The Best Friend's Contract novel Chapter 41

Kenna

His family members are standing in this room as they turn to look at me but what catches my attention the most is the sight of Aidan, not laying on his back in a coma but sitting up straight with both of his brown eyes looking directly at me.

''Let's give them some space,'' Diana says which causes the whole crowd to step out of the room, leaving Aidan and I to ourselves.

The way both of his brown eyes are staring directly at me causes me to panic, as if it's the first time that I've seen that stare even though he has done more than just staring before this whole chaos happened. Maybe, it's just the vibe or how much I've missed him in the past three months but I can't seem to stand up straight or keep the eye contact for any longer without trembling.

''You're awake . . . '' I take a few steps closer towards him, trying to find the reality in this.

''Do I know you?'' He asks, raising an eyebrow as he stays still at his spot—leaving me to grow speechless and somewhat confused. ''Do I know you, Dr. Anne?'' He glances down at my name tag before looking back up at my face.

''What do you mean?'' I let out a chuckle, realising how my lips are slowly curving up into a smile. ''You don't know me . . . ? This must be some kind of joke. I'm your—''

''—doctor?'' He cuts me off.

''Wife,'' I correct him with a frown in between my brows before I make my way closer towards him. My hands begin to reach out for his as he looks at me as if he doesn't even know I exist which ends up giving me a certain amount of pain, feels more like my heart is clenching.

He laughs, ''Wife? I'm married? You're telling me that I got married?'' The way his eyes are just wandering around the room as his lips curve up into a playful smile, it shows that he's not paying attention to any of this and seems to think that what I told him was a plain joke.

''Yes, Aidan. You got married to me,'' I reply.

''Prove it,'' He responds, his eyes piercing into mine as I blink a few times; trying to remove the tears and avoid them from falling down onto my face but I fail miserably, expectedly.

''What's there to prove? Stop it. Stop. This is not a joke—don't do this to me,'' It sounds like I'm begging for him to know me, to understand and even to pull me in for a hug but he ignores my gestures. He doesn't feel bothered by how I'm gripping tightly onto both of his hands in order to make him look back at me and just pull me close but no, he keeps on looking at me like a stranger.

''Oh, come on. You don't even know me!'' He exclaims, pulling both of his hands away.

My eyes widen, ''No, no, no. What are you talking about? You're Aidan Gabriel Ashton, you're turning twenty-seven this year and you're the CEO of Empire. You and I have been friends for twenty years before we got married, seven months ago. We even went to middle school and high school together after kindergarten—you pushed me off the swing, that was how we first met. We were young, we were kids, we were six. Something happened to you three months ago and that's why you ended up in a coma. I was there to diagnose you in the operating room—''

''That doesn't make any sense,'' He frowns.

''Yes, it does! Of course, it does! It makes perfect sense. What more do you want me to say? You're my husband, we got married, remember that. Why can't you remember who I am?'' I feel desperate as if my whole body is clinging onto this thin line of success, as if one wrong word can cause this whole situation to flip over before we can even react which causes me to grip harder onto his hand, wanting him to look at me and remember.

''Look at me. Look at me and tell me you don't know me because I know that you know me. Just don't do this to me, Aidan. Why are you doing this to me? I waited months for you to wake up but why are you being like this?'' My heart clenches at the sound of my own voice and at the sight of him, seeing him staring at me as if I'm a wild tape.

I immediately raise my left hand up before pointing down at the ring, ''This! You gave me this on our wedding day, remember? What more proof do you want, for god's sake. Don't be like this,'' I hear the sound of my voice breaking at the end which is to my dismay, unattractive yet forgettable.

It takes me awhile to realise the tears streaming down my cheeks as the pain increases in my chest which causes me to wipe them away immediately, looking back up at Aidan who seems to be staring back at me with full concentration before he starts to lean forward, slowly grabbing my hand.

Just like that, he kisses the back of it.

''Wh—what are you doing?'' I ask, raising an eyebrow at his sudden gesture.

His lips curve up into a smile before he starts to pull me by the hand, making sure that the distance between us are lessening. Within seconds, we're already just inches apart . . . making me glance down at his lips for a couple of seconds for a few times in which he responds by tilting his head to the side before slowly brushing his lips against mine, spreading an unexpected amount of electricity to overflow in my body.

