Chapter 3 - Back by Morning

 

Chapter 3

Back by Morning

 

    

      With a bright light shining in his eyes when they opened, Jordan finally decided it was time to wake up. The surroundings didn't register in his head right away, not even after he saw the I.V in one arm and a cast on the other. He didn't know it but, his nose was broken and he had bruises and stiches covering the left side of his face. His blond hair almost looking white from the dark red and purple colors on his cheeks and forehead. It was mid-afternoon, the day after the fight, if you can call it that on Jordans' end. Fighting with a gun is not really considered fighting. Not a true fight at least. Anyway, still groggy from the morphine, flashes of the day before went through his mind. Flashes of her.

 

         The fight was still vague to him, but he could certainly recal everything else from that day. Amelia, with her hair half up. Her curls were framing her face and she had on a blue turtle neck sweater and pants. She was beautiful and he always thought she looked more so without make up, which was the case that morning. Amelia wasn't at his side when he awoke the night after their heated argument the night before. After he threw a vase a little too close to where Amelia had stood. Jordan thought she'd be back by morning. He had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach where his heart sank. He knew she went to him. With that thought piercing all through his body, he got up and dressed for work.

 

       Jordan would call Amelia on his break but she never picked up. Not once. What was she doing? Was she ok? These thoughts would manifest in his scattered mind and the words came out to greet the silence in the air, with only Amelia's voice mail speaking back to him. Eventually, the hours fell away, one after the other and four o'clock came. It was early, but he had to leave. His entire body was on fire and the thought of not knowing anything about Amelia was killing him...feeding his anger along the way. Once he was home, he saw something in the front hallway that made him hold his breath and bring a long, slow wave of ice through his veins. There, sitting on the hardwood floor was a small black bag. All it's compartments bloated from the things inside. Things that were hers.

 

     There was sound coming from the end of the apartment. The light from the windows in the living room were changing as the sun was beginning to set. Amelia was in his bedroom, lookign through drawers, making sure she had everything. Making sure she left nothing of herself for him. He stood there, in the doorway for a moment. She hadn't noticed him there yet. The curves of her figure were somehow sweeter to him. Maybe because somewhere inside of him, Jordan knew it would be the last time she would be standing there, in his bedroom. There were a few pieces of underwear and a small tank top that she had managed to find. As she turned to leave the room, she saw him and all the clothes fell from her hands. Jordan had watched her and he didn't know whether to fall apart in front of her or break something apart.

     

              "Jordan. Why didn't you say anything?" She started picking up her things and he came to help. They're hands touched and he locked eyes with hers. For a second he thought  he saw the eyes that fell in love with him two years ago. And, for a second, he showed her the man that still loved her, hoping she would see. The second cracked and crawled away from them when Amelia stood up and went to the front door, leaving Jordan on one knee.

 

      "Is he worth it?" She stopped and turned to face him.

      "What?" Amelia pulled her hair back from her face, but they kept falling back to frame it.

      "Is he worth all of this? Losing us?" Jordan never moved from his spot. In fact, he didn't move at all.

      "You haven't lost me, Jordan. We're engaged for crying out loud." A small, sad smile creased on her face. A smile she was wishing to be real.

      "Are we? Because, " His hand moved to his stomach and rested there until her response was heard. "I don't see the ring I gave you."

      She took a quick glance and realised her ring was not there. The case was in her drawer and hadn't come out very much. The setting was platinum and the 2 carat diamond was surrounded by tiny sapphires. "I know it's simple, but it's beautiful." He had said when he proposed. "Like you."

      "Jordan, please. I'm not ending this. I just need to go home." With that, that sweet tender lie, his hand dropped from his abdomen and Amelia put her unmentionables in her purse and went to the door. The door wasn't locked but she didn't open it right away. A part of her was yearning, screaming for Jordan to not let her go. To take her to their bedroom and do what they hadn't in weeks. Jordan, stood there, tears actually welling up in his green eyes. The sun shined on a little longer, highlighting his dirty blond hair. Amelia turned the old brass knob and the sound it made echoed the pieces of both their hearts crashing against each other.

 

     The thought of the fight came in to his head then mixed in with the night he asked Amelia to wake up each morning with him. But, that train of thought was held when a nurse walked in to his room.

 

     "Well it's good to see you awake sleeping beauty. You've been asleep for about 20 hours now."  She wasn't terribly tall but she was shorter than Amelia. The nurses' blonde hair was pulled back in a bun and it was straight. As she came closer, to check his vitals and such, he noticed her eyes were the same color as his mothers- hazel. Iguessed he noticed for too long because she ended up checking his pupils with a small flashlight.

 

    "So, you're pretty luck you made it here. Your concussion was one of the worst I'd ever seen and you bled a bit too much from that twisted little nose of yours. You had us all worried." She was smiling the whole time, making sure the I.V bag had enough fluid.

 

      "How...how did I get here?" He tried to sit up a little. She helped him.

      "A friend of yours I guess called. He didn't leave a name but he knew exactly where you were and how long you'd been there."

      "Thanks."

      "Sure. I'll get some water for you in a minute and have some luch sent up in about 20 minutes. Sound good?"

      "Uh- yeah, yeah. Great."

      "I want you to take it easy. That forearm of yours is broken in 3 different places and you're head took quite the hit. Are you in much pain?"

     "I'm-I'm not sure." The nurse gave him an extra dose of morphine which would last him an hour or so.

      "Will I be here long, miss? I have a lot of things to take care of."

      "I'm not sure. The doctor will come to see you a little later today. But, here's the remote control for the television and the phone is right here, and oh, the bathroom is right across there. We'll have to do another test for your head and arm today and we'll figure out what to do after that." The way she smiled was off to him. It was as if she really wanted to smile.

     "If you need any help or anything at all, don't hesitate to call. Just push this button and myself, or another nurse will come on by." He gave her a half smile as she walked towards the door. "My name's Teresa, ok?" Then she was gone. A few minutes later, the morphine kicked in.

 

    

 

                                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright ©2008 Anorin Arssinous