"If she's breathing why won't she open her eyes?" I shout once again between panicked breaths but I'm quickly waved off.

Two paramedics sit on either side of Maggie, both tall brawny men carefully attaching different cords and tubes to her chest and arms.  One EMT is mostly silent while the other attempts to reason with me.

His mouth moves but his words seem muted and my mind muddled. I glance at the patch on his uniform and acknowledge his first name and badge number are listed, Mark.

"Mark, please save her." I beg but I choke on the words as the panic takes hold. 

"We'll do everything we can for her sir, but her condition is serious." The paramedic warns, his kind eyes evaluate me as if he's determining whether I'll pass out or not.

"Okay." My voice is no louder than a whisper as I begin to comprehend there's absolutely nothing I can do to help, I'm worthless. I just have to trust these men to take care of my girl.

Mark gives me a small nod before turning to the driver, "I need you to haul ass on this one."

My stomach drops and my head falls into the palm of my hands as a dizziness overwhelms me. I can't imagine it's ever a good sign hearing those words.

"Ma'am, can you hear me at all?" Mark begins attempting to speak with Maggie and I raise my head in curiosity. I'm hoping for a nod, mumble, groan, anything at all.

Nothing

"What's her name?" The paramedic asks and I quickly react.

"Maggie." I manage to breathe.

"Maggie if you can hear me, try moving your fingers or making any sound at all." His pointer finger and thumb gently touch pinch her wrist, waiting for any movement.

Nothing

Sounds of the sirens echoing throughout the outside world blare in my ears as our bumpy ride ensues.

Mark seems to give up speaking with her, instead speaks into a walkie-talkie. "Inbound party one, approximately twenty-six year old female involved in a trauma."

I place my head in the palm of my hands and close my eyes, tuning in and out of his conversation. I'm not ready to hear his assessment.

"Unwitnessed by pedestrians, showing a head injury."

Breathe in, breathe out.

"Getting a faint pulse, unresponsive at this time."

Breathe in, breathe out.

"ETA about two minutes."

THE DOORS FLING OPEN and both EMT's fly out with me alongside them. Maggie's wheeled through the emergency room hall directly to a private room followed by two doctors.  I stand like a fly on the wall silently watching their every move.

The paramedics start filling in the doctors quickly with broken sentences despite the fact that they've probably already been informed. They certainly seemed prepared for us when we arrived. "Twenty-six-year-old female, car flipped off the road possibly a few times, head trauma, multiple abrasions on her forehead and arms. Unknown speeds, unresponsive the entire time."

Unresponsive.

The word makes my heart sink as I watch one of the doctors help the EMT lift her onto a hospital bed.

The paramedics start to leave but Mark stops and places a reassuring hand on my shoulder. He catches me off guard and I jerk my head back to discover why he's touched me. Mark gives me a sympathetic nod and a pat on the back. My chest clenches and I attempt to offer a thank you smile in return but my attempt is futile although his modest gesture is more appreciated than he probably realizes.

The paramedics leave on another call and I'm reluctantly escorted into the waiting room as a curtain is pulled around Maggie and they begin working.

I pace back and forth then alternate between sitting and standing for what feels like hours, still no news. Emergency cases pile through the doors every thirty minutes and litter the barren waiting room, adding to everyone's depression.

The thought dawns on me that I'm the only person who knows Maggie is in the hospital, surely at least her mother or Bethany should also know. If I had her fathers number I'd call him as well. Despite the fact that he left her at such a young age, he deserves to know.

I dial Bethany first because even though it's difficult to deliver this news to anyone, she'll be the easiest to speak with. Maggie considers her a sister and it's only fair she gets a chance to be here, but for the first time, she doesn't answer. She's probably tired of me attempting to use her to find Maggie.

I leave a quick voicemail asking her to return my call and let her know it's urgent but I don't bother leaving a detailed message about Maggie's condition. I know it's going to kill her to hear, and it's not proper to leave someone this kind of news on their voicemail.

I pace back and forth a few additional times before I actually work up the courage to face her mother and dial her line.

"Carol speaking." She answers professionally despite the fact that I've already spoken with her once tonight, so she must recognize my number.

I can't formulate the words, my brain has frozen and my mouth hangs open like a fish while I try to explain to Maggie's mother that she's been in a wreck.

"Maggie uh-" The words stick in my throat and tears pool in my eyelids. I take a deep breath and run a hand through my hair before sitting down and attempting again.

"What is it, young man? If you're still looking for Maggie maybe she's wizened up and met someone else." She seems more irritated than concerned for her daughter.

"Maggie was in an accident." I pause letting my words gently sync in. "She's at the Mayo Clinic."

"The hospital? What did you do to her?!" Carol spits, she's right to blame me. 

