look passed between myself and the nurse and she promptly said that I was looking better and while recovery would take a while, I would most likely have no long term problems and left the room.

When the nurse left there was silence between Casey and I. I still wasn’t sure of Casey’s decision. I couldn’t meet her eyes. Casey pulled a chair to the side of my bed and pulled out a folded up piece of paper that I immediately recognized. My eyes were fixed on the paper; I still couldn’t look at her. The only sound in the room was the constant beeping coming from the heart monitor.

Finally Casey took a deep breath and let out a sigh. “I got your note” she said and left the sentence hang.

I finally looked her in the eye. She was smirking at me! Out of all of the reactions I had anticipated, a smirk was not one of them but it cooled off my nerves. She then lowered her eyes and stared at the note.

“I can see that.” I responded.

“And I uh” Casey continued, “thought I had my mind made up....but then the accident happened”

I thought my heart was going to drop through my chest and hit the floor. Casey looked like she didn’t know how to say what she was thinking. I reached out to brush her hair from her eyes and tuck it behind her ear. My hand then cupped her cheek and tilted her face up.

“Casey I need your answer this is killing me” I said.

She put her hand over mine that was still resting on her cheek and uttered one syllable that made me think that I really had died and gone to heaven.

“Yes”

I was silent, not wanting to break the spell that had been created by that one word. I was at peace. The Girl I had been in love with for close to seven years had finally moved me out of the friend zone.

“But” she continued, “I can’t promise it’ll be easy. This week gave me a lot of time to think. Before I got the call that you had been in an accident I thought there was no way I could go through with this. This accident was a blessing in disguise. What the nurse didn’t tell you earlier was that at one point you were actually dead for almost a minute and a half. When I heard that, it felt like my heart split in two. At first I thought it was just because you were my best friend. Then I realized that there was no way I could have continued with a regular life without you. I would have been heartbroken. I feel a deeper connection with you than I ever have with anyone.”

By now I had silent tears streaking down my face. Happy that Casey realized what there was between us, but sad it took me dying for her to figure it out and ecstatic that she was telling me how she felt. I let her continue without speaking.

“I want to be with you, but I don’t know how” she finished uncertainly.

“We will just be us” I said. I know it sounded cheesy but it was true. The only thing that would change would be that now I didn’t have to restrain from doing all of the things I wanted to do with Casey. I scooted to one side of my bed and patted the other side, indicating that Casey should lie down with me.

“I don’t want to hurt you” she stated as she looked tentatively over the cast and bandages that covered my body.

“What is painful is not being able to hold the love of my life like I want to for the past seven years” I said.

Casey understood and while she seemed taken slightly aback by my confession, she gently took the spot next to me on the bed. I was exhausted and it felt as though I was getting another dose of pain meds. I quickly drifted off to sleep with my arm draped over Casey’s shoulder and her head resting on my shoulder after I gave her a kiss on top of her head and I felt her smile against me.

--

I awoke the next morning to find Casey gone. When the nurse came to check on me she noted my foul mood. She told me that Casey went home to gather some of my clothes so I wouldn’t have to walk around in the hospital gown.

Casey walked in half an hour later with a couple pairs of baggy sweats and t-shirts that were a few sizes too big. I didn’t notice what she was carrying though, I only noticed Casey. She was absolutely perfect and I knew the faster I recovered, the faster I could be alone with her. I also knew that there was much more to be said between us and I was tired of all of the medical personnel interrupting us. Also I was not used to being trapped in a bed all day long and was starting to go stir crazy.

I finally convinced one of the nurses to let Casey take me in a wheel chair to the green space that the hospital had. She rolled me through the halls of the hospital until I could finally see the outside world. When we exited the building, I took in a deep breath and while it hurt my ribs, the air felt better in my lungs than the stale air of the hospital. We found a spot with a bench so Casey could sit as well.

We sat in comfortable silence for a long time just enjoying the gentle breeze and the sound of the birds chirping. Although I knew Casey wanted to be with me, there was still a ton of aspects that we were going to have to talk through before we set anything in stone.

“When are you supposed to start work?” I started the conversation.

“Well it was supposed to be tomorrow, but they said it would be okay if I delayed until you were released and settled back at your house.”

“That is something else I wanted to talk about.” I paused, nervous for the possible rejection. “Would you want to just keep living with me? I mean all your stuff is already there and it would be silly for me to have the entire house to myself because there is so much space and I can’t fill the space, it’s too much for just me and this way you won’t have to go through the hassle of finding a new place and moving all of your things and”

“I would love to stay” Casey finally interrupted as she grabbed my hand and brought it to her lips. Gently brushing the back of my hand with those perfectly proportioned lips, she looked into my eyes. Her eyes turned a shade darker as a fire was lit in the pit of my stomach. I half groaned, half moaned at the simultaneous action and thought that it would still be a few long days before I would be able to go home and finally be with Casey.

--

Those last few days in the hospital were spent getting poked and prodded and the only happy moments I had were when Casey would sneak me down to our space in the hospital garden or when she would sometimes stay the night in my cramped hospital bed. Finally after I demonstrated that I was able to get around by myself and all of my tests indicated that the only thing left to heal were the broken bones and cuts. There would be no long lasting effects.

Casey and I were packing up my things and all of the stuff that had been sent by friends and family when I heard a soft knock at the door.

“Hey Charlie” Lindsey said quietly. “I saw you were on the discharge board and thought I’d finally come to see you.”

The entire time I had been in the hospital Lindsey had never once crossed my mind.

“I kept track of your progress on your charts. I was one of the nurses on call the night of your accident but I had to leave when they were trying to shock your heart back in to rhythm. I thought you died... and I had to come see you in person just to make sure you were actually okay.”