The kiss starts off slow in which I respond back by running both of my hands under his jaw and straight to the back of his head near his ears, deepening the kiss as he does the same—wrapping one hand around my waist to secure me from falling off the bed in a sitting position.

A tear glides down my cheek as soon as we stop kissing, letting Aidan use his thumb to wipe it away; making me stare deeply into his brown eyes, confused yet I remain quiet.

''What were you thinking? You would actually believe that I've forgotten the love of my life?'' He speaks, his voice deeper as he continues to gaze into my eyes after glancing down at my lips for a few seconds, liking how we're just inches apart.

''I don't get it . . . '' I try to lean back but he grabs onto my hand, pulling me closer to him.

He leans in to my neck before trailing down soft and light kisses near my collarbone, ''I'd never forget you even if I was hit on the head—meaning I was actually hit on the head but that's not what I mean,'' We both chuckle lightly as he smiles, ''I was just teasing you, Kenna . . . I remember you. I remember us and I'm sorry that it took me too long to wake up,'' He continues to speak.

''You remember me? You, really, really do remember me?'' I raise an eyebrow.

''I remember everything about you, Kenna Anne. What do you think this would be? A romantic novel where the main character forgets about his wife just because he was hit on the head by a baseball bat? No, baby, this is real life and I remember you, every inch of you and all that there is to you.'' He caresses the side of my face with the back of his hand, the warmth of his touch is familiar again.

''Are you sure?'' I breathe, entwining our fingers as he starts to lean forward. His lips meet mine in another everlasting kiss, causing me to slowly move mine with the rhythm, somehow catching up on the past few weeks of what we lost.

I break the kiss, ''Then, what was my full name before I married you? How old am I? What's my favourite colour? What's my spirit animal? When's my birthday? When did we get married? Am I—''

''—Kenna Anne Roosevelt. You're twenty-six and you're turning twenty-seven this year in June, sixteenth. You favour the colour white and burgundy. We got married in October, twenty-third and you're a dolphin. Now, can I kiss you?'' He cuts me off.

To my surprise, he tucks the few strands of hair behind my ear before cupping onto my face to kiss me fully on the lips, this time the kiss turns out to be a little bit more intense and passionate, somehow showing the mixed emotions he's currently feeling from the amount of anxiety. Then, without me even expecting, he lays me on the bed which causes me to chuckle as he continues to kiss me, up to my cheeks and my eyes, leaving me to smile at his sudden behaviour.

Just as we stop kissing, we both continue to stare into each other's eyes before I begin to grab onto his hand . . . slowly kissing each of his fingers and place it on the side of my face, causing him to smile down at me; leaning in to kiss me softly on the lips again, overjoying me.

''Wow, wow, wow. Keep it PG-13, guys.'' Mia enters the room with the rest of the family, Diana, Marc, Harley and even Alain—who seemed to return after he found out about Aidan in the news. He and Mia didn't even bother to pick up another fight as he ended up supporting her, just like how Aidan told him to.

My cheeks heat up as I move away from Aidan, letting Alain pulls him in for a hug; seeing that both of his eyes are red with tears as Aidan pats onto his back, somehow they seem to be having a silent conversation. ''It's good to have you back, man.'' He mutters.

''It's good to be back,'' Aidan replies.

''Group hug!'' Mia exclaims before making her way towards Aidan and Alain, pulling them in for a hug. From my distance, I can see Aidan grinning widely as Alain continues to chuckle as the three of them hug each other, leaving me to think that they're always going to be inseparable. They're one of the most loving siblings I've ever known, too.

As soon as they pull away from the hug, Diana steps to take her turn in which Aidan responds before kissing her on the cheek. Then, Marc pats lightly onto Aidan's back as he smiles down at him, his eyes glistening with joy.

''Come here, Harley.'' Aidan says to his sister-in-law before he starts to pull her in for a hug, causing everyone to laugh at them.

As a few minutes pass, Owen comes inside to check up on Aidan as half of the family members have went out, leaving Aidan and I with Diana and Marc. Owen continues to use the small torch to look into his eyes before nodding his head. Then, he begins to examine for any unhealed bruises or any certain complications.

