Chapter 6: The Cost of Survival

Ava's POV

The doctor took a slow breath

“Your husband is in a coma”

I stared at him

For a moment, I wasn't quite certain I heard correctly

“A… coma?” I asked

He nodded slowly, something about his facial expression made my stomach twist

My fingers tightened around the fabric of my dress

“I.. I don't understand, but you said you stabilised him” I said with a cracked voice

“So he's supposed to be okay right?”

The doctor didn't respond

“Your husband is alive ma'am” he started carefully “And right now, that's what we're fighting to maintain”

I swallowed hard, this can't be happening

“No”

“Mrs Maxwell…”

“No you don't understand”

My voice trembled

“He was fine this morning” I said in between sobs, running my hands through my hair

The doctor remained silent

“He made breakfast this morning. Well…” I let out a shaky laugh that immediately returned to a sob. “He tried to make breakfast but he burnt the toast”

I lips tremble as I looked through the glass doors towards the ICU

“He kissed me before I left. He told me he'd see me tonight”

I swallowed, hard

“He promised” I sniffed

“I understand this is difficult…”

“Then tell me he'll wake up” I said, almost yelling

The doctor paused

My heart sank

“Tell me he'll wake up” I repeated, louder this time

“We can't predict yet”

“What do you mean you can't predict yet?”

“With severe brain injuries like this, recovery can vary greatly from one patient to another. Some patients regain consciousness quickly, others may remain in a coma for much longer”

“How long?”

“We really can't tell ma'am “

I stared at him

“Days?”

“Possibly”

“Weeks?”

“It's possible”

My breathing became shallow

“Months?”

The doctor didn't answer

That silence was loud enough and filled with answers

My hands flew to my mouth as a sob escaped

“No…”

I looked through the glass again”

Ethan was lying motionless on the hospital bed, surrounded by machines that seemed to be keeping him alive

My husband

My best friend

The man who had kissed me only few hours ago, now he couldn't even open his eyes

“What happens now?” I asked in defeat

“We'll continue monitoring him closely. His injuries will require ongoing treatment, and we'll need to watch for any complications”

“And then what?”

“We wait”

Wait? That was it?

I had to wait

For the man I loves to wake up, for his brain to heal

For a miracle

I wiped by tears with my shaky fingers

“Can I see him?”

The doctor nodded

“Yes but only for a few minutes now”

I didn't hesitate

“Please…”

He signalled for the nurse inside to let me in. She opened the ICU door and I one deep breath before stepping inside

The moment I saw him lying there, something inside me shattered all over again

I sat beside him and carefully held his left hand. He looked unrecognisable with all the injuries on his face

“I'd give you some time” the nurse said and stepped out leaving me alone with him

“Hey baby” I started, my voice came out softer than I expected

“I don't really know what I'm supposed to say to you”

I looked at his face waiting for the familiar little smile that always appeared whenever I said something stupid

Nothing

I swallowed

“You know, you really embarrassed me this morning”

A tiny smile pulled at my lips

“I told you that toast was burnt, but you insisted it was only slightly black”

I shook my head

“It was charcoal, Ethan. Actual charcoal”

My thumb brushed gently over his knuckles

“And you still had the audacity to tell me you put a lot of work into it”

I laughed softly

“You're terrible at cooking”

The smile disappeared from my face as quickly as it came

“But I'd eat your burnt toast every morning if it meant you'd come home”

My eyes stung

I looked down at our hands

“You know what else?”

I took a shaky breath

“You still haven't fixed the washing machine”

A quiet laugh escaped me

“I've been telling you for months that thing sounds like it's about to explode. And you kept saying you'd fix it”

I glanced around the room

“Who's going to fix it now?”

Silence

I squeezed his hand gently

“I guess I'll have to call someone”

My voice cracked

“And don't think I'm letting them throw away that stupid navy-blue duvet you hate”

I smiled through my tears

“You complain about it every single night, but somehow you're always the one pulling it over yourself”

I leaned closer

“You're going to have to come home and complain about it yourself”

My fingers tightened around his

“We still have so many things to do”

I paused

“You remember that bigger apartment we talked about?”

