Just an Ashley Love story

Time Lapse, 2 weeks

Christine's POV
I've never felt so lost. He’s still not fully awake. Doctors say there is no reason his body should have shut down and stayed that way. His mind is very much there, he knows when we talk to him, and the monitors show his brain waves and his heart rate. When I talk to him his heart rate and brain activity climb, and if I cry, he cries too. I know he can hear me. I know he knows everything that’s going on but his body will not respond.
I feel so bad, I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be aware of everything, but not be able to move or talk. On a rare occasion, his eyes will open. I try to make sure I’m right there so I’m the only thing he sees. I don’t want him to see the monitors or the room more than he has to. If I move off the bed, his eyes follow me.

I've barely eaten, haven’t slept, and I've only left his side to use the bathroom or shower. The hospital he’s in let me stay with him because of the condition he’s in. They want someone there he knows to keep him company instead of sitting alone not being able to do anything. I've even be “taught” to bath him. He seems to like that, his heart rate slows and he seems to “relax” for lack of a better term.

Today was one of those days that his eyes were open. As soon as I noticed he was looking for me, I sat right on the bed next to him. “Hey baby, I’m right here.” His eyes found mine and they filled with tears, “No, baby, don’t cry. I’m here I’m not going anywhere.” I wiped his tears away. His breathing hitched and fluttered. He was really upset. I didn’t know what to do, or how to comfort him, because I didn't know what was wrong, he couldn’t tell me. I grabbed his hand and put it on my cheek, and pressed my lips to his. How I wish they were kissing me back.


Ashley’s POV
I opened my eyes searching for Christine, I know she’s in the room I heard her talking to a nurse. I kept trying to get my body to move, if I was lucky I could get a muscle to twitch. When she came into my line of vision she comforted me, “Hey baby, I’m right here.” I looked her in the eyes and all I see is pain, and love. I start crying, bawling is more like it, not much you can do but breath funny and let tears stream down your face.
“No, baby, don’t cry. I’m here I’m not going anywhere.” She wiped my tears away, I started crying harder. She took my hand and placed it on her cheek, then kissed me. Gently. I wanted to grab her face and kiss her hard. I wanted to show her how much everything she’s done means to me.

She hasn’t left the hospital for the two weeks I’ve been here. Angel has taken over her lessons for now. She shut down the motorcycle and car shop until I’m better. She’s even helping run A.P. Fashion inc when and where she can from the room and her computer.

The Guys stop by every day. All of them, they havent missed a visit. They keep telling me not to worry about the record, it can wait til I’m better. Jinxx and Angel hit it off, completely. They are officially boyfriend and girlfriend, and sickeningly cute together. Now I know what Christine and I look like. Wish i could smile.

“Hey Ash, how about a bath?”

Oh god yes please, anything to feel your hands on me. I look forward to this every day, it’s the only intimate contact I get with the woman I love. And yes, I said love. Everything she’s done for me, everything she has made me feel, I know it deep in my heart, I love her, with every part of my being.

She closes the door and the curtain around the bed just in case someone walks in. She unties my gown which is tied in the front and uncovers me. She gets the bucket of the soapy warm water, and the one of the clean water, dips the wash rag in the soapy one and rubs me down. I close my eyes, the only movement i can complish, enjoying the sensation and breath deep.

When she lifted my head, I felt something in my neck that wasn’t right, nothing popped or moved, I knew my neck wasn’t broken. It felt more like electricity. And it hurt. My eyes popped open, and I heard the monitors beeping. The feeling started spreading down my spine. My heart rate went through the roof.

“Ash, baby, what’s wrong? NURSE!!”

She ran out the door, oh god please hurry. I feel like I’m dying at this point. It spreads down my arms and legs, and now I feel like I’m on fire. The feeling of electricity still there, my muscles twitch hard. I can’t take anymore. I try and scream nothing…I try again.

Finally I let out a blood curdling scream and shot up. I was finally able to move. Still screaming, I’m tearing at my skin, trying to get this fire inside to stop. Christine and the nurse come running in, trying to hold my arms down to stop me from hurting myself. “I can’t take it anymore, please, please, just stop the pain.”

Christines POV
After I move Ashley’s head to wash behind his neck, I heard the heart monitor pick up. His brain activity to. I placed his head back down on the pillow and his eyes, they looked frantic. “Ash, baby, what’s wrong? NURSE!!”

I ran out the door and to the nurse’s desk to let them know something wasn’t right. That’s when I heard him. He screamed like he was dying. The Nurse and I ran to his room. He was sitting up and moving, but he was dragging his nails down his arms and legs like he was trying to rip his skin off. We tried to stop him, holding his arms down.

He screamed “I can’t take it anymore, please, please, just stop the pain.”

“Ash what pain? You need to tell us what pain so we can help.”

“My body feels like its burning from the inside out.” Through sobs he started begging, “Please Christine, make it stop. Please.”

I broke down, just as I was about to start yelling at the nurse, the doctor came running in. “Get him some morphine to relieve the pain.” The Nurse went running off. “Ashley I need you to calm down and tell me what the pain feels like exactly”

“CALM DOWN? HOW THE FUCK DO YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN WHEN IT FEELS LIKE SOMEONE IS HOLDING AN EXPOSED POWER LINE TO EVERY INCH OF MY BODY?”

“Well that’s what I needed to know.” The doctor stayed surprisingly calm.

The nurse came in and injected morphine into the pic line, within a few minutes Ash calmed down and the pain subsided, we were finally able to let go of his arms. He curled up into the fetal position and sobbed.

I went to him, rubbing his back trying to comfort him. I hate seeing him in pain, but on the plus side, he is completely awake, and moving.

The doctor looked at Ashley’s charts, while a nurse pulled some blood from the IV. “I have a theory on what happened. During the accident, he acquired some nerve damage up near the brain stem, which would have caused his complete paralysis. They must have healed and fused back together, the pain was just his nervous system firing back up. I don’t think it had anything to do with you moving him but it might have been the jump start his nerves needed. We’ll keep him a few more days to run some more tests and keep an eye on him.”

With tears in my eyes I said, “Thanks doc.”

I have Ashley back, and that’s all that matters. He was still crying, so I lied down next to him, just holding and rocking him. Letting him know he’s ok, and that I wasn’t going anywhere. He eventually cried himself to sleep, and in complete relief myself, so did I.

Notes