Like most days, I finished all of Devon's list before HWG closed for the day. This time though, he forced me to go home and relax. After assuring me that I wasn't nicely being fired, I believed him and went back to my apartment.
Construction was still being done so I brought out my guitar and started playing. "I had all and then most of you. Some and now none of you. Take me back to the night we met. I don't know what I'm supposed to do haunted by the ghost of you. Oh, take me back to the night we met." I continued humming along with my guitar and thought of the redhead who stole my heart. I've messed up so badly and somehow, she's found the strength to not hate me. "When the night was full of terrors and your eyes were filled with tears. When you had not touched me yet. Oh, take me back to the night we met."
Hearing my phone buzz, anxiety churned my stomach seeing it was a text from Noah. I'm not angry with you or Mariah any longer. I should have seen it coming. There were signs everywhere. I'm happy being out of GC. But you need to go to Mariah and tell her how you feel. How you really feel. I got a call a few minutes ago. She's at GC Memorial. I'll always love you Tessa but I think it'd be best if you lost my number. After this, I'm losing yours. Goodbye. -Noah
Why is she at the hospital? What if something's happened to her? Oh, God. Grabbing my keys, I ran out the door leaving everything but my wallet behind. Flooring it, I sped towards the hospital. I'm sure I should be getting a ticket right now but I don't care. Parking in the only spot I could find, I hoped I wouldn't get towed.
Entering the building, I saw Nick and his mother talking. They both seemed quite upset and confused. What's happened? Dodging a few nurses, I jogged towards the pair. "Where's Mariah?"
"What?" Nikki's brow creased as she turned towards me. "Tessa, what are you doing here?"
"Mariah. She's here. Where?" My voice cracked as I fought back every horrible scenario that played through my mind since Noah's text.
"She's-"
"Tessa?" Standing feet away, Mariah seemed unharmed.
"You're okay." Relief washed over me as I wrapped the shorter woman in a strong embrace. "Thank God." Burring my face in her hair, I tried holding back tears.
Although quite confused, Mariah reciprocated the hug. "Yeah, I'm…okay." Pulling back, she studied me. "What's going on?"
"Noah said you were…" The wording of his text finally dawned on me. "Oh…"
"Noah texted you?" Nick and Mariah spoke in unison.
"He did, yes. We need to talk but it can wait. If you're not hurt, then why are you here?"
"Crimson Lights was robbed and Sharon was hurt." Mariah tried keeping a strong front but her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. "She's not woken up."
"Mariah, I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do?"
Thinking a moment, she finally spoke softly. "Stay with me?"
"Of course."
"Well, I must take my leave. Victor has had the boys alone much longer than we expected." Cupping Mariah's face, Nikki continued in a motherly fashion. "Remember what I said about Sharon. She knows you love her no matter what you call her."
"Thank you, Nikki."
"You're welcome." Turning her gaze towards me, Nikki wasn't so motherly. "You, take care of her. You already ran one of my family members out of town. I won't let you do that to another."
"I have no intention of going anywhere else."
The older woman's eyes narrowed a moment as if she was reading my mind. A soft smile made its way to Nikki's face. "Good. It's about time." With that, she said goodbye to her son and left.
"What did she mean by that?" Mariah's questioning gaze caused me to bite my lip. Before I could answer, Sharon's monitor started beeping. "Mom!" Rushing in behind the nurse, we waited. When her heartrate wouldn't go down, Mariah took my hand in fear.
Squeezing tightly, I whispered. "She's a fighter. She'll get through this."
"How do you know?" Mariah's voice cracked.
"Because I know you." Sure enough, Sharon's heartrate started going back to normal.
"She'll be fine, Mariah." The doctor spoke in a soothing tone. "Her head turned and pressure was put on the wound. That pain caused her heartrate to jump. We repositioned her head so that shouldn't happen until she wakes."
Dropping my hand, Mariah clasped hers together. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. I'm leaving at midnight but my associate will be watching over your mother. She's in good hands, I promise." Glancing between us, the doctor smiled. "It's always good to have your significant other here for support."
"What?" Nick's head shot up.
"We're not…" Both of us tried forming coherent sentences but failed.
"Oh, my mistake. I just saw how Miss. Porter acted when she thought you were the one in questionable health. My apologies. I'll check-in before I leave." Hearing her name being called over the intercom, the doctor left quickly.
Swaying foot to foot, Nick shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. "So, Noah contacted you?"
