The tears began to flow freely as she, too, kissed Lucas on the forehead. And then it was time for her to go.
Chapter 14
Nathan was the last of the five to see Lucas. Upon entering the room, he pulled a chair up close to the bed, and sat down.
"Lucas, man, I'm really sorry about all of this. I guess it's kind of my fault, being as how it was my idea to stop to take a leak and all," Nathan said slowly. "This worked once before, so I'm going to give it a shot again, bud. Lucas, you really need to wake up, man. Seriously."
Nathan stared expectantly at Lucas, willing him to open his eyes, or do something else that would imply he was awake. After a full minute of waiting, Nathan conceded that, this time, he would not be the one to pull his half-brother back from the abyss.
"Alright, so you're not ready yet. But you're still going to have to wake up, bro. I can't handle these emotionally ravaged women for much longer," Nathan said. He looked at the floor. "Damn it Lucas, I'm not going to lie to you. As much as we mess with each other, we have a bond—and I'm talking more than genetics here. So even if you can't do it for them, do it for me. Come back. Wake up. Soon." Nathan stopped talking, the tears welling in his eyes threatening to overflow.
What a speech. If that wouldn't wake Lucas up, what would?
Again, Nathan stared expectantly. Again, his hopes were fruitless. Lucas continued to lie there. The heart monitor continued to beep. And the ventilator continued to hum.
When Nathan returned to the waiting room, Karen informed him that she'd just reserved a pair of hotel rooms for the five of them. The hospital had the number, and had promised to call if there was a problem. Besides, they all needed rest—and they certainly weren't going to get it in the hospital's plastic chairs.
Before leaving, Karen went in to kiss Lucas goodnight. She hesitated for a moment after kissing his forehead, wondering if the temperature differential she perceived was real or imaginary. After a second kiss, she dismissed the thought, deciding that Lucas's temperature was the same it had been when she'd kissed him earlier.