I nodded to myself

“I'm still holding you to that”

My eyes wandered over his face

“You promised we'd get one with a washing machine that doesn't sound like it's about to explode”

I laughed quietly

“You made that promise, Ethan”

My voice dropped to a whisper

“So you have to keep it”

I rested my forehead against his hand

“I don't care how long it takes”

A tear slipped down my cheek

“Just wake up”

I closed my eyes

“Because I still have a lot of ordinary things to talk to you about”

A text popped up on my screen, it was Lily

‘I’m here'

I immediately replied to her telling her where I was. At that same moment my eyes rested on the message I sent to Ethan hours ago

‘Running late save me some dinner <3’

“Baby you never responded, you were supposed to save me dinner” I said finally breaking down in tears

The door opened at that same moment, it was Lily

She immediately rushed to hug me trying to comfort me

“Ma'am, I'm afraid you both would have to leave, hospital policy is one visitor at a time” the nurse said to us

Lily left me out of the ICU, to the hallway.

There were seats right outside the ICU room

“Lily…” I started but I couldn't say anything, my cry only got louder

“Shh shh shh, you don't have to say anything right now” Lilly pulled me closer to herself

She reached into the bag she brought

“Here, I got food for you”

“I'm not hungry”

“Girl, you can't save him if you're destroying yourself too”

Reluctantly, I took a few spoons and in two minutes I finished the entire meal

“And you said you weren't hungry” Lily said trying to make me laugh

I could only smile

“Baby girl, it's going to be okay alright?”

“That wasn't what the doctor said” I replied tearing up again

“Look at me, Ethan is going to be fine, okay? When have I ever been wrong about anything?” She smiled, making me smile a little, then she pulled me in for a warm hug

“Mrs Maxwell?” A woman in navy blue uniform stood in front of us

I looked up

“Yes that's me”

“I’m from the hospital’s administration department. I’m sorry to bother you at a time like this, but there are a few things we need to discuss regarding your husband’s treatment”

My stomach tightened

“Is something wrong?”

“No. His medical team is still attending to him”

I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding

“Then what is it?”

She opened the folder

“There are some financial arrangements we need to make for his ongoing care”

Financial

The word alone made my chest tighten

“I don't understand”

“Your husband requires intensive treatment and monitoring. The hospital requires an initial deposit of £30,000 toward his care”

I stared at her

“Thirty… thousand?”

“Yes ma'am”

I ran my hands through my hair

I didn't even have close to that amount

“I… I don't have £30000”

She nodded sympathetically

“I understand. We can discuss payment arrangements and any available options with you”

“Can you give me some time?”

“Of course. But we would need to have the initial payment addressed as soon as possible”

“How soon?”

She hesitated

“As soon as you can”

I turned to Lily then looked at the floor

“Can the payments be in installments?” Lily asked

“We can discuss that with the finance department”

“How much would I have to pay immediately?”

She gave me another sympathetic look

“I'll have someone explain the available arrangements to you”

I nodded slowly

“Okay”

She handed me a document

I took it with trembling fingers

“Thank you” and she walked away

I looked down at the paper

£30,000

The number seemed to stare back at me.

I opened my banking app

My fingers hovered over the screen as I checked my balance

£4,860

I stared at it

Then back at the hospital bill

I did the calculation in my head

It wasn't even close

Not even remotely close

I locked my phone and pressed it against my chest

“Okay,” I whispered to myself

“We'll figure it out” Lily said, those three words made me feel lighter “we’re not going to let money decide whether your husband could live or not”

I stare at her, tears rolling down my cheeks

“Heyy, don't cry” she cleaned my face with her thumb “you're not alone in this okay?”

I nodded

“Right now, you need to go home, it's late. Have some rest, then think about the way forward tomorrow.. you've had enough for one day”

She is right, from work to the hospital. I haven't had a single rest

“Alright”

“Alright? Okay let's go”

We pick up our bags, walked down the hallway back to the reception and out of the building

Then we boarded a cab and both went to our separate houses

Immediately I step into our little apartment, it felt so empty

As I walk around the apartment, I couldn't help but notice every single thing that belonged to Ethan

His shoes

His toothbrush

His jacket

His half used bottle of cologne

I had never imagined that I'm come home, to our little apartment and Ethan wouldn't be there

Now, I don't know if he'd ever come home

I pulled out my saving box from under the bed, I count everything inside

£5000

I immediately do that math in my head

“I'm still in need of £20k, fuck” I sighed

Sitting in floor, I stare at every single thing in the room

The navy blue duvet, the lampshade, our matching slippers, everything suddenly has a price

“I'll find a way to save you, I promise”