Don't You Dare

Nerves fluttered up Brian’s stomach as he watched Aubrey’s nurse inject something into her IV then press a bunch of buttons on the machine she was hooked up to. He had no idea what she was actually doing, but he knew it would begin pulling Aubrey out of her coma soon.

And surprisingly, that made him nervous. Nervous because he was going to have to face her for the first time since the scene he caused last time he left Phoenix. Nervous because what if she hated him? What if she wanted nothing to do with him? After the last few days, he didn’t think his heart could handle any more trauma.

“She won’t wake up immediately,” the nurse warned as she turned to Brian. “So try to be patient.”

He nodded.

“And she’ll likely be very confused at first, so just reassure her that she’s okay and that you’re here for her,” the nurse added.

Again, he nodded but wondered if Aubrey would even want him there.

When the nurse left the room, Brian sat back in his chair, keeping his eyes on Aubrey. He thought time moved slowly before, but now, it felt like it had stopped all together. The nurse said it wouldn’t happen immediately, but when would it happen? In ten minutes? In a few hours? In a day? Why hadn’t he asked her before she left?

He froze when a small whimper escaped Aubrey’s throat and her shoulder twitched. He sat up straight, watching her closely. But she remained still.

His knee began to bounce with anticipation and anxiety. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Aubrey, scanning her from head to toe repeatedly, looking for any little movement, any sign that she was regaining consciousness. But her soft eyelashes didn’t flutter and her pale cheeks didn’t twitch.

He stole a moment to soak in her beauty. He always thought it was bullshit when someone in a movie would say that their mangled loved one was still beautiful. But now he understood it. She didn’t really look like herself - there was a vibrancy missing and a lack of color on her face, in addition to the scratches and bruising - but damn, she was still beautiful.

It was so unfair how much he loved her. He loved the shit outta her. And he needed her to wake up. He didn’t care if she yelled at him or hated him; he just needed her to wake up so he could see for himself that she would be okay. He’d walk away if she wanted him to - as long as he knew she was okay.

He exhaled deeply then grabbed the remote and turned the TV on in hopes for even the slightest distraction from the painfully slow passing of time. He flipped through the channels quickly - Disney shows, infomercials, old Western movies, a Wheel of Fortune marathon...

Rolling his eyes, he settled on Wheel of Fortune. He tried hard to focus on the TV, tried to play along with the game, but he was struggling. His peripheral was constantly monitoring Aubrey’s state. His ears involuntarily tuned out the TV so he could listen for any subtle noise that would indicate consciousness from her bed, but he could not tune out the suddenly loud ticking of the clock on the wall above his head.

He hadn’t noticed the clock’s ticking – not even once – in the three days he had been staying in the hospital, sleeping on that exact couch below it, but the bitch taunted him now, audibly reminding him of every aching second that crawled by.

He picked at the lint on his jeans and chewed his nails down to the quick. He read the pain chart and medication schedule on the whiteboard across from him about 600 times. He counted the specks of dust on the ceiling and the birds that flew past the window. He did the crossword puzzle in the newspaper. Twice. And he watched so many episodes of Wheel of Fortune that he began to feel like a human word puzzle.

He couldn’t remember how many game show episodes had passed, but what had to be at least six hours later, he caught himself dozing off, his heavy head bobbing with boredom and exhaustion. He mentally scolded himself. He would be so upset with himself if Aubrey woke up and found him unconscious.

He sat up straight to keep himself awake when he finally caught some movement out of the corner of his eye. He practically gave himself whiplash from jumping up so quickly. He reached the side of Aubrey’s bed just as her eyelashes fluttered open a few times.

It was enough for Brian to get a glimpse of her big brown eyes. And those things did wonders for his heavy heart.

“Oh man, I missed those beautiful eyes,” he said softly to her, brushing her hair back and out of her face.

She squinted, mumbled something incoherently, looking like she was struggling to see and speak. It kind of freaked Brian out, and he hoped the car wreck hadn’t caused any kind of brain damage that they didn’t know about.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” he cooed, continuing to brush her hair out of her face with his fingers. “Just relax. You’ll feel better soon. I’m not going anywhere.”

She seemed to be able to hear him and understand him as her shoulders slumped a little, as if she was actually relaxing.