''How are you feeling?'' Owen asks.

Aidan glances at me for a short couple of seconds, ''My head's hurting a little bit but nothing too unbearable. It feels weird moving for the first time in three months—is that normal?'' He asks after answering.

''It's very normal. You don't have anything to worry about but it might take you a few days or up to two weeks to finally be able to balance your body properly because you were in coma for a certain amount of time and you were in an unaware state. Don't worry about that either because we will be giving you a wheelchair to use until you are able to walk on your own, again.'' Owen replies, looking at Diana and Marc before turning to look back at Aidan who seems to be nodding his head.

''I will prescribe you to an adequate dose of painkillers and you should only take them if you feel like you need to. Fair warning, you might feel pain at the back of your head and also in the middle of your forehead when you are in a large crowd or when you hear any loud noises. It's best to avoid these situations for awhile, maybe a couple of weeks, yeah?'' Owen continues to speak.

''I understand,'' Aidan responds.

''Good . . . if that's all, you will be discharged in a couple of days if we find that your brain activity is going back to normal. We just need to make sure that you are heading back on track but you will be moved to a regular ward,'' He turns to look at me, ''We'll run a few tests to make sure that you're as stable as you were when you were in a coma. We want no complications,'' He adds.

Diana and Marc walks out of the room with Owen, continuing to speak about Aidan's condition while I remain staring at him, seeing him looking down at his fingers before running them through his hair, somehow making me realise how he feels odd doing the things he used to do.

''You okay?'' I ask, heading closer.

''Yeah, just feels a little bit weird. That's completely normal, right? Nothing to be worried about or exaggerated?'' He replies, leaning back on the bed after letting out a deep sigh.

''Completely normal. Your body is responding back after being unaware for three months. Don't worry, you'll be fine. You just need to take things slow,'' I respond.

Both of his brown eyes meet mine, ''You were there with me everyday.''

''What do you mean?''

''I heard you. Your voice. It was not clear but I knew it was you—you were telling me different things everyday and you even made listen to this music that got stuck in my head. The lyrics were like 'but we sobered up, swear my heartbeats all you better' and I kept on feeling like it was being replayed in my head. Not just that, I even heard you crying . . . laughing and just being there.'' He replies with full anticipation, silencing me.

''I couldn't go through the day without seeing you. Even though you were just laying there but I . . . I wanted to see you to make sure that you were there,'' I look down at my fingers, eyeing my wedding ring before clearing my throat. ''Maybe, I was expecting you to wake up and I did all of those things to make you feel eager to come back. I was worried, Aidan. Patients in coma are really, really hard to deal with—we never know what might happen. You might wake up and you might not,''

''I'm sorry for making you worry about me,'' He grabs onto my hand. ''But at the same time, I'm thankful that you were there for me even though I was just laying here. I appreciate that, thank you.''

''I'd do anything for you,'' I reply as he kisses onto my knuckles, leaving electricity on my skin; letting me feel satisfied and content even with his tiny little kisses. ''How did it feel like being in a coma?''

He rubs the back of my hand with his thumb, ''Hard, especially when I could hear you everyday but was unable to respond. I was like in between life and death because your voice felt close to me but at the same time, I was near the edge. I don't know if what I'm about to say would make any senses but I think . . . I could've died,'' He looks up into my blue eyes, leaving me to frown.

''What do you mean? What happened?'' I ask.

''There were two paths down this infinite road. One shining bright with lights while the other was just really dark which means I was intrigued to choose the bright path. Just as I was almost confirm with my decision, I heard you.'' He stops for awhile, ''Your voice was loud and clear down the dark road. It wasn't just your voice because it sounded more like memories of us being together mixed into one. I heard you laughing, talking and I even saw glimpses of you smiling. There was nothing down the dark road but you and I was instantly attracted to that path more than I was attracted down the bright path which was quiet without a single sound. So, when I walked down that dark path and straight towards you . . . I felt it,''

He continues to speak, ''I felt my body.''

''Aidan . . . '' I feel my eyes begin to water. These last few weeks have been hard for me and my eyes seem to have wasted a lot of tears but wasting a lot of tears for this man in front of me would always be worth it.