Chapter 3

Shane's POV

The night Claire was taken into hospital, I refused to leave the building, they made me leave her room, but they kindly said I could stay in the waiting room. I paced the halls slowly and finally fell into a light sleep on the uncomfortable chairs. I was woken at around midnight by a short, blond nurse tapping me on the shoulder. "Mr Collins, is it?" When I nodded she sat down next to me and continued, "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but your girlfriend, Claire… She's slipped into a coma." I was unable to speak. Unable to blink. Unable to move. Unable to breath. Unable to respond. My Claire… My Claire…in a coma… No, I can't believe it… I WON'T believe it, I thought. But I had to believe it, didn't I? Because hospital nurses wouldn't play sick jokes on me like this. I was broken from my trance of despair when she spoke again. "Maybe you should come and see her. Talk to her. Bring your friends. It might help her wake up if she has loved ones talking to her while she's unconscious. I'm not promising anything, but there's always the chance." So I took her advice and pulled out my mobile. I texted Michael and Eve with a 911 text, telling them to get to the hospital, and fast.

As soon as Michael and Eve got into the waiting room, we followed the nurse to Claire's room. She was hooked up to less machines now, just the annoying blippy one that monitored her heart rate, normally that sound would just annoy me, but now it made me think that each blip could be Claire's last. I sank down into the chair at her bedside and held her hand loosely. "Claire…" I was taken aback by how hollow and broken my voice sounded, I didn't bother to clear my voice because right now, my pride and manliness were the last things that mattered. "Claire, can you hear me?" I don't know why I asked it, it's not like she could jump up and say yes. "Claire…If you can hear me… me, Michael and Eve are here… We're not leaving you Claire… not now, not ever." Eve put her hand on my shoulder when tears started to fall from my eyes and land on Claire's hand.

"Oh honey…" She whispered. "She'll make it. You know she will. She's a fighter, Shane, a fighter. Claire doesn't give up; you know that… we all know that."

Minutes turned into hours. Hours turned into days. Days turned into weeks. We all took turns in staying with Claire as much as we could. Michael did the days that me and Eve were at work, and me and Eve did nights while Michael slept. On my days alone with Claire, I'd sung her favourite songs and lullabies, even though we both knew I was tone-deaf. Back when she was still with us, I'd sing her lullabies to get her back to sleep if she'd had a nightmare, I'd lay there with her, whispering these songs to her long after she was asleep.

Michael always took his guitar so he could compose new songs while he was there. And Eve told Claire all the funny things that had happened to her during the day, as if she wasn't unconscious. Eve was the cheery glue that kept us all sane, but one night it was all too much for me. Claire had been in the coma for almost two months, and it was my night alone at the hospital with her. As I did every night, I bribed the hospital staff and doctors to let me stay during the night. By now, I didn't need to use money or blood donations, I just had to show up and ask to stay the night, I'd stayed so many before that they just got used to me being there.

As I always did, I tangled my fingers with Claire's and sunk down into the chair at her bedside. "Hey Claire." I whispered. "So… Tomorrow it's two months since you slipped into this stupid coma. God… you have no idea how much I miss you. How much we all miss you." A lump rose in the back of my throat, I tried unsuccessfully to swallow it down. It was then when I gave up. "God Claire…" I whimpered, tears falling from my eyes and sliding down my cheeks. "Claire… come back to me… Please. You promised... you promised that you'd never leave me… but you are… You're slipping away from me every minute that you're not in my arms." I buried my face in the covers of the hospital bed and sobbed violently, not bothering to even attempt at holding back the tears.

I thought I felt Claire's fingers tighten around mine. I didn't look up because I knew that in the height of my depression, my imagination was playing tricks on me. I thought that until I felt it again. I lifted my head and looked at Claire's face; a light frown had appeared on her smooth skin and her lips were slightly parted. I looked down at her hand at it was true, her fingers had curled around mine. Running on purely on adrenaline, I slammed my thumb into the call button by the side of her bed and pulled my phone out of my jacket pocket. With shaking hands I texted Michael and Eve telling them to come to the hospital right now.

Eve texted back: 911?

I replied: Yes!

The nurse came rushing in. "What's wrong?"

"She's waking up!" I managed to say. Her eyes went wide as she walked briskly to Claire's bedside, checking the monitors. I must have been right because she unclipped a pager from her pocket and pressed numerous buttons before turning back to me.

"Talk to her. Let her know you're here. Tell her to wake up." She told me.

"Claire… Claire, I know you can hear me. Come back to me, please… Please come back to me. Wake up, Claire." Her hand tightened around mine a little more and I looked up to the nurse. She saw it too.

Michael and Eve arrived shortly after Doctor Mills entered the room. He checked all the monitors again and nodded to me. "She heard you. Her heart rate increased when you talked to her." He turned to Michael and Eve. "You can try talking to her, if you wish." They both nodded in reply. I stepped back and they each took one of Claire's hands. Michael and Eve shared a glance, their expressions unreadable.

"Claire Bear? If you can hear me, squeeze my hand." Eve said. Claire must have heard her because her hand tightened around Eve's just a tiny fraction.

Michael was looking utterly mystified, "Claire. Wake up. Please. We miss you."

"Is that all you've got?" Eve demanded. Michael smiled a little and stroked Claire's cheek with his pale hand.

For the next few minutes, Claire became unresponsive. We kept trying but she didn't squeeze our hands. Her face relaxed once more and became pale and blank. Doctor Mills and the nurse had left me Michael and Eve alone in Claire's room, to give us some time alone with her. Doctor Mills had apologized to us and said that it was normal for comatose people to become responsive, before slipping back into unconsciousness. I wanted to curl up next to Claire's dormant body and die. My heart was filled with so much false hope that it was unbearable. But even though I felt all that, I never let go of Claire's hand. Never.

Claire's POV

Something felt different. So different. It was like I was being pulled back to reality. I heard voices. So many voices. Swimming around in the space that I was floating in.

It was dark. I was alone. So alone. But I wasn't alone. There were voices. Voices I recognized, but at the same time they were so new to me. A male voice, low and warm. A female voice, high and frightened. Another male voice, angelic and calm. Someone was touching me. Touching my hand. Holding my hand. Someone said my name.

Claire

I willed my hand to close around theirs. To let them know that I was listening.

Wake up, Claire.

But I was awake. Wasn't I? I looked around this space I was floating in. It was so dark. Colours swirled around me. But they weren't colours. They were voices. Shane. Michael. Eve. How could I forget those names? They were here. They were with me. I had to wake up. I needed to wake up. But why was I asleep? This was all so confusing. So many questions. I needed the answers. I willed my eyes to open. And it must have worked. Because the dark space that I was floating in, suddenly became blindingly bright.