Aubrey drifted in and out of consciousness for about an hour, making soft noises and subtle movements until she suddenly woke with a jolt. When she realized that she couldn’t see clearly and felt restricted, pinned to the bed by the bedsheets that were tucked tightly around her, she began to panic. The noises she heard were unfamiliar and she felt pain radiating through her entire upper body. Her throat stung and her mouth was dry, and no matter how hard she tried to pick up her head, it wasn’t moving. Her whole body felt heavy, like each limb weighed a thousand pounds.

“It’s okay, Aubrey,” Brian came into her line of view. “I’m here.” Her sight was hazy and unclear, but the voice made his silhouette unmistakable - she knew it was Brian.

Immediately, her body relaxed again. Despite not knowing where she was or what had happened, seeing Brian’s face, even if it was cloudy, instantly made her feel safe. It didn’t matter what was going on around her - if Brian was there, she knew everything would be okay. And if she had been more alert, she would’ve realized how monumental that feeling was for her.

“Hey,” she coughed out, wincing from the pain.

“Hey, you,” Brian laughed, feeling so much relief from hearing her speak to him.

She felt his hand wrap around hers and his thumb gently stroked the inside of her palm. It was the subtlest of movements but it made her feel so much, even in her transient state.

“I don’t know if you remember anything, but you were in a pretty rough car accident,” Brian explained with a gentle voice. “You’re okay, and you’re gonna be fine, but you’ve been in the hospital for three days.”

Her brow furrowed. A car accident? Three days?

“You scared the shit outta me,” Brian whispered, swallowing hard to hold back the lump in his throat.

Bits and pieces of vague memory began to surface. She remembered lights from an emergency vehicle and everyone talking very loud and very fast around her – right after the car accident, she assumed. But she didn’t remember Brian there. In fact, she didn’t remember much about what happened before the car accident. Was she in California? Did she move and forget all about it?

“California?” She asked with a hoarse voice.

Brian cocked his head to the side. “No, baby. We’re in Phoenix.”

She blinked slowly, trying to process everything. Had Brian moved to Phoenix?

“Phoenix,” she repeated.

She nodded suddenly, even though it hurt, realizing he must’ve come to Phoenix when he found out about the accident, which made much more sense than her completely forgetting about either one of them moving. She felt herself slowly becoming more lucid.

“Are you hurting?” He asked, noticing her wince every time she spoke or moved.

She nodded again.

“I’ll get the nurse for you, okay?”

He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, lingering for a second to savor the moment. When she felt his hand slip away from hers, she shut her eyes and zoned out. Minutes later, she felt relief from the pain.

“She’ll have periods of lucidity when the pain meds start to wear off, but as soon as we top her off, she’ll be out of it again,” the nurse informed Brian.

It was killing him to see Aubrey struggling to talk and move. It was almost worse than seeing her in the coma. At least then, she wasn’t feeling any pain and wasn’t confused or scared.

He pulled a chair up to the side of her bed, to be right there in case she needed anything, and watched as she drifted back to sleep.

When Aubrey came to later, she still felt groggy, but her vision was much clearer. And the sight she saw put a soft smile on her face. Brian was still in the chair, leaning over to rest his head on her bed, on top of his folded arm, and was sleeping peacefully beside her hip.

She still hadn’t pieced everything together from the last three days, but she had Brian by her side and that was all that mattered to her.

She moved her hand and gently placed it on his cheek in a loving manner. His eyelids shot open, revealing bloodshot eyes, and he picked his head up.

“You okay?” He questioned with worry.

She nodded softly and smiled. He relaxed and exhaled then grabbed her hand that was still resting on his cheek and brought it to his lips, where he kissed her palm.

“I love you,” she rasped hoarsely.

“I love you, too, angel,” he mumbled into her hand, feeling the utmost relief from hearing her mutter those words.

Ø

“AC!!!” Jimmy shouted as Brian and Aubrey appeared on the screen of his phone.

Ever since he found out that Aubrey was out of her coma and (mostly) awake, Jimmy had been begging and pleading with Brian to let him FaceTime with her. So, the next day, when Aubrey was in a brief state of lucidity and feeling better after a refreshing shower, Brian climbed into bed with her and called his best friend so they could video chat.

“Heyyy,” Aubrey replied cutely.

She was still groggy from the pain meds, so Brian held his phone up for her so they could both be seen on the screen.

