Remember Yesterday
By HardysExtremeLegacy
I woke up in a dimly lit room I didn't recognize. The figures around me were merely shadows as my vision came into focus. I glanced around the room slowly as I tried to remember the events that brought me there. Nothing. I glanced around the room again when my vision cleared. I saw three men sleeping in chairs in various areas of the room. One, sleeping in a chair beside my bed, had blond hair with black streaks throughout it. Another, sleeping in a chair near my feet on the same side of the bed, had long black curly hair tied back into a ponytail. I didn't recognize these two men at first glance, but something struck me about the third. I looked over the third man slowly. He was sleeping in a chair on the opposite side of the bed from the others. His hair was a dirty blond color, streaks of read, green, purple and, blue added a certain detail that made me know I'd seen him before. I look down at his hands. They were folded beside me as though he had fallen asleep praying. I stopped as he moved a bit in his sleep. His face was turned to me as though he were looking at me. My heart broke when I noticed his tear-stained cheeks. I ran my fingers through his hair, smiling slightly when I noticed the wedding band on his finger.
"Jeff," I whispered softly.
He lifted his head as his eyes fluttered open slowly."Hey baby," He said as his lifted my hand placing a soft kiss on the back of it.
"Hey," I whispered, not wanting to wake the others.
"How ya feelin'?" Jeff asked, brushing a section of my alburn hair away from my face.
"My head hurts a little, and I don't remember much," I told him.
He laughed softly, a small smile forming on his face. "Do you even know how long you've been out of it darlin'?" he asked me.
I shake my head as I noticed the bandages wrapped around the back of it.
"You've been unconsious for a week Sammy," Jeff said. He turned his head away for a moment.
I reached over and took his head in my hands, wiping away the tears that were falling from his big, deep, dark green eyes.
"I was so afraid you weren't gonna wake up," Jeff said, his voice shaking as his country accent thickened.
"Shh," I said softly as I pulled him close to me. "that doesn't matter anymore sweetheart," I told him. "I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere."
Jeff smiled. "That's good to hear baby," he said. He stared at me for a moment, and smiled before he spoke again. "Ya know, I could stare into those beautiful blue eyes of yours forever," he said.
I smiled, a small giggle escaping my lips as I turn away trying to hide blush forming on my cheeks.
He smiled and laughed a little. "You are so cute when you do that," Jeff said.
I paused when I noticed the blonde man to my right had woken up. I smiled as I turned to him.
"Well hey there, welcome back Sammy Jay," the blonde man said.
I smiled as I begin to remember his voice. "Hey Shannon," I said.
"Hey girlie, it's about time you woke up," Shannon said. "Your husband was about to drive me crazy."
"Well excuse me for being worried about my wife," Jeff said, shooting a playful glare Shannon's way.
"All right you two," I said in a playfully firm tone.
"Shannon started it!" Jeff pouted playfully.
"Jeffery," I warned, shaking a finger in his direction.
"Welcome back little miss mommy," someone said on the right side of the room.
"Matthew Moore Hardy," I said as I turned to the dark-haired man on my right.
"Welcome back Samantha," Matt said with a smile. "You picked the perfect day to come back to us," he told me.
"Why do you say that?" I asked, confused.
"You didn't tell her?" Matt asked, turning his attention to his younger brother.
"No I didn't tell her," Jeff answered, staring at his feet.
"Tell me what?" I asked, still confused.
"What was the date the day of the accident?" Matt asked his brother.
"November 6th," Jeff answered softly.
"How long has Samantha been unconsious?" Matt asked.
"One week, seven days," Shannon answered.
"Right," Matt nodded. Then he turned to me. "Which makes today's date what?" he asked me.
My jaw dropped open as I realized what Matt was talking about. "November 13th," I said softly. "The day your mother died."
Matt nodded. "Twenty-three years ago today," he said.
Jeff glared at his brother, anger and pain pouring from his eyes. "How can you say that so calmly, doesn't that mean anything to you?" Jeff asked.
Matt simply shook his head as he turned to me. "He does this every year," Matt sighed.
"Don't even go there Matt!" Jeff yelled. "Have you forgotten the fact that we were there when it happened?"
"No Jeff, I haven't," Matt said.
"It's like, one minute she was there and the next..." Jeff paused as his voice began to crack, tears streaming down his pale cheeks. He took an deep breath before he continued, "she was...gone."