I'm the reason she was driving in the stormy weather, the reason she left so late at night, and the reason she was distracted while driving.  I did this, it's my fault.

"I'm sorry." I whisper before nervously running my free hand through my hair then wiping my eyes. My knee bounces up and down anxiously as I wait for her reply.

"What did you do?" She shouts and I hear her rummaging around, probably searching for her keys. "Mayo Clinic?"

"Yes." I answer and before I can utter another word, she disconnects the call.

It's not long before a raging elderly woman comes storming through the Emergency Room doors. She notices me stand and walk to her but she grimaces then looks away and approaches the counter instead.

"I need to see my daughter. Margaret Carpenter, here in one of your rooms." She grumbles.

"Yes, Maam. I'll fetch the doctor." The receptionist replies before she stands to leave.

I manage enough courage to speak with her mother and attempt to console her. The moment I arrive in front of her a disgusted expression blankets her face and I'm almost positive I hear her growl in my general direction.

"The instant I saw you, I knew you were trouble. Maggie could have done anything with her life, she could even be working here as a doctor, yet she dropped out of school, pure laziness. She could have met a nice man and had a beautiful family, yet she met you. She's always been prone to make the worst decisions and now one has landed her in the hospital. I want you out of my sight." She growls but before I can respond, an elderly doctor wearing a white cloak with salt and pepper hair walks through the emergency room doors and calls us over.

"Mrs. Carpenter, a pleasure to meet you, and you are?" She asks looking in my direction.

"I'm her-" I pause in thought and wonder if during the accident she was still considering herself my girlfriend. "Jackson."

"Alright her Jackson." The doctor offers a knowing smile then looks to Carol. "My name is Doctor Helen Moore, I've been working with Margaret very closely." Dr. Moore politely reaches a hand out to Carol but she ignores the friendly gesture and gets straight to the point.

"Dr. Moore where is my daughter and what is going on?" Carol's face begins turning a bright red and tears begin welling up in her eyes, which strikes me as a pleasant surprise despite the circumstances. She never seemed to care about her daughter before now.

"I'm not sure how much you've already been told Mrs. Carpenter but-"

"Carol, call me Carol. I haven't been a Mrs. in a very long time." She grumbles.

"Alright Carol, Margaret was in a serious car accident. Her vehicle flipped off the road doing multiple 360's. We were told she was found unconscious with multiple lacerations to her head and arms." Dr. Moore attempts to softly release the news but there's no way to possibly break this sort of news gently.

Carol's knees begin to buckle and she grips onto me for support. No matter the way she's treated me, I gladly help hold her up. She's just found out her daughter was in a severe accident, and who would I be to turn her away.

"She is in a stable condition as of now, if she survives the night there's a chance she'll live. However-" Dr. Moore pauses and looks to me then nods towards a chair signaling for me to have Carol sit down and my stomach drops for the hundredth time tonight.

More bad news.

I carefully guide Maggie's mum to the closest empty seat then sit beside her. She leans into me for support as Dr. Moore kneels in front of us, ready to deliver more bad news.

"Margaret is completely unresponsive and she can't be aroused. We've officially confirmed she is in a coma." My breath catches and the oxygen feels as if it dissipated from the room entirely.

"We'll be conducting a complete neurological exam to measure the extent of damage to the brain stem and to determine where the damage to the nervous system is located. We'll be performing blood tests, an MRI, EEG, CT scan. You name it, we're looking for answers and we'll find them. Rest assured Carol, your daughter is in good hands."

Carol simply nods, for the first time since I've met her she's at a loss for words.

I swallow my fears and look to the doctor, striving to retain enough courage for myself and Maggie's mum. "Thank you, you'll let us know when we're able to see her?"

"Of course, Her Jackson." Dr. Moore says with a warm smile before going back to her duties.

Carol continues leaning against me, hiding her face in her hands. I sit uncomfortably for a moment before I sigh and awkwardly drape my arm around her shoulder to pat her back. I've always been at a loss when it comes to consoling anyone and currently, I'm unable to even reassure myself let alone Maggie's mum.

I'm emotionally unequipped to handle this kind of chaos. The only living soul I've ever properly connected with has been ripped away from me and her fate lies in unknown hands. Are the doctors even able to help her? Does she need to be the one to fight her way out? My mind scrambles as I debate on a calming statement I can offer to Carol but it's meaningless.

"I'm sorry." Carol whispers through weak breaths and my mouth drops in shock. "I shouldn't have blamed you."

"It's okay." Is all I manage. It is okay to blame me. If she never met me she wouldn't be here.

"No, it's not." Carol argues. "I misjudged you, you clearly weren't even in the car. I just- I just want the best for her, it's all I've ever wanted. I thought when she met you she was making the same mistake I did with William. He wasn't ready to settle, to be married or raise a child."

