The Royal Contract

1133 The more, the merrier

He was not supposed to spend the night, but somehow, he ended up sleeping at her side and waking up, looking at her open eyes. He wondered if this was another one of his dreams as he blinked his eyes.

He could feel his muscles protesting in pain as he stretched his body, but when he looked again at the woman before him, sadly, she was still sleeping. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was even. It seemed that it was just a figment of his imagination.

He wanted her to wake up so much that he kept imagining she would open her eyes soon. He was not giving up. One of these days, he believed it would happen.

“Good morning, sweetheart! Hope you slept well last night.” He still greeted her, even if her eyes were closed, leaning over until his lips reached her forehead.

He realized he might have fallen asleep as he read a story to her last night, seeing the book lying on the floor at the bottom of his seat. It must have dropped from his hand when he dozed off.

He remembered being tired from yesterday’s workload, but instead of going home, he thought of visiting her. Going home seemed so lonely without her. Besides, the doctor assured him she was doing much better every day.

Her stats had improved considerably during this last week. Therefore, it would not be improbable that she might finally wake up soon. But, of course, the doctors did not want to promise him anything.

“Hey! David. You’re still here. How is my sister?” A familiar voice greeted him as she entered the room. “So, the rumors were true.” She suddenly added.

He turned to her, kissing her on the cheek when she moved to his side. He could see that she was extra cheerful today. That was a good sign that she had rested last night. He had not seen her around, remembering it was her off-duty night.

.....

“Good morning, Roseann. She slept like a baby. No fuss.” He jokingly said. “By the way, what rumors are we talking about?” He asked as he raised his eyebrows at her while stretching his neck and back, wanting to ease the stiffness he developed by sleeping on the chair next to the bed.

There was a comfortable sofa on the side where he could sleep, but he guessed his body wanted to stay close to her. Still, he did not mind the slight pain. Compared to what Rosella was going through, his was nothing.

“That you did not go home.” She answered him as she checked all the machines attached to her sister. “The nurses are talking about you again.” She remarked. “You are already becoming a celebrity around here.”

“I can’t stop them from talking. But what are they saying now.” David asked, slightly curious.

The first time rumors spread across the hospital about him, they sympathized with him for almost losing his fiance. Many female nurses were swooning over him since he was a devoted fiance who would not leave his fiance’s side. At least, that was how Roseann recounted it.

Although some thought that it would be better if he moved on and gave up on Rosella, including his family. But he would never do that. He could never turn his back on the woman that he loved.

He did not care about what they thought of him. As long as he knew there was hope that Rosella would wake up, he would be here, waiting for her. He would never leave her side unless she left him first.

“These are from the good guys.” She answered him. “They think you are the sweetest and most admirable man they have ever seen. How they would kill to have a man like you by their side.”

He was flattered, but his heart already belonged only to one woman. He guessed he would give up everything to be with Rosella again. He would even give up his life if that meant a second chance for Rosella to live.

“My sister is lucky to have a man like you.” She continued as she moved to the other side and touched her face. “At least she looks better today.” She commented. “She must have enjoyed the book you read to her last night.”

“Sleeping Beauty...” She gazed at the title cover. “How befitting.” She frowned, probably wondering what he was doing with a children’s book. “But where did you get that?” She asked.

Of course, the book was not his. And it was not exactly a child’s book. It was a rewrite of the Sleeping Beauty story, adapted to the modern world. But it was still based on the classic tale of a Princess cursed to sleep for eternity unless a Prince who loved her would kiss her on the lips and wake her up again.

“Do you know the patient two doors down the corridor?” He asked, pointing to the left hallway. “The girl named Cherry.” At least, that was what he remembered.

“Oh yeah! Cherry.” Roseann’s face turned somber as she said the girl’s name. “Why? What about her?” She asked, looking curious.

It was the sweetest story, not the book but the young girl who gave him the book.

“She came by last night, knocked on the door, and asked how Rosella is doing?” He told her, recounting to Roseann last night’s event.

The young girl showed up at the door a few minutes after he arrived at the hospital and in Rosella’s room. She asked if she could sit with her. She was bored since she had been in the hospital for more than a week.

Her mother had to run an errand and had stepped out for a few hours. Now, she was under the care of the nurses, but everyone was busy. She was bored.

But from how he saw it, she also seemed afraid to be alone. But he did not mind the company. He intended to work until he got tired and went home, but having someone else to talk to, seemed interesting too.

“I heard that she was in a car accident and until now has not woken up,” Cherry told him what she heard the nurses were saying.

He guessed he had heard all of them from Roseann. “Yes, what about you? Why are you here?” He did some prying too.

“Fortunately, I am not old enough yet to drive. But sadly, I have the big C. Therefore, I don’t know if I will ever reach the legal limit to get my driver’s license.” She jokingly said, but he could hear the sadness in her voice, even if she smiled.

“The big C?” David asked the young girl, having no clue what she was talking about as he stared into her youthful face.

“Cancer. I have Leukemia, a form of Cancer in the blood.” She explained to him.

“I am sorry to hear that.” Of course, he had heard of Cancer, but he had never dealt with someone who had one.

It was sad to see such a young kid dealt with a terrible card in life. But he hoped that she would bounce back from this and recover. Miracles sometimes did come true. He was also hoping for one.

“Don’t be. You did not give it to me.” She shook her head as if tired of talking of her sickness. “Anyway, I did not come here to talk about me. What is your story?” She suddenly asked.

Somehow, he felt comfortable telling this young girl how he met Rosella and how she did not give up on him. Now, it was his turn not to give up on her. Maybe he was trying to give her hope or something.

“Wow! That was a lovely story.” She dreamily said. “I dream of finding my own Prince Charming someday.” Holding the palm of her hands into her chest. “Wait! I will be back.”

She rushed out of the room as if she had forgotten something.

Then, she returned after several minutes with a book in her hand. “I just finished reading this. Maybe you would like to read it to her.”

She handed him the book, a romance novel. He had never read a book in that genre before, but since he had nothing else to do, he tried to read the first lines.

“Keep going.” She encouraged him. “I know she would like that.” Cherry insisted before she moved toward the door. “I am returning to my room before someone notices I am gone. I will drop by tomorrow, and you will tell me more about your love story.” She promised, but then she was out of his sight.

“Cherry left this, and I ended up reading it last night until I fell asleep. I just woke up a while ago.” He explained to Roseann how he ended up with the book.

“Cherry is such a sweet girl. Unfortunately, her case is getting worse. The doctors keep her here for observation, hoping they could do more.” Roseann told her. “But I am glad that you met her. She needs a friend at the moment.”

“I am also glad that she dropped by last night. I enjoyed talking to her. She said she might come by again tonight. Maybe you should join us when you have time.” He told her.

“That is a great idea. Maybe we can play some card game.” Roseann suggested. “But first, you need to go home, eat and shower. You stink.” She teased him.

“I think she is right. And did I hear card game? Can you count me in?” One of the nurses in charge of Rosella’s care interjected.

“No. I don’t.” David countered, but he still tried to smell his armpit. “I don’t stink.” He protested, making them all laugh at his defensive action. But he still needed to go home and do what Roseann said.

Still, he believed Rosella’s room would need some laughter and more people around. He could feel in his gut that she was close. She just needed a few more encouragement.

She needed to hear what she was missing, so she would finally wake up. She needed to listen to their voices and laughter, thinking the more, the merrier.