"Yes. He said Mariah was at GC Memorial. Noah made it clear that he's moved on and that I should lose his number because after that message he'd be losing mine." Folding her arms, Mariah became defensive, stopping a grumble in her throat. "It's alright. I'm happy for him." She clearly sees that I'm holding something back. I just hope she waits to confront me about it.
"Okay."
Midnight rolled around and no change in Sharon's condition. Nick left after the night shift doctor checked in. He needed to sleep and said he'd be back in the morning. Wishing us each a goodnight, he took his coat and left.
Sitting beside her mother, Mariah spoke softly as she held Sharon's hand. "I doubt she's going to wake up tonight. You can go home. I know you have to go to work in a few hours."
"No." Her brow creased. "I'm not going anywhere until we know Sharon's going to be alright. I meant what I said to Nikki. I'm going to be here for you, Mariah. I want to be here for you."
Coming to sit beside me on the small, two-seated couch, skeptic green eyes looked directly into my soul. "What else did Noah's text say? Nick couldn't tell but I knew you weren't telling us everything."
"You're right." Pulling out my phone, I entered the passcode and brought up the message. "Here," giving her the phone, I waited.
"He saw it too." Her voice was unreadable. A smile finally appeared on Mariah's face for the first time in what I could imagine to be a long while. "The Halloween party?" Turning my phone, she smirked, eyebrow raised. "You're lock screen."
"Oh," heat rushed to my face seeing the picture of Mariah I had taken. "I always liked that picture of you."
"I never saw this one."
If it wasn't for that half smile, I'd be terrified right now. "Yeah, I know how much you hate getting your picture taken when you're not ready. I hadn't planned on taking it but in that moment, you looked so happy."
"I was." She paused, "until we had to get all that hairspray and gel out of my hair." Mariah tried not to laugh but failed.
"And don't forget the ten makeup removal wipes." Her laugh was contagious as I remembered that night.
"It won't come off! Ugh!" Scrubbing her face, Mariah groaned.
"You wanted waterproof. I warned you about this." Poking the shorter woman in the side, I tried brushing through the gel and hairspray. "You might just have to shower. This stuff is not giving up."
"I'm too drained for that. Maybe not standing but washing, conditioning, and drying all of this." She whined, grabbing her hair. "If I don't dry it, Lord help me."
"You know, I never did see that leather jacket again." Smirking, I eyed the redhead. "I wonder where it could be."
Folding her arms, Mariah looked anywhere but in my direction. "I have no idea."
Faking innocence is not her strong point. "Mmhmm. That's still my favorite jacket."
"Says the woman who still has two or three of my favorite shirts." A coy grin tugged at Mariah's lips. "And my only hoodie."
"Touché'." Yawning, Mariah stretched. "Take the couch. I can track down a cot or something."
Staring me down, Mariah's gaze softened. "You really aren't leaving, are you?"
"Not until you tell me to go. If you really want me to leave and not be here for you, then I'll go. I wasn't there for you in the past and I almost lost you." Taking a steady breath, I choked out the rest. "I don't want that to happen again."
"What did Noah mean when he said you needed to tell me how you really felt?"
"He meant, I needed to tell you that I love you. More than a best friend should." I gave Mariah my full attention. "I was stupid. I wanted to be a good person and stay true to my word but…I hated my father for never keeping his word. I didn't want to fall into that routine."
"Tessa, we're not our parents."
"I know. I also think it was more of self-punishment too." That adorable crinkle appeared between Mariah's brows. "When I kissed you in San Fran, I felt…happy isn't the word. I don't think there is a word to describe how I felt in that moment. I hated when you pulled back and that's why I tried desperately to tell you it was okay and that I wasn't angry. I was punishing myself for being happy, I guess. I cared for Noah but I don't know if I loved him. What I felt for him was nothing compared to what I…" Clenching my jaw, I tried calming the thundering in my chest.
Placing her hand on mine, Mariah tried coaxing me to finish. "What you…"
Peering down at our hands, I whispered. "What I felt for you. And still feel for you."
A gentle thumb stopped stroking my wrist causing me to meet its owner's gaze. "You still have those feelings for me?"
"Yes." At first, I wasn't sure if Mariah heard me until a sad smile ghosted her lips. "It's too late, isn't it?"
Before she could answer, Sharon groaned in pain. "Mom?" Rushing to her mother's side, the frantic woman paged a nurse.
"Mariah," cupping her daughter's cheek, she smiled. "Hey, don't cry."
"Too late." A choked laugh escaped Mariah's throat. "How do you feel?"
"Like my head is splitting open." The woman's voice was weak but gaining strength.