I was stunned at Lindsey’s confession. I guess even though she had been the one to break up with me, she was taking it harder than I had since I already had Casey. I looked over at Casey and she had the typical look on her face that a current girlfriend gives an ex.

“Yeah” I said, “still alive and kicking...sort of” Indicating my broken leg. “Hey thanks for coming and keeping an eye on me, I trust that you would have set them straight if you saw something they were doing wrong” I said with a smile.

And with a quick nod and a smile Lindsey left. I looked over to Casey and noticed she was staring through the door where Lindsey had just shut the door.

“Hey come here” I said gently to Casey. I was still in my wheelchair so she stood in front of me. I grabbed both of her hands in mine and my thumbs began to absentmindedly stroke the back of her hands. I stood up on my good leg, released both of her hands and put them around her waist. She automatically put her hands around my neck which sent a shiver down my spine.

I laid my head on her shoulder and asked “What’s wrong Casey?”

She was quiet for a moment, “It just been a stressful past few weeks and frustrating”

“How so”

“Well when we first talked about being together, the first thing I wanted to do was kiss you but this week you have barely touched me.” My heart swelled with need.

“I am so sorry” I said picking my head up off her shoulder and looking into her mesmerizing eyes, “I thought that since you were new to this lifestyle that you wouldn’t want people to think we were a couple until you were more comfortable with it.”

“Charlie you know me. I don’t half ass things, what I do I do with one hundred percent...what happened to ‘just being us’?” she quoted me from earlier in the week.

And I didn’t hear the rest of what she was going to say because I put one of my fingers to her lips to silence her. My eyes focused on her lips then back to her eyes where I saw she was now staring at my lips as I subconsciously licked them. I slid my hand down to her chin and brought her lips closer to mine. I could now feel her breath dancing across my face as I closed the last few inches.

I barely brushed my lips against hers as my hand that was on her chin slid around to the back of her neck. I pulled back slightly, still trying to judge her reaction.

“Just kiss me already” Casey demanded.

I was never one to ignore my girl’s needs so I once again closed the distance between us as my hand on the back of her neck threaded through her hair and the arm that was still around her waist pulled her closer so that our bodies were pressed up against each other. My lips slid against hers as I took the lead. I gently sucked her bottom lip between mine and ran my tongue across it. I pulled back slightly and then pressed out lips together again begging for entry to her mouth with my tongue dancing across her lips.

I didn’t have to wait long as she let out the cutest little moan and the tip of my tongue made contact with hers for the first time. Her taste was intoxicating and I couldn’t get enough. I had been waiting seven years for this; you better believe that I was going to savor it.

Our tongues battled back and forth as they slid across one another. Both of our breathing sped up as I untucked th back of her shirt so I could touch her skin. Her breath hitched as my fingers danced just above her pant line.

I began kissing across Casey’s jaw line so that my mouth was next to her ear. Her breathing was fast and hitched in her throat as I sucked her ear lobe into my mouth, letting my tongue dance across it as it slid out of my mouth.

“Better?” I whispered in her ear, letting my lips brush against her skin.

Her breathing was ragged as she answered, “For the moment....wow, that was”

“Electric?” I interrupted.

“Yeah” she said. We both stood there just holding each other as we let out breathing return to normal.

“Let’s go home” I said as I hugged her tighter and gave her a quick kiss.

“I like the way that sounds” Casey replied.

I signed the last of the papers at the desk on our way out of the hospital as we made our way home. With the broken ribs and leg, it took a few minutes to get into the car but as long as I didn’t make any sudden movements it didn’t hurt that bad due to the pain killers I was still on.

Our ride home was a comfortable silence and gave me some time to just watch Casey and how she moves. Everything she did was graceful. From the way she tucked her hair behind her ear to the smooth way she turned the steering wheel, I couldn’t look away. She caught me looking numerous times and I just smiled back, finally being able to fully look at and appreciate the girl I loved was not something I was going to be ashamed of.

By the time we finally arrived home and I settled on the couch it was late afternoon.

“You hungry?” Casey called from the kitchen. “There’s not much here besides frozen pizza.”

“Pizza sounds great to me, and if only I wasn’t on pain meds, god a beer sounds so good!”

Casey laughed as put the pizza in the oven and came to sit with me on the couch. By then I had my broken leg propped up on the coffee table that we kept in front of the couch and my head had fallen back and was resting against the cushions of the couch. Casey walked over to the couch with more pain pills and a glass of water.

“Sorry, no alcohol yet” she smiled as she handed me the glass of water after I threw back the pills.

I set the glass of water on the coffee table as Casey grabbed the remote and snuggled into my side. In that moment, I had never wanted to make love to a girl more but between the exhaustion from leaving the hospital, the pain meds, and the extra energy my body needed to heal I just had to settle for being close to Casey.

I heard a faint dinging and smelled pizza and realized that Casey was no longer beside me. I must have dozed off. Casey came back to the living room a few minutes later with two plates of pizza.

“Here eat up, doctors said you needed to keep food in your stomach while on the pain meds.”

After eating noting besides hospital food for the past week she didn’t need to tell me twice. Even though it was a cheap frozen pizza, it was possibly the best pizza I have ever eaten. Casey kept laughing at the noises of pleasure I was making while eating partially because it tasted so good and partially because I was slightly loopy from the meds. Together we finished almost the entire pizza.

“Mmm, I’m stuffed” I said as I lay back on the sofa, closed my eyes and stretched my arms above my head until I flinched in pain. “Ouch” I rubbed my ribs.

Casey was just watching my hand rub my ribs when she started to move towards me and lay down next to me so that she was propped up on one elbow. He hand took over gently massaging where I had been. My breath hitched as my eyes closed at her touch. I felt her breath on my face and knew that she had moved closed.