“Oh damn, girl! You look like shiiit,” Jimmy joked in a sing-song voice.

“Well I was hit head on by a drunk driver. What’s your excuse?!” Aubrey retorted.

Brian smirked proudly beside her. That’s his girl.

“YES!” Jimmy shouted with a laugh. “She’s alive! She’s back! I’m just kidding, by the way. You look like a total badass. A beautiful badass.”

She chuckled but winced. "Ow, don’t make me laugh, Jim. It hurts.”

“Oh, Jesus tap-dancing Christ, you can’t even laugh?” He asked. “How’re the painkillers?”

“Great but taking too long to kick in,” Aubrey tried to smile.

Valary’s face came into view next to Jimmy’s.

“Oh my god, Aubrey!” She exclaimed, taking the phone from Jimmy, who huffed in protest. “I’m so fucking happy to see your face! Jesus, you scared the shit out of all of us.”

“Sorry! But I’m okay, don’t worry,” Aubrey reassured with a lazy smile. “Thank you for all the flowers and gifts. Y’all are ridiculous.”

Oh, how Brian’s heart smiled when he heard her say y’all.

“As if,” Val replied, taking the phone from Jimmy, who huffed in protest. “We felt helpless being so far away - it was the least we could do.”

“Did you like my bear? And my gift card?” Jimmy asked as he maneuvered himself next to Val to be in view of the camera.

“I love the bear,” Aubrey replied, smiling again. “And I’m making Brian get me Burger King as soon as I can stomach food heavier than Jell-O.”

“Are you puking a lot?” Jimmy wondered. “Hey, maybe you’re pregnant.”

Aubrey snorted when she tried not to laugh due to the pain as Val quickly put her hand flat on the side of Jimmy’s face and shoved him away from her and out of view of the video chat.

“Can I be the godfather?” Jimmy yelled from somewhere in the background.

“She’s not pregnant, idiot,” Brian informed. “The pain meds are making her feel sick.”

“Oh, yeah, painkillers make me sick too. Burger King will fix that,” Jimmy related, trying to get back into view, but Val kept moving the phone so he couldn’t be seen.

“Anyway,” Valary exaggerated, rolling her eyes. “We’ll let you go so you can rest, but call us later! We love you!”

“I LOVE YOU!” Jimmy shouted, still trying to maneuver into the camera.

“I love y’all!” Aubrey replied.

Brian hung up then dropped his head back onto the pillow and laughed. “Why is he so fucking nuts?”

“He wouldn’t be Jimmy if he wasn’t,” Aubrey pointed out. “We’d be so bored.”

“True,” Brian said as he picked his head back up then kissed her temple softly. “You feeling okay?”

She nodded. “Just tired.”

“Time for a nap then,” Brian replied as he started to get out of the bed.

“No, stay,” she pleaded as she grabbed his arm to keep him next to her.

Brian looked at her, seeing the need in her eyes. What happened two months ago no longer mattered. She didn’t need an explanation or an apology. She just needed him. And he was there - for whatever she wanted or needed. And truth be told, he needed her just as badly.

He nodded and scooted back over to her.

“C’mere,” he said softly, holding his arms out to her.

She settled back into his chest, relaxing into his warmth as his arms came around her, holding her to his body. She inhaled deeply, his familiar cologne filling her with serenity.

Everything from the past 24 hours felt surreal, like a weird lifelike dream. Sure, she was still confused, uncomfortable, and in pain, but she had Brian, and not a damn thing else mattered. She was comforted by the familiarity of things that she didn’t even realized she missed - the softness of his black t-shirt, and the sound of him deeply exhaling as he relaxed with her; the intimacy of him kissing the top of her head through her hair and lingering to breathe in her scent; the rough, calloused pad of his thumb caressing different areas of her hand.

With no effort, she fell asleep, weighed down by the pain meds, but Brian stayed awake, listening to her soft breathing. It was rare that Aubrey needed him, and he liked being needed by her. He was going to cherish these moments with her.

Because in a few days, when Brian had to get back to the studio, reality would come crashing down around them. The fallout would be heartbreaking, per usual, then Aubrey would go back to doing life on her own, and Brian would go back to pretending like he was okay with it.

So he would take whatever small moments that he could get, while he could still get them, and commit each one to memory.

Notes

Yay she's finally awake! As always, I apologize for the delay in updating, but thanks for reading and commenting!