"I'm sure."
"Ms. Newman," a taller gentleman entered with a clipboard in hand. "I'm Dr. Mathews. How do you feel?" Pulling out a penlight, he checked Sharon's pupils.
"My head hurts a lot but I've been worse."
"Pupil reaction is good. Do you know what year it is?"
"2018."
"Good. What city are we in?"
"Genoa City."
"Mmhmm. And last: where are you?"
"GC Memorial Hospital."
With a nod, Dr. Mathews jotted a few notes on his file. "It looks like you're going to be alright. You just need to rest and stay here a few days for observation. We'll run more tests in the morning." Turning towards us, he smiled. "Mariah Copeland, correct?"
"Yes…"
"Make sure she rests. I've seen you on GC Buzz so I know she'll be in good hands."
"Thank you."
"Quite welcome. If you need anything, feel free to press the button." With that, the man left.
"Tessa? What are you doing here?"
"I came-"
"Because she heard you were in the hospital. Tessa wanted to see how you were." Mariah's unspoken plea was understood.
"Exactly." If it wasn't for the headache, Sharon would see straight through that.
"Thank you." Taking Mariah's hand, Sharon spoke. "I'm not going to tell you to go home because I know you won't. But try to get some rest. I know Paul will come by in the morning once he finds out I'm awake so I'm going to rest more."
"I'll try." Turning her attention to me, she motioned towards the door. "Want to raid a vending machine? I don't think the café' is open yet."
"Sure." Allowing Mariah to exit first, I followed close behind. The search was quiet until we found a breakroom with all sorts of machines lining the walls. "I heard one of the nurses say the sandwiches never stay in the machine more than a day."
"I guess that's why most are empty." Rooting around in her purse, Mariah pulled out a five. I buy the food if you buy the drinks?"
"Like always." Once our haul was retrieved, Mariah and I sat at the small round table. "I'm glad Sharon's awake."
Relief washed over the woman's face. "Me too. I was afraid she wouldn't wake up. Sorry I cut you off earlier. I don't want to cause Sharon more stress. She's not forgiven you yet. If she knew you were here for me, momma bear would have come to the surface."
"I'm sure." I still want to know the answer to my question but I'm not going to push. I'm torn between knowing and staying blissfully ignorant. Unscrewing the lid, I passed the Gatorade. "Drink it. You need fluids too. Last thing Sharon needs is for you to get put in here for dehydration."
"Says the woman whose blood is eighty five percent coffee." Sipping the orange liquid, Mariah chuckled. "We'll split it." She paused, "I see you eyeing my coffee."
"Fine. You caught me." Looking around the small room, I frowned. "I guess I'll have to go find a cup."
"Tessa, we drank after each other long before I kissed you. Why stop now?" Smiling, the redhead plucked the Rice Krispy treat from my hand and took a bite before replacing it. "See?"
"How do you fit half of a normal sized Rice Krispy in your mouth?" Raising a brow, Mariah smirked. "I know better than to make a "big mouth" joke so…"
"Smart woman." Tearing apart her S'mores Pop Tart, the woman became serious. "I don't know yet."
"Hmm?" Swallowing a swig of coffee, I passed the can. "Don't know what?"
"If it's too late for us."
My stomach dropped. "Mariah, I don't want you to think about that right now. Focus on your Mom for now. I can wait." No matter what her answer is, I really don't want her to make any hasty decisions right now.
"I never stopped, you know. Loving you. Even after everything happened with…our song." Tender green eyes met mine. "Before last night, I truly was on the fence. But, after the way you reacted when you thought I was the one in here and what you said before Sharon woke up…I think we do have a chance. I just need time to trust you again."
Joy and relief washed over me in that moment. I do have a chance to be happy. "Take as much time as you need."
"Years?" Her brow rose. "You know I have trust issues."
"As long as you need."
Studying me a moment, Mariah smiled. "It won't take that long. Especially now since we see each other four to five days a week."
"Best part of my day."
Snorting a laugh, she snickered. "You have been watching too many romcoms."
"I'd like to watch them with you again. Like old times." I paused, "although, it'd have to be on my laptop. I don't have a TV yet."
"That'll be fine." Tossing everything in the garbage, Mariah rolled her shoulders. "Ready to face the uncomfortable sofa?"
"You're not kicking me out yet?"
"Hell no. I need a pillow." Smirking, the shorter woman started for the door.
A/N: Song used: Night We Met. Saw this amazing video and had to use the song. watch?v=4yxXC94l3QE