I received a string of visitors but only in small groups to not overwhelm me. Seth stayed by my side, introducing people that I didn't recognize. My frustrations increasingly grew so the doctor put a stop to it.
I came to understand that Seth and I have a very special bond. Bits and pieces of our past would come to me, making me feel safe and secure when he was around.
The blonde I didn't remember didn't come around for a week. The only time Seth wasn't with me was when he was at work and was asking for a leave to help with my recovery.
I wasn't sure how I knew the blonde was in the room when I woke up. Nothing seemed to be amiss at first glance. But I felt him.
"Hello?" I called to the hallway.
The tall blonde stepped in. He looked completely tortured. The name Dean popped in my head from Seth. He came to the foot of my bed for a moment before pulling up a chair on my right side.
"It's my fault you're here," he said after a moment.
"Accident?" I questioned.
"We had gotten into a fight and you ran out. I had been trying to call you but you didn't pick up."
"Not your fault," I shook my head slowly.
He hadn't looked like he had slept in over a week. Those soulful blue eyes were filled with pain and grief.
"You okay?" I asked.
He gave me a weak smile. "You are asking me?"
I nodded. He gently stroked my cheek but looked like he could burst into tears in any moment.
"Why?" I asked. I struggled to speak but desperately wanted to ask him so many questions.
"Why..why the fight?" he asked. I nodded. "We...we were together and found me in bed with two other women."
Tears sprung up in my eyes. This was a man I had been seeing and he had cheated on me? Yet here he was sitting next to me looking like he was fighting demons.
"I know you don't understand right now. I don't understand it either. Cat, I swear I don't know who those women were. I don't know how they got there and I swear I didn't sleep with them. I was at a bar, enjoying a beer with Miz and Kofi and the next thing I knew, you were hitting me while I was asleep."
"Don't understand."
"I know," he signed, chewing on the inside of his cheek.
The struggle written across his face made my heart melt for him. I had no reason to believe him, but no reason not to either. Dean didn't strike me as being the type that would lie.
"You don't remember?" I asked.
"No, I don't."
I gave him a little grin. "Me neither. Like two peas."
"Two peas?"
"Alike."
"Oh, you mean like two peas in a pod."
"Yes!" I enthusiastically said.
He chuckled. A real, genuine chuckle. I reached out for his hand which he grasped as if his life depended on it. The moment his hand touched mine felt like fireworks. My breath caught in my throat as my heart started to race. I couldn't understand why I was feeling this way from a simple caress.
The look in his eyes told me he felt it, too. I gave his hand a squeeze, suddenly afraid he would vanish.
Dean leans over and oh-so-gently brushes his lips against my cheek. He lingers for a moment before kissing my damaged side. The act was so sweet and moving. Not even Seth had touched my wounds.
"Regardless...know that I love you," he said in a low, raspy tone.
I close my eyes as tiny kisses dot my forehead. "Okay."
"I've got to go," he says, reluctantly pulling away.
I squeeze his hand again, fearful of letting go. He pressed his forehead into mine and silently we breathe each other in.
"Don't leave me," I whispered.
It was the first sentence I've been able to get out without struggle.
"What do you think you're doing?" Seth's voice beamed into the room.
"I was just talking with her," Dean said as he pulled away from me.
My eyes widened as Seth looked livid. "No fight," I said.
"Cat, I know you don't quite get what's going on, but it's best if he leaves and doesn't return," Seth said.
"No, Dean stay," my eyes plead with him.
"Leave before I physically remove you from this room," Seth forcefully says.
"Really?" Dean cocked his head to the side. "Catrina wants me to stay."
"Catrina doesn't remember what you did. If she did, you know she would throw you out on your ass."
"No fight," I repeat, fresh tears rolling down my cheeks.
Dean and Seth looked at each other hard for several minutes before Dean relaxed from his defensive state.
"I'm leaving now so I don't hurt your friend. I'm sorry," Dean told me.
"Me, too," I said.