This is a fictional story and is the last one in my "Forbidden Lovers" series.
I wanted to thank all of the people who read this series and wrote reviews which inspired me to write another chapter and give my characters what I hope you will see as a proper ending.
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Well it felt to Christopher like it was his last breath, but what he didn't know was that he would get that second chance that he so rightfully deserved. Call it karma or fate or what you will, but someone was looking out for Christopher that day. The EMT team arrived at the scene shortly after the man in the other car called them. They were able to remove the piece of glass from Christopher's neck. One of them pulled out a gauze pad and held it to the wound applying as much pressure as possible. Another one wrapped his neck with a bandage keeping the gauze in place and freeing their hands to start CPR. One of the EMT members checked Christopher for signs of life. What he noticed was that Christopher was in fact breathing but very weak and his heart rate was dangerously low. He was unconscious and not far from death so they hooked him up to a respirator to help him get the oxygen his body so desperately needed. The man also noticed that both of Christopher's legs appeared to be broken and he had several small and medium lesions on his body that were bleeding slightly. Then they loaded him into the ambulance and headed for the hospital. During this time a third member checked out the other man who only had a few minor cuts and bruises and was soon on his way home.
At the hospital Christopher was rushed into the ER for emergency surgery. The doctors cleaned out the wound in his neck and with several stitches were able to sew it back together. They were careful to be sure that there were no remaining shards of glass in his neck. Next they examined his other cuts, removing glass, cleaning them off and sewing some of the deeper ones and simply bandaging the more superficial ones. The doctors found that his legs were shattered in several places and they had to set the bones and graft some bone from his hips and knees to repair the damage. Then they had to place both legs in long casts to keep them immobilized so the bone could heal correctly. While in the ICU the doctors and nurses kept a close eye on Christopher waiting for him to wake up. His breathing and heart rate had been steadily increasing now that his body was experiencing less trauma. Plus the pain medication was helping to relax him and this was a good thing. The doctors were optimistic that he would wake up, but they knew he would have a long recovery ahead of him.
Upon his arrival to the hospital the EMT members had given his information to one of the nurses and she had managed to identify and contact his parents. They jumped into their car and started the 2 hr drive to the hospital near their son's school. They were worried sick about him. All they knew was that had been in a bad auto accident and had arrived at the hospital in critical condition. They loved their son and wanted to be there for him and were praying that he would make it through this ordeal and come out alive and well. When they arrived at the hospital a nurse led them back to the ICU so they could see Christopher and talk to one of the doctors who had performed the surgery. They had not been prepared to see their son in such a rough condition. They were shocked by the big stitches in his neck, the numerous wounds on his body, and the casts on his legs. In addition to those more obvious wounds Christopher was black and blue on most of his body. The doctor came to talk to them and he explained the extent of the injuries. "Mr. and Mrs. Miller I am doctor Smith. I was one of the doctors who operated on your son."
"How is he doctor? Mr. and Mrs. Miller asked almost simultaneously."
"The accident was pretty bad and your son was thrown through the windshield. He had a piece of glass cut his throat, slightly sever an artery and puncture a lung. We were able to repair the artery and stop the bleeding. The lung only contained a small hole, which we stitched and expect to heal soon enough. The other cuts and bruises have all been sterilized and will heal in time. "
"And what about his legs?" Mrs. Miller asked.
"His legs have been shattered in several places," the doctor explained. "We set them and grafted bone from other places to repair the damage. He will need to wear those casts for several weeks. Then after a month or two of physical therapy I expect he will be walking again."
The doctor explained that Christopher's bones would be very week when he came out of the casts, from those weeks of being immobilized and unused and the therapy would help strengthen them again. Mr. and Miller said they understood and took the doctor's referral for a therapy center near the school and agreed to have Christopher check back in with the doctor every few weeks to see how he was progressing. Once left alone Mr. and Mrs. Miller went and sat at their son's bedside talking softly to him and willing him to hold on and fight to wake up soon. Mr. Miller held his wife's hand and reminded her that their son was strong and he would pull through this. As Christopher slept he dreamed of MaryBeth and of them having a happier life. He wasn't quite sure if he was experiencing the after life or a dream of what they could have been or still be in this life. All he knew was that it was sweet and he wanted more than anything to get there.
Meanwhile, a few states away MaryBeth had already arrived at her old friend Stacy's house and was settling in. Stacy welcomed MaryBeth and her daughter with open arms and allowed them to stay as long as they liked. She had already discussed it with her husband and daughter who was about the same age as Erin. The two girls were introduced and went off to play. MaryBeth sat with Stacy and they talked over a glass of wine. She told her friend of all that had happened these past months and how torn up she felt about the whole ordeal. She explained how she was ready to leave Alejandro and how Christopher had come into her life and how she had loved him, gotten fired and now found herself here. Stacy was very supportive of her friend and her desire for a divorce. She had only met Alejandro once briefly, but had not liked the fact that MaryBeth had come home from Peru with this strange man. Stacy tried to understand what her friend was going through, but she didn't quite comprehend it all.
"Can I ask you something?" Stacy asked.
"Of course you can," answered MaryBeth
"Well, I see why you wanted to get away from Alejandro, and the school, but if you love this young man so much why did you just leave him there?"
"Well, it's complicated," MaryBeth answered.
"Does it have to be?" Stacy replied.