"What was he like?" I chance asking and a foreign smile reaches her face as she eyes the floor, remembering the man she was once married to.

"He was fun and I was serious, but he brought out a different side of me that I myself had never experienced.  He thought life was a joke, a wild ride that we could only experience once and shouldn't waste. When he got me pregnant, he did the right thing and married me. But even a wife and child couldn't hold him down, he had to be free."

I nod in thought, trying to imagine her mother happy.

"I raised Maggie as my mother did me. Strict, conservative, prudent, I needed her to keep her head on straight and not make the same mistakes I did. She met you and I judged you immediately. I saw your tattoos and a lip piercing and assumed you were trouble, just like her father. You were a dangerous infection that needed to be cleared as quickly as possible. But, Maggie always does things her way, I see a bit of her father in her sometimes."

Carol sits in thought a moment longer then straightens her face and leans back in her chair. I remove my arm and watch a stern mask replace the vulnerable face she just allowed me to see.

"Thank you for calling me." She says before standing. "I need some air."

Then without so much as a goodbye, she's left me here alone. The talk with her mother was a welcome distraction but the moment I'm alone I begin to stir as thoughts of Maggie run through my mind.

The accident, finding her unconscious covered in blood, unresponsive. I shake the disturbing thoughts from my head and recall more pleasant memories.

The first time we met, although I didn't want to admit it, I was captivated by her. My mind drifts and I allow it, considering I'd rather be anywhere but here.

I was celebrating being nominated for the National Book Awards with a group of six, including Julie and two other women that accompanied Christian and Alex. I was slightly distracted by the fact that I was forced to be out.  I'd always preferred to avoid pointless gatherings, yet Christian saw being nominated as the perfect excuse to drag me out.

It wasn't long after settling into the VIP area of the luxury club next to our new office, that a young girl in her late twenties arrived in front of us. She was dressed in all black with clunky Adidas strapped tightly to her feet, long sun-kissed brunette hair loosely curled down her back and a few strands lying on her well-endowed breasts.

All seemed normal until the moment she laid eyes on me, her body stilled and her jaw dropped slightly as her eyes slowly meandered over me. I simply smirked in response, women gawking over me was never surprising or unusual but the moment my eyes met with hers I was intrigued.

I was sucked into her ocean eyes with wild waves of emerald green and when she looked away I felt a pang of disappointment. However, my smile quickly returned when a faint embarrassed blush colored her cheeks.

I lean back casually in the seat, running a hand through my hair before slinging my arm around the booth. She attempts to speak but she's frozen, unable to formulate words while I watch eagerly, unexpectedly craving more of her attention. A smirk turns up in the corner of my lips as she chances a glance in my direction and I find myself even more intrigued.

The little game we're playing is shortly cut off as Julie straddles me, attempting to stake her claim. Maggie's brows pull together in irritation before her eyes deviate from my direction completely.

"A round of your top-shelf whiskey for us all." Julie orders condescendingly, "and try not to get any drool in it."

Maggie flushes and allows an embarrassed nod before darting down the hall and down the stairs. I toss Julie off my lap in irritation and wave her off, annoyed that she's ruined the little game we've just started. Julie and her friends head to the dance floor and I'm immensely glad to be rid of them.

It isn't long until Maggie arrives with our beverages and surprisingly she's modeling the most beautiful smile I've ever seen. Confidence radiates off her as she attempts to avoid my stare despite me leaning towards her, yearning to see her beautiful ocean eyes once again.

"Here you go gentlemen, can I bring you anything else?" She offers.

Alex seems to notice my interest in the girl and gives a sly smile. "Thanks babe, what's your name?"

My jaw tightens and I glare at Alex as if saying, 'Back the fuck off.' A pang of jealousy burns through me despite the fact that I don't even know this woman.

Christian laughs Alex's comment off and attempts to correct him. "You left so quickly we didn't get an introduction."

Maggie's face turns up in a blush. "My apologies. Since your friend shouted her order at me I thought you had to be parched, so I didn't want to doddle."

A cocky smirk crosses her face and an unexpected giggle escapes my lips due to the completely unexpected reaction she gave. She blushes again but continues to avoid my gaze.

"She's got spirit, I like her.  I'm Christian and this is Alex." Christian nods towards me, "That's Jackson." 

Finally, I'm granted with a glance as she speaks. "My name is Maggie, and I'm yours-Your girl for the evening- I'm-"

Her ocean eyes lock with mine in an intense gaze, sparking something inside me that I hadn't felt before. A magnetic force radiates off her, temping me to move closer and I suddenly don't have the strength to look away.

