Chapter 6 I'll be there soon

Three years later...

The hospital room was absolutely still, the air was filled with the sterile smell of antiseptic and the low hum of machines that kept Ava tethered to life. The dim lights flickered faintly in the hallway, which casted long and haunting shadows that stretched across the cold floor. The soft beep of the heart monitor was the only sign of activity in the room, a rhythmic reminder that Ava was still there.

Alive. But barely.

Ava lay motionless in the hospital bed, her body frail and pale against the white sheets. There were countless tubes on her arms and chest that were connected to the machines that monitored her vitals, and kept her breathing steady. Her face which was once vibrant with life had now lost it's color. There was no trace of who she had been.

The crash, the gunshot, and the three years that had passed had stolen everything from her. Her life, her dreams, her passion, it was all lost. She was a ghost in her own life, trapped in a deep, unrelenting slumber.

Ethan Cole had been the one to admit her to the hospital on the night of accident, but he had visited only occasionally since then, always kept a distance that no one quite understood. He was a man of few words, his presence never went unnoticed. Some of the hospital staff whispered about him in passing, but no one ever dared to go question him directly. He was always calm, almost too calm, but his sharp eyes always took in every detail, but he never revealed about himself too much.

Yet, despite his occasional visits, he had arranged a nurse, Elena Maroni, to care for Ava. Elena Maroni was diligent, making sure that Ava was comfortable, that her vitals remained steady, and that her body didn't wither completely under the weight of its stillness.

For Elena, these past three years had been a blur of routine. Day after day, she attended Ava, she spoke softly to her in the hope she could reach Ava, but she never received a response. Sometimes, Elena would talk about the world outside the hospital, trying to fill the void of silence in the room.

But today felt different.

There was a heaviness in the air, a strange sense of anticipation that Elena couldn't quite shake. She stood by Ava's bedside, checking the machines, her mind wander around as it often did during these quiet moments.

Dominic.

That was the name that lingered in Elena's thoughts. She heard this name in passing from Ethan Cole. The mysterious man who had been with Ava on that fateful night had vanished without a trace.

The police had never found him, and no one knew what had really happened. The crash had been violent, the gunshot even more so. There were too many unanswered questions, too many loose ends. Who had shot Ava? Was it Dominic? And Why? And why had Ethan, of all people, been the one to bring her here?

As Elena gently adjusted the IV in Ava's arm, the machines began to beep louder, interrupting her thoughts. Her heart skipped a beat, her eyes darting to the monitor. The beeping had changed, it was faster, more urgent.

Panic surged through Elena as she glanced at Ava, her pulse racing in time with the machine. Something was happening.

Ava's fingers twitched. For the first time in three years, there was movement. It was subtle, just a faint jerk of her hand, but it was enough to send Elena scrambling for the call button. Her heart hammered in her chest as she called for the doctors, her voice strained with urgency.

"Dr. Myers! She's.. She's moving! Come quick!"

The response was immediate. Nurses rushed into the room, followed by Dr. Myers, their faces tense with a mixture of shock and hope. The doctor leaned over Ava, his eyes scanning the monitors before his gaze dropped to her hand, which twitched again, more noticable this time.

"Ava?" he whispered, his voice low, filled with disbelief. "Can you hear me?"

Ava's face remained expressionless, her eyes closed, but there was something different in the air. The beeping of the machines grew more chaotic as if her body was finally responding after years of silence.

The team of nurses worked quickly around her, checking her vitals, adjusting her medications, but their faces betrayed their shock. Three years. No one had expected this. They had given up hope long ago. She had been too far gone, lost in a coma with no sign of waking. Yet here she was, showing the first glimmers of life after all this time.

Elena stood back, her hands trembling as she watched the scene unfold. Her heart was racing. Could this really be happening? Could Ava really be waking up? She felt a surge of emotion welling up inside her, a strange combination of fear and hope, neither one winning over the other.

Dr. Myers turned to Elena, his voice steady but his eyes wide with disbelief. "Get Ethan Cole on the phone. He needs to know what's happening."

Elena nodded and rushed out of the room, her mind spinning as she dialed the number. She had seen Ethan come and go over the years, always distant, always composed. But this.. this was different. She didn't know how he would react.

As the phone rang, Elena's hands shook. The line clicked, and Ethan's voice came through, cold and controlled as always. "Elena?" he asked, his tone betraying nothing.

"Mr. Cole," Elena stammered. "You need to come to the hospital. Ava... she's waking up."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. For a moment, Elena wondered if Ethan had even heard her. But then his voice came through, soft and calm like the ocean. "I'll be there soon."

The line went dead, and Elena stood there, the phone still pressed to her ear, her heart racing. She didn't know what to expect when Ethan arrived, but she knew one thing. Ava's life was about to change, and not necessarily for the better.

Back in the room, Dr. Myers and the nurses continued their work, but the atmosphere was electric with tension.

Ava's fingers twitched again, and this time, her eyelids fluttered.

The doctor leaned closer, his eyes fixed on her face, waiting for the moment they had all thought might never come.