But each time I hear a voice again, my eyes won’t open, and I can’t help but feel it’s the opposite for me. I’m not dreaming, not even for a single moment—instead, time is racing past me while I sleep forever. A dreamless sleep, and there are only brief and fleeting moments of consciousness.
I remember hearing Dylan say that Mom and Dad died in a car crash. I hope that even if I can’t dream that I can have nightmares. They didn’t really die, I’m just having a nightmare.
Dylan’s voice fades away. I don’t hear it anymore. There’s only a new voice. It’s a man’s voice. A real man, not a boy like Ryan. I think he’s my doctor, but I only ever hear a few words from him at a time. I struggle to open my eyes, but I always drift right back to sleep. He has a deep voice, and he always speaks to me in low and soft tones, like he’s afraid to wake me up. The irony of that makes me want to laugh, but I can’t control my body at all. I can only hear scattered words, and I can only think for moments at a time. I don’t know how much time passes. Sometimes I wonder if it’s weeks or months, and other times, I fear that it’s been years.
If I ever wake up again, I fear I’ll wake up as an old woman, frail and alone.
Finally, something changes. It’s like a switch flips. I hear my first coherent sentences since I last heard Dylan’s voice.
It’s his voice. He’s calling me by my name. He knows me, and I can feel his strong, protective hands gripping my shoulders. “You’ve gotta wake up, Rose. I know you’ve been sleeping a long time, but time is up. It’s time to get up.”
It’s time to get up? What if I drift right back to sleep?
Then I hear a loud sound. A thudding and banging in the distance. Shouting.
Maybe the world is ending? Maybe I get to wake up just in time to see everything end.
“They call you Sleeping Beauty,” I hear his voice say. “And I’m not exactly a prince—even though my last name is Prince…”
Sleeping Beauty? Me? Maybe I am dreaming now. I’ve slept for God knows how long, and I’ve only now started dreaming. I’ve dreamed up a prince, and—
I feel warm lips pressing against mine, and I close my eyes. No, my eyes have been closed for ages, haven’t they? But I feel my eyelids fluttering open now, and I try to—
They jolt open. Light hits me, as bright as one thousand suns, and the man pulls away from me. I can still taste him on my lips, and his masculine scent overwhelms me.
He blurs into focus as my eyes adjust to the light. I see a strong, rugged jaw, covered in stubble. He has high cheekbones and dark, piercing brown eyes that stare so deeply into me that I feel naked. Then he smiles, and it’s like a Greek statue come to life. Dimples form in his cheeks, and his perfectly white teeth gleam.
My mouth drops open, and my heart races. I know this man has watched over me for however long I’ve been asleep, and I feel like I trust him, like—
“You’re...you’re awake,” he says. It’s the same voice from before, but it sounds more shocked than I’ve ever heard it. Just how long was I asleep for, anyway?
Then I see a man coming up behind Prince, and I try to point, but the man slams right into him.
I hear them crash to the floor.
“Dr. Bell, she’s awake!” he shouts from the floor.
I notice a number of security guards all standing around, looking confused.
An older woman in a white coat with greying hair walks between the guards. There’s a serious aura of authority surrounding her, and when she says, “Off!” the guard lets go of Prince.
Prince shoves him away and stands back up. “Rose, you’re—”
“Get away from her!” Dr. Bell shouts. “You lunatic! I should have known you’d do something ridiculous like this.”
“Prince,” I say, my voice coming out in a croak. “Please, let me talk to him,” I say. My throat is so dry, but they all look at me in stunned silence. They must have heard me.
“Get her some water!” Prince shouts.
The guards look at him, dumbfounded.
“Go!” he shouts.
One of them runs off, and I turn my head to look at Dr. Bell. She is fuming.
“How long?” I say. “How old...how old am I?”
I look at my hands. They are white as paper, but they don’t look old.
Prince and Bell give each other a look. Bell puts a finger to her mouth and shakes her head.
Prince looks at me and says, “Seven years, Rose, you’re twenty-five years old.”
Jesus. Seven years! I’m...I lost so much time. And what if I fall asleep again? Maybe I’ll only wake up for a few minutes, and then the next time I wake up I’ll be thirty-five.
The guard comes back with a water bottle.
Prince snatches the bottle out of his hand and uncaps it. “Let me hold it for you,” he says.
His hand touches the back of my head and lifts it up gently. His hand feels so strong, but gentle at the same time. He must be a doctor, too. Dr. Prince.
“Just a sip,” Dr. Prince says.
I take a sip, and it tastes better than anything I’ve ever had. I crave more, and I grab for the bottle, but Dr. Prince pulls it away.
“Easy,” he says.
“We have to get her back into the main wing,” Dr. Bell says. “And you, Kaden, need to get the hell out of here--”
“He stays,” I blurt out, the hoarseness of my voice slicing at my throat. “He’s the only one I trust.”
3
Kaden
“You abducted a patient,” Dr Bell says. “And performed completely unauthorized brain surgery!”
“And it worked,” I say. “You were going to kill her. I saved her life.”
“The ends don’t justify the means,” she says.
We’re in her office. Her brother Dylan is with Rose in her hospital room. I want to get back to her as soon as I can, not sit here arguing with Dr. Bell.
“They don’t?” I ask. “So I should have just let you kill her off? That was the right fucking thing to do?”
“I wasn’t going to kill her, Kaden…”
“Feeling guilty?”
“I can’t let you off the hook…”
“You’re going to let Dr. Meiner get all the credit then? A breakthrough surgery, a novel approach to all kinds of neurological issues...pioneered here at Pittsburgh Memorial…under your direction.”
I see it in her eyes the moment the greedy realization hits her.
“Miener is ambitious,” I say. “If you don’t stage taking credit right away, he’ll get all the glory.”
“I can still fire you—or force your resignation—and get credit for the miraculous breakthrough.”
“Can you?” I ask. “When the patient is specifically asking for me by name?”
“I don’t see how you pulled that off,” Bell says. “She shouldn't have a clue who you are.”
“I guess we bonded,” I say, grinning. “Can we do this later? I need to see my patient.”
“Fine,” she says, waving me away.
I get to Rose’s room as fast as I can. Dylan is still there. They are both laughing.