I stood next to Jessica’s bed, holding her hand. She’d always been beautiful when she slept, and she still was, even hooked up to those machines. Her face looked peaceful, but I knew that inside her, it was a different story. She was fighting to come back, I could feel it.
I tried to think of something to say. “You should see Kiki these days. He’s all about his keyboard. He knows which buttons to press for which beats. He tries to do some beat boxing, but he just ends up spitting everywhere. It’s so cute. I’ve got a video on my phone. I’ll show you when you wake up.”
Her lips twitched, unless I was imagining it. She always reacted when I mentioned Kiki. Part of me wished I could bring him in here, to see if she’d react to his voice. But Kiki wasn’t allowed in the ICU, and it was probably best. He’d get upset if he saw her this way. And I wouldn’t want Jessica to hear him cry.
Tears burned my eyes.
“I’m sorry, Jessica. Sorry I got you involved in all this. I’m gonna make things right. No matter what, I’ll make things right.”
I squeezed her hand. I couldn’t be sure, but she might have squeezed mine back.