"I mean," She clears her throat but keeps her eyes on mine.  "If you need anything else please don't hesitate to ask.  I'll be sending someone to check on you shortly."

I can't stop my brows from pulling together in a mixture of confusion and disappointment, "Wait you're not coming back?"

"Well, this really wasn't supposed to be my table. I'm just helping out a friend." She breathes before attempting to give a smile and backing out slowly.

I had to follow her. Something inside me knew, I couldn't let her go.

"Jackson?" A woman's voice calls to me and a gentle hand lays on my shoulder.

I open my eyes and find Dr. Moore offering a warm smile and a cup of coffee. I look around and realize it's daylight, I must have fallen asleep.

"Is she awake?" I ask hopefully.

"No, I'm sorry. But she's alive and despite the coma, she's doing better than I expected. You can see her now." Dr. Moore offers as her kind eyes wrinkle along with her smile.

I look around for Maggie's mum, but I don't see her nearby. She must have not come back yet. I nod at Dr. Moore and allow her to lead me through the narrow hallways.

The pathway to Maggie seems like a maze, the walls are white with painted numbers and letters indicating the direction you're heading, but each corridor looks identical. We take the elevator to the second-floor heading to the intensive care unit and arrive outside of the room Maggie is being kept.

A large glass window separates us and I get my first glance of her since last night. The blood that covered her face, hair and the rest of her is all cleaned up and wires and tubes are fastened to her arms. The most noticeable however is the large breathing tube lined down her throat pumping oxygen into her.

My heart wrenches as if being twisted by a knife and tears threaten to break loose as I examine Maggie in this vegetative state. Her ocean eyes closed and the chart at the end of her door says, Glasgow Coma Scale Score - 3.

"What is this?" I ask, pointing to the words written on her door.

Dr. Moore gives a sad nod before she explains, "That is the Glasgow Coma Scale. We examine her behaviors, eye-opening response, verbal response, and motor response. Unfortunately, she has no reaction to any of them. The best score she can receive is 15 and the worst is 3. I'm afraid she's totally unresponsive."

My eyes examine Maggie's face in disbelief and I think back to my dream of our first meeting, I can't let her go.

"There have been plenty of people who have recovered from a three Jackson." She attempts to console me. "Are you ready to see her?"

I simply nod as I open the door and walk towards Maggie. She looks delicate, pale, and so much more breakable than I've ever seen her. It's difficult to see her this helpless.

"Go ahead, talk to her." Dr. Moore encourages.

"Hey Mags." My words catch in my throat and I stand uncomfortably.

"I know it's strange and I also know it hurts to see her like this. But some people who have come out of a three have said they were able to hear their loved ones or feel their touch. Some families believe that is what helps them find their way back." The doctor nods then keeps her head down as she checks the monitor hooked up to Maggie.

"I don't know what to say." I admit, ashamed.

"It doesn't matter." She gives another reassuring half-smile then says, "Just let her hear your voice."

"Hey baby," I hold her cold hand in mine. "It's me, Jackson. You were in an accident and now-" I struggle to speak I can't talk about this.

Dr. Moore helps again in a whisper, "Just let her hear your voice. What's something she liked to do or talk about before?"

Suddenly a thought dawns on me and I know what I'll do.

"Maggie, I want you to know that I miss you and I can't lose you. I need you to wake up because you and I both know damn well our story doesn't end here." I pause to choke back tears and Dr. Moore politely pretends she isn't listening as she monitors the screen. "I've been told that if I talk to you, you might come back to me and I'll do whatever it takes."

"I know your favorite pastime is reading, I haven't got any books with me today so for now, I'll recite from memory all the quotes from all the books I've read that remind me of you." I pause to clear my throat and notice Dr. Moore try to hide a smile. I wish I could do this without her eavesdropping but at least she's pretending not to listen.

"Poets often describe love as an emotion that we can't control, one that overwhelms logic and common sense. That's what it was like for me. I  didn't plan on falling in love with you, and I doubt if you planned on falling in love with me. But once we met, it was clear that neither of us could control what was happening to us. We fell in love, despite our differences, and once we did, something rare and beautiful was created.  For me, love like that has happened only once, and that's why every minute we spent together has been seared in my memory. I'll never forget a single moment of it." I smile at how true that quote rings for us.

"I have a feeling you've already read that one by Nicholas Sparks and if not, I know you'd really enjoy it." I resume rubbing her palm with my fingers until I'm interrupted.

"Jackson-" Dr. Moore starts, her eyes wrinkle from the smile emanating on her face. "Come look at this."

I my brows pull together as I stand and make my way to her then attempt to make sense of the graph she points to.

"Those are her brainwaves while you talk to her. She's listening to you, Jack." Dr. Moore smiles as my eyes meet hers in shock.