Bedmates Soulmates

A Shoulder To Cry On

The doctor thought for a moment before answering. The EEG-I mean, the electroencephalogram has registered changes in your father's brain activity. I brought in two other neurologists to consult. We ran some tests. I think, no, we think we have definitely detected signs

of consciousness in your father."

Kira stared at the doctor blankly.

Was she hearing him right?

Or was this a dream?

Signs of consciousness?

Dad was waking up?

She could see him open his eyes once again?

Hear his voice?

Squeeze his hand and have him squeeze hers in return?

Kira's eyes were blurred with tears.

'Thank you..." she wanted to say, but she'd suddenly lost the faculty of speech.

Dr Morrison smiled understandingly. 'Let's go in to see your father. I'll explain more."

Liam, one hand around her shoulder, gently led her down the corridor.

Dr Morrison told Kira that about an hour ago, a nurse was alerted to something unusual on her father's, EKG monitor.

She immediately notified the attending physician.

Dr Morrison checked the patient's vital signs, then he consulted with a fellow neurologist and another pulmonologist, before bringing in a neurosurgeon.

'We concurred that the signs of consciousness detected are definitive, though we'll schedule an fMRI, just to be sure,' Dr Morrison said. 'However, we also found something unusual during the examination." "What is it?' Kira held her breath. 'Your father registered some pretty strong reactions. His blood pressure and intracranial pressure spiked. His pulse rate briefly shot past 100 bpm. His body temperature and his respiration rate were both way above normal. It's almost like.... 'Like what?"

'Like he was having a nightmare, though we know he can't be dreaming, since his brain shows no signs of the normal sleep-wake cycle."

What could be causing this?

Dr Morrison knitted his brows. 'We're not entirely sure. There are still a lot of things we don't know about how the brain works in the case of a patient in a vegetative state. But the nurse told me that someone visited your father right before the EKG monitor sent an alert. Maybe it had something to do with that visitor.'

'Wh...who was it?"

Besides Kira, who would visit her father?

A Sholder To Cry On

The doctor shook his head. 'She didn't register. The nurse at the Visitor Registration Counter happened to be preoccupied. She waved her in. Said the woman was well-dressed, had an air about her, didn't look like the trouble-making type." 'It was a woman?"

'Yes, in her forties, according to the nurse."

A well-dressed woman in her forties...

A face flashed through Kira's mind.

But she couldn't believe it.

It was simply impossible.

Liam, who had been standing by her side quietly, suggested, 'The hospital's covered with CCTV cameras. We can get a look at the tape."

He turned his eyes to the neurologist. 'It's the hospital staff's negligence that allowed a stranger to slip into a ward unregistered. Surely, you won't be hesitant to help find out who she was?'

Dr Morrison mopped his forehead with one hand.

The man was smiling, but his words were menacing.

'Of course, if you will come with me, please. Dr Morrison headed towards the elevator.

Twenty minutes later, Kira saw the security footage from earlier in the morning.

She bit her bottom lip so hard that it drew blood.

It was a hospital, but the woman onscreen was dressed like she was attending a gala.

Her white sequined dress shimmered under the bright fluorescent light, revealing her bare legs as she sashayed.

Her lipstick was bright red.

Her eyelash extensions were visible on camera.

She was strutting down the corridor in a pair of gold Luca Choo sandals.

Helen Raynor.

Kira's mother.

She should have known.

No one else could have provoked that kind of reaction from her father.

Kira balled her hands into fists, but they wouldn't stop shaking.

Tears threatened to overflow.

Kira pinched her thigh, nails digging into flesh.

She wasn't about to cry, not over a woman like that.

"You know her?' Liam tilted his chin towards the screen

He'd never seen the girl like this-it seemed she was just as likely to break down sobbing as she was going to punch someone's lights out.

'She is my mother. Kira spat out the words like they left a bad taste in her mouth.

Slider Te Cry Ohi

Liam watched her.

She was breathing fast.

Her lips were trembling.

Her neck and face were flushed.

He was familiar with that feeling.

Every family had its own skeleton.

His just happened to be the same nature as hers.

Liam took a step closer to her. 'Let it out."

"What? Kira looked up, but she couldn't see him clearly

Her eyes were blinded by tears.novelbin

Unconsciously, Liam softened his voice, almost cooing to her. "It's not good to bottle up your emotions like that. You need a release valve. If you want to cry, here's a shoulder. If you want to lash out, come, I can be your punching bag."

The rakish, almost insouciant smile was gone from Liam's face.

Kira wiped her face with her hand and stared straight into his eyes.

The concern in them touched her more than words could say.

For a moment, she thought she caught a glimpse of a gentle, vulnerable soul.

A soul that said "I feel for you. I'm here for you."

Kira almost took him up on his offer.

A strong shoulder to cry on, a warm embrace, words of commiseration-how could she say no to that? But Liam was a stranger, barely an acquaintance.

Kira would not allow herself to show vulnerability in front of someone who was not part of her inner circle. Besides, she refused to shed tears over that woman.

Kira took a deep breath, patted her cheeks and forced a smile. 'It's okay. I'm fine. I'm not that weak. This is nothing. That woman's nothing."

After a pause, she said, 'Mr Cane, I've already taken up far too much of your time. Thank you for waiting with me and for coming down here to the security guards' office with me. And your kind words. I'm truly grateful. But I think I need to be with my father right now." Liam was smiling again. "So you're going to ditch me just like that?"