Stu had chauffeured Melissa around to run errands for Catie. Unsure of how long Catie would be at Matt's side she packed a set of comfortable clothes and threw a few granola bars in the bag for good measure. Not wanting Catie to return to a messy house, she washed the rest of the dishes in the sink. The counter was covered in water and a dish rag had fallen to the floor. Melissa's mind wandered at the realization that Catie got the call about Matt during this routine task.
After her experience with the coffee machine in the hospital, she asked Stu to stop at Starbucks so she could buy Catie a proper cup of coffee.
"You're a really good friend, you know that?" Stu offered as she shut the car door.
Melissa shrugged. "You know they would do the same if, um..." She struggled to say the words.
"Right," he said as a more somber tone took over. "In any event, she's awful lucky to have you."
"Have us," she countered. "You've been driving me around all afternoon."
"Fair enough. Any other stops before the hospital, love?"
"No," she said. "But I'd like you to just drop me off. I just want to be there for Catie until he wakes up. She shouldn't have to be alone right now."
"Well, what about me? What am I supposed to do?" Melissa laughed at his childish antics. "Well, I mean, I'm just going to be bored with no one around."
"Take that as an opportunity to rest and be lazy, Stuart." Playfully, she ruffled his hair. "You deserve some time off. Enjoy it. Besides, absence makes the heart grow fonder."
He leaned in slowly for a kiss. "And I am very fond of you."
His words tingled on her skin. "I'll call you with updates. Love you."
"Love you," he called after her. His eyes followed her as she made her way through the automatic doors of the hospital. It was a few short steps, but given the events of the day he wanted to make sure she was safe for as long as possible.
Melissa rounded the corner of the hallway into the Emergency Room and immediately laid eyes on Carrie and Ryan. He stood up from his seat as Melissa made her way over. "We were just keeping her company until you came back, Mel. We didn't think it was right that she wait here alone, you know?"
"I know," Melissa nodded. "I'm sure she appreciates it as much as I do. I can take it from here." She brushed past him offering the iced coffee to her grieving friend.
Catie was able to muster a smile when saying goodbye to Ryan and Carrie. Melissa could tell that it was more for them than herself. Inside Melissa knew she was struggling. "You didn't get anything for yourself?" Catie asked gesturing to the coffee.
"No, I had that shitty hospital coffee earlier. I'm all jacked up on caffeine already. How are you doing, sweetie?"
"I'm fine, actually," Catie sighed. "It's just a relief to know that he is going to be okay. It's also a relief that Ryan and Carrie took off. She's so weird, Mel."
"I wouldn't say weird so much as I would say...backstabbing? I think thats the nicest way I can put it right now."
Catie snickered before going back to chewing on the straw of her iced coffee. "Come on, Mel. Say what you really want to say."
"She actually did me a favor. Despite all the crazy things that have happened with Stu, I'm much happier with him. Anyway, let's talk about..."
"I don't want to talk about what's going on here. Tell me what the hell happened with you guys."
"Well, I caught Ryan and Carrie 'in the act' so to speak..." She grimaced thinking back on her own behavior. "But that was after I slept with Stu." Catie covered her mouth in shock. "Yeah, not my best moment. Ryan and I were having problems and Stu had insisted we talk about our problems. I've been doing a lot of talking lately." Her fingers lightly massaged her temples in reflection. "Ryan getting back together with Carrie just made it so much easier for me to go running back to Stu, which I had wanted to do anyway. And he took me back."
Catie's wide eyed expression solidified her thoughts on the matter. "You're playing a very dangerous game."
"I hope it's fucking over," Melissa snickered. "This has just been so exhausting."
"Shit, Mel. Does Stu know that you were planning on staying with Ryan?" Catie was perched on the edge of her seat in anticipation of the answer.
"No, and he doesn't need to." Melissa looked around the emergency room for a familiar face. "I was planning on staying with Ryan because I felt like I owed it to him, you know?"
Catie nodded in understanding. "Out of all of Matt's friends, I always liked Stu the most. He was always the most loyal and dependable. I adored every girl he dated. I liked Karen a lot, but you're by far my favorite."
"Thanks, Cat," she smiled.
The doors to the emergency area swung open and a casually dressed man approached them. The only identifying factor as to who this mean was was the stethoscope slung around his neck. "Ms. Walker?" Catie nodded. "Matt's in recovery after surgery. They're moving him up to the sixth floor now. We're going to keep him here for a day or so under observation because there was a little internal bleeding. We're not too worried about it, but no point in sending him home just yet. You ladies can go up and see him now if you like." Catie breathed a sigh of relief. "Honestly, he's going to be just fine, Ms. Walker."
"You ready to go up and see him?" Melissa asked.
Tentatively, Catie nodded. "Yeah. I think so. I'm always so bad in hospitals."
"Well, try hard to keep it together for him. You can squeeze my hand if you're having trouble and I'll talk to him while you compose your thoughts." Melissa grabbed the bags she had brought for Catie and escorted her towards the elevator.
The elevator dinged as the doors opened up. Once shut, Catie wrapped her arms around Melissa and buried her face in her shoulder. "Thank you, Mel. I'm so glad I didn't have to go through this alone." Melissa squeezed her tighter as Catie began to sob.
"Of course, sweetie." She held Catie out at arms length. "Now, pretty yourself up. He's going to be so happy to finally see you." Melissa used the edge of her cuff to wipe the tears from under Catie's eyes.
