Chapter 22: Trying to Remember

(Author’s Note: Story Resumes in Kim’s POV)

The last things I could recall from memory were very blurry. I remember checking into a hotel for the night, and I remember Vincent helping me in the bathroom because I was ill. I cringed at myself as I realized I had been drunk and by doing so I almost killed myself. Breathing was definitely a chore for me at the moment; I felt like a weight was sitting inside my chest.

“So the cold I had… a couple weeks ago,” I paused between words to catch my breath. “It was more… than I thought.”
Vincent’s attention was glued on me; like he was terrified something else might happen. His eyes were just starting to clear up from crying before.
“Yeah, the little cough you’d been complaining about the past couple of weeks was a symptom,” he sighed a little as he grabbed my hand. “We just didn’t know that. Dr. Baron says pneumonia can be hard to trace in the beginning.”
“I guess it’s my fault though, really,” I took another breath. “I was having more difficulty sleeping at night, and my chest felt heavy. I just ignored it though… because I hate making you worry…”

He shook his head at me and laughed a little.
“It’d be better than a life-death situation, I think,” his finger brushed a strand of hair from my face. “Plus I’m supposed to worry about you. I love you, and I’d die if anything terrible happened to you. Seeing you like this is hard enough… Tell me whenever anything is wrong, okay?”

Still short of breath, the sob that escaped my mouth hurt me. I cringed a little at the feeling from it, and the tears began to stream down my face.
“Please don’t cry, Kim,” Vincent wiped my eyes with a tissue. “You’re only making it harder on yourself to breathe…”
I laughed a little, and immediately grabbed my chest as I did. It even hurt to laugh; I couldn’t win emotionally. I took the deepest breath my lungs would allow, and then rested myself back against the pillow.
“When can I go… back home..?” I turned my head slowly to glance towards Vincent.
“Probably not tonight, hun…” he tried to smile, but it came out kind of twisted. “You’re not well. I want you to stay on the breathing machine for at least another night…”
“That’s what the annoying… tube is for…” I smiled a little at him, and it made him laugh. “I guess… I can handle it for one more night…”

A few minutes later, Dr. Baron returned. He was thrilled to see me awake and able to communicate. He decided I could go home tomorrow if Vincent promised to keep me in bed and on a portable breathing machine for at least a couple more days. He said it would take the medication a few days to break up the mucus built up in my lungs. Until then, it was going to be very difficult for me to breathe on my own. I didn’t need a second opinion to be aware of that; every breath I took, even now on the machine, stung a little in my chest.
“I’ll finish up the paperwork so that in the morning you’ll be good to go,” Dr. Baron grabbed the clipboard from my bed. “I’ll come by later tonight to check on you both… Take it easy.”

Vincent and I both smiled at each other in pure happiness. I couldn’t wait to get out of the hospital. It gave me the creeps. Thank goodness Vincent was by my side; otherwise I’d be trying to escape.
“Can you help me… to the bathroom?” I began to shuffle myself out of the covers. Vincent stopped me with his hand, and did it himself. He rose from his bed and relocated to my side. Carefully, he lifted me off the bed and held me in his arms. His grasp was so gentle that it was like he was afraid he might break me or something. He walked me over to the bathroom and gently set me down in front of the counter. I grabbed for it as he let go, and then reinforced myself with his shoulder. I continued on to do what was needed, and Vincent stood close nearby just in case. He leaned against the counter, facing his gaze in the opposite direction of me.
“I’m ready to go… back to the bed, Vincent.”
Without a second thought, Vincent was raising me off the ground and back into his arms again. And we stayed like that for a while, even after returning to the bed. It was nice.