I let out a soft sigh as my heart broke again. I hated seeing Jeff upset and it was killing me.
Jeff turned his back to us as he stared out of the window in silence. Even with his back turned I could still see the the tears rolling slowly down his cheeks, his lower lip quivering as he broke down.
"Jeff," I spoke helplessly.
He turned to face me, but instead of coming toward me he put his back to the wall sliding down it to the floor. He pulled his knees up to his chest and curled up into a ball there on the floor.
"Baby please, come here, come talk to me, don't shut me out like this please," I pleaded with him.
Jeff lifted his head slowly until his eyes met with mine. "I'm...sorry," he sniffled.
I shook my head and slid over to allow room in my bed for him to sit with me. "Don't be, you have every right to be upset," I told him.
Jeff nodded, wiped his eyes, and sat down beside me. "I didn't the right to treat you like I did though," he said sadly. "I shut you out again, I told you I wouldn't do that anymore."
"Jeff, this is still a touchy subject for you, and I understand if it takes awhile for you to be able to talk about it," I said as I placed my hand on his cheek.
"I just...I'm tired of hurting you," Jeff said as he put my hand in his. "I'm tired of watching you cry because I'm to big of an idiot to open up and talk to you," "I'm tired of you feeling like I don't love you because I'm not as open as I should be."
"Jeff, I love you so much and I don't care how long it takes you to open up to me; I'm willing to wait as long as it takes, even if it takes forever I'll still wait for you," I told him.
Jeff smiled. "You don't have to wait forever," he said softly. "This past week has really got me thinkin' about how close I came to losin' you, and I couldn't bear to live without you," he said. "Losin' you would be the worse thing that could ever happen to me; you mean absolutley everything to me," "Losin' you today of all days would have been even worse."
"You wouldn't have lost her, not today," a voice spoke from the doorway.
Jeff looked up to see who was standing at the door. "Dad," Jeff said with a smile. "What are you doing here?"
"Came to see my favorite daughter-in-law," Gil said with a smile.
"I'm your only daughter-in-law," I reminded him.
"Exactly, so that makes you my favorite," he smiled. "How you feelin' darlin'?"
"Better now, still don't remember what happened, but other than that I'm okay," I told him.
"You've got a great sense of timing baby girl," Gil said.
"Matt said the same thing," I smiled.
"Well there's more to it than just what today is," he told me.
"What do you mean?" I asked confused.
"This is where it happened, this is the room she died in," Gil told me.
"Wow, I had no idea," I said, completely shocked.
Gil nodded. "My Ruby died in this very room," he said. He turned to Jeff and a small smile came across his worn features. "That's why Samantha came back today, too many sad memories are tied to this room, and your momma couldn't let you lose someone else on that same day in the same room," Gil explained. "Do you think your momma would let her little boy get his heart broken twice in the same way?" Gil asked Jeff.
"No sir," Jeff answered.
"You were her pride and joy, your brother was daddy's little rascal, but nobody dared say anything about her baby boy," Gil said with a soft smile.
"She really cared about you Jeff," Matt said.
"She cared about both of her boys," Gil corrected.
I turned to Gil, still confused by the entire situation. "So, you're saying that Ruby's spirit brought me back because she couldn't let me die the same way that she did?" I asked him.
Gil nodded. "Yep, that's exactly what I'm saying," Gil smiled.
"Wow," I spoke softly. I smiled as I turned to Jeff. "I guess she approves of me then," I laughed.
Jeff smiled as he pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arms around me. "Yeah, I guess she does," Jeff laughed.
Gil smiled. "I know she does," Gil said as he walked over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "You're a lot like her baby girl," Gil told me. "You have that same fire in your eyes that she had when it came to protecting Jeff," he said.
"He's right, I've seen it too," Matt said. "You've got that same passion for caring for others that she had," he said.
"Do you think Miss Ruby sent Samantha to us, maybe she knew Sam would be able to take care of you guys the way she wasn't able to?" Shannon asked.
Gil smiled. "You know Shannon, I never thought of it that way, but I think that's exactly what happened," Gil said.
"Well, she sent me an angel," Jeff said, pulling me in for a soft, sweet kiss. "I love you Samantha Jean Hardy," Jeff smiled.
"I love you too Jeffery Nero Hardy," I said as I entangled my fingers in his hair.
Jeff smiled as he looked up at the ceiling, as if to be staring at the heavens above him. "Thank you momma, I love you," Jeff said softly.
-THE END