Chapter 14
“Thanks,” Leila whispered gratefully, taking the cup of tea Jeff offered as she sat on her bed crossed legged.
She watched as Jeff sat across from her on the bed. His eyes studied her face, and she opened her mouth to tell him… tell him everything, but nothing came out.
“Take your time Leila,” Jeff urged as he watched her take a small sip of the tea.
“I met Keith as a sophomore in college,” Leila started, “he was just finishing up his medical school. We met through a friend at a party, and eventually grew really close and started dating. We were dating for 3 years, and he… we were out one night, at a really fancy restaurant, to celebrate his new job with his family, and he got down on one knee… and he proposed to me.”
Jeff bit his lip as he watched more tears form in her distant eyes and a small, nostalgic smile appear on her face.
“I said yes without hesitation,” Leila continued, her voice in a whisper, “that was the happiest day I had ever had. I had just gotten engaged; I was just starting to break into modeling, and my fiancée now had a new job. My life couldn’t have gotten better.”
Leila took a deep breath before continuing, “Keith and I decided to take a little day trip from Manhattan up to Connecticut to see my family. We spent the whole day there and decided to leave late that night. I told him we should just spend the night with my parents, and drive back in the morning, but he wanted to get back to the city. It’s at least 6 hours from Connecticut to the city, and I could tell Keith was getting tired after awhile, so I asked if he wanted me to take over, but he told me he was fine, and that I should just lay in the back and get some sleep. Those were the last words I ever heard from him.”
Jeff watched as he felt tears form in his own eyes as Leila put a hand over her mouth, trying to hold back some sobs.
“I woke up when I felt a sharp jolt and heard the sound of tires screeching,” Leila said, her voice quavering, “I got thrown around like a rag doll in the backseat. I don’t even know how it happened; someone hit us from the front… I don’t even know how. I was taken away in an ambulance, and all I kept asking about was Keith… but no one would answer me. They just looked at me sadly, and continued to check on me.”
“At the hospital, after they checked me out and found out that I had no serious injuries, they allowed me to see Keith… he was unconscious. He hadn’t been wearing his seatbelt when we had been hit and he had hit his head, I don’t even know what on and suffered severe head trauma.”
“Oh my god…” Jeff mumbled, as he watched Leila put her teacup on the bed stand and toy with the comforter on the bed.
“I stood in the hospital room with Keith’s parents and siblings when the doctors came in. They told us that there wasn’t a good chance that Keith would survive and the best thing we could do would be say our good-byes, and let him know how much we cared.”
“I stood by his bed during the night alone, and I stroked his hair and kissed is forehead and told him how much I loved him. I said, ‘baby, I love you more then anything. You’re everything to me, but you can’t hold on. Just close your eyes and go to sleep. You’ve fought your hardest, and it’s time to rest. I won’t blame you for leaving, you don’t have to feel guilty, we’ll meet again. I’ll always remember you, I’ll always love you…’ and just as I said those words, I felt his hand go cold and limp, and he… he died. I told him it was ok to and he did. I don’t remember what happened after that. I fell to the floor, his parents walked in and his mom and I cried together as the nurse and doctors ran in and out of the room…”
“Leila, I’m sorry,” Jeff whispered, “I am so sorry.”
“Jeff, there’s more,” Leila said softly, wiping away some tears, “but I can’t tell you. Not tonight, not yet.”
“Ok,” Jeff nodded, squeezing her hand, “this has been a tiring night for you. Why don’t you go to bed?”
“Stay with me,” Leila asked, not letting go of his hand, “please, I can’t be alone. Not after that…”
“I won’t leave,” Jeff whispered, feeling touched and surprised by her simple request.
“I won’t leave,” he repeated as he laid next to Leila, and she snuggled up against him.
Jeff wrapped his arms around her tightly, not sure whether to or not, but realized it was ok as she cuddled closer to him and let out a small breath. Kissing her forehead quickly, he shut his eyes and tried to fall asleep.
Chapter 15
Chapter 13
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