After checking with the nurses station to see which room Matt was in, they were given permission to enter room 622. Matt lay there, his legs elevated by the hospital bed. He appeared almost folded in half. Melissa squeezed Catie's hand as they entered the room, but Catie's emotions quickly took over her.
"Hey babe," he whispered when he turned to see her. Melissa nodded in her direction coaxing her to walk over to the bed. "It's so great to lay eyes on you." Catie walked over to his bedside, but was speechless.
"Hey Matt, how are you feeling?" Melissa greeted. "You don't look so bad," she joked. In fact, Matt's face had a few cuts that had been cleaned up well and bruises traveled up his arms from both the accident and the various IV's he had been subjected to.
"You should see the other guy." A smile pulled at his lips. "Has she been with you the whole time?" Catie nodded. "I'm glad you didn't have to wait for me alone."
Catie broke down into sobs. "I was so worried about you."
Matt created space for Catie on the bed and patted the mattress beside him. "I'm fine. Doc says I'll just be in here for a few days and then I can go home where you can wait on me hand and foot," he joked.
"I'm going to wait outside," Melissa said. "Matt, I'm glad to see you're feeling better and everything went well. Catie, I'll be right outside if you need anything."
Matt flashed her a thumbs up. "Thanks, Mel. I know how much she hates hospitals," he said.
Once out the door, Melissa heard Catie absolutely break down about Matt's state while he did his best to calm her down. She picked a seat across from the nurses station and began to thumb through her phone. It was the first time that day her thoughts had a moment to settle and she found herself feeling alone. Hospitals made her nervous, too. They were a place for bad news, a place where nothing good happened. And in that moment she wished to never find herself in the same position as Catie; waiting for updates on a loved one and holding on to that small glimmer of hope that everyone else around her was preaching.
"Hey, what are you doing out here?" Stu's voice boomed. She jumped up from her seat and ran over to him, embracing him tightly, and almost knocking the grocery bag from his hand. His free hand grabbed onto her shoulder. "What's this for?"
"No special reason," she cooed into his chest. Knowing she had people counting on her, she was quick to regain her composure. Stu handed her the grocery bag. "Did you bring us lunch? What a stud!"
He peered behind her and into the hospital room. "Have you seen Matt yet?"
"Yeah, Catie's in with him now. I thought it was best I give them some space. She's been pretty emotional about this" Stu nodded. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we leave these with them and I'll take you to dinner. I don't really want to be in the hospital anymore."
"It's been a long day for you," he said rubbing the small of her back..
"Yes, it has," she smiled as she nodded. That was one of the things Stu loved about her. She had this ability to smile through even the most exhausting and stressful situations. This was yet another one of those times she put everything aside for someone else.
"I'm going to go say hi to Matt." He gestured towards the room. "I'll drop off my gift and we can take off." He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.
"I thought we'd go to that sushi place you loved so much in St. Pete," he suggested. "I don't know if you remember, but..."
"...it was one of our first dates," she interrupted. "I remember it like it was yesterday. That was also the first time I saw your apartment. That poor, poor excuse for an apartment."
"Mind yourself, sweetheart. Besides, I have a beautiful home now that I am going to share with you someday soon." Melissa flashed him a smile. 'What?" he said. "You're not going to have another anxiety attack again, are you?"
"Not this time." She rolled down the window as they drove across Old Tampa Bay taking in the salt water smells of the ocean. "I saw you painted my craft room yellow for me."
"Did I just hear you refer to it as 'my craft room?'" he asked. "Well, too late. It's now my Preston memorabilia room."
"Then you painted it the wrong color, sweetheart," she joked.
"I did?" A small laugh escaped her lips. "Well, then I guess it can be your craft room."
"Thank you," she said.
"Whatever it takes, love," he winked in her direction. "I'll just move all the mighty PNE stuff into the living room, then."
"I am so excited for some salmon sashimi!" Melissa exited the car and made a bolt for the entrance to the restaurant. She reached behind her to grasp Stu's hand as she walked towards the entrance, but he wasn't behind her. "Stu?" No response. "Stu?" She made her way over to the truck and peeked inside, but he was nowhere to be found. Afraid he would jump out and scare her, she tentatively walked around the back of the truck to the driver's side. "...what? What are you doing?"
Stu was down on one knee with a small black box in his right hand. "I couldn't wait any longer," he whispered. "I had it all planned out for this morning, but the day took a different turn." The look of shock on her face had been taken over by the tears streaming down her face. "I knew when I met you a few months ago that you would be a very important person in my life, but I had no idea I was capable of falling this deeply in love with someone." Stu opened the box revealing a one carat Tacori diamond solitaire ring. "Melissa Marie Anderson, will you marry me?"
"Yes!" She ran over to him. Stu stood up on his feet and embraced her when she jumped into his arms. "This was perfect. You're perfect. And it's absolutely beautiful."
Proud of himself, he breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you think so, love."
"I don't even know what else to say," she said laughing. Her emotions had completely taken over the situation.
"You've already said everything I needed you to say."
Phew! Well, that took forever! I want to thank everyone for their reviews and for everyone that favorited and followed this story while I was on hiatus. I hope you all enjoyed this update! I'm hoping to update my other story very soon as well! Super special thanks to shakeitsalome and xj0j0x for their endless support!
