Unspoken words

It has been exactly eight weeks since Miya's last visit to Dr. Christina's office, and today she had another visit to the hospital. She and Lucas had forgotten about their fight.

Nonetheless, they had interacted little in the past few months because Luca was not thrilled that she was pregnant, nor cared to ask how her pregnancy was coming along or showed concern for their unborn child over the months.

Lucas had never been of much help to her during the past few days. So Miya was kind of shocked when he offered to take her to the hospital. Yet she did not make any fuss about his offer since she was not in the mood for an argument.

She and Lucas sat in his car as he drove her to the hospital, and none of them felt like talking. Miya kept her eyes focused on the window. She had her right hand resting on her tummy. Although her stomach was not huge yet, she almost certainly felt pregnant on the inside.

For Miya, the morning sickness was not pleasant. She wasn't excited about the queasy feeling that starts in the morning and lingers all day and all night. Also, the everyday tiredness was not something Miya had gotten used to since she had always been a hard-working person. Plus, her yearning for weird foods made her feel miserable because she was not a big eater before she got pregnant.

However, every time Miya's hands touch her belly, she counts all of these conditions as blessings. She did not mind going through all these uncomfortable feelings every day without any help from her husband because Miya believes that she owes it to her child to be strong for both of them.

Given how Lucas had been hostile to her for the past two months, Miya did not have any other option than to act tough. She could not complain about the difficulties she was going through in the early stages of her pregnancy since it would only add fuel to the hate that Lucas had about her being pregnant.

Steven rushed through the door of the Intensive Care Unit. He left his office the minute he got done with his work to hurry to the hospital, and this has been his everyday routine.

Although Steven's original plan was for him and Jackson to go back to the office together, it took Julie and the others a great effort to get him to leave his friend's side and go back to work.

"Did he say anything today?" Steven asked Julie the moment they met each other in the hall.

"Nope, he hasn't," Julie said with disappointment in her voice.

"Why is he refusing to speak? The doctor said that his vocal cord was not injured, and he should be able to talk. But it has been two months, and he won't say a word to any of us. Not even his wife." Steven complained.

Julie could see the disappointment in Steven's eyes as the words rolled off his lips, and she felt his ache.

The past two months have not been a pleasant month for their relationship since she and Steven became so involved with Jackson's condition that they have forgotten about their love life. It was either the hospital or work for Steven and Julie.

She could not remember the last time they were on a date, yet she could not complain because she knew Jackson was way more important to them than going on some date. But sometimes, Julie wishes that she and Steven could just have a few minutes to themselves. Yet those thoughts were only said in her mind and not out loud.

"You can go in and talk with him. Maybe today will be the day." Julie said with a smile.

"Thank you, babe. You are amazing. I don't know how I would have handled this situation without you here with me. I love you." Steven replied.

He gave Julie a soft kiss on her cheek before hurriedly heading into the room and shutting the door behind him.

"I love you too," Julie mumbled.

"Don't worry, my child. You guys will overcome this difficulty in your relationship."

Julie turned around and saw Rose standing behind her. Once their eyes met, she smiled softly at Julie.

"I don't see Jackson as a problem in our relationship," Julie replied.

"I know you don't, child. But I can also see the longing in your eyes for Steven. Yet you are holding back your emotions from him because you don't want to make him feel bad that he is neglecting the relationship because of how much time he is spending with Jackson. Wanting to be alone for some time with your man is nothing to be ashamed of." Rose calmly said.

"Thank you." Was all Julie could say. She had been beating herself over the fact that she was miserable because she and Steven did not have much time for their relationship. However, hearing those words from Rose had Julie feeling less guilty.

"Hey, buddy," Steven said after taking his seat.

Half of the equipment on Jackson had gotten removed from on Jackson's body, and he was now off the oxygen concentrator.

Jackson turned and stared at Steven then, he looked away and focused his eyes on the blank wall.

At that instant Steven felt like screaming and crying at the same time. Yet he held it all in and forced a smile on his face.

"The office affairs at the company are being handled well. We found a temporary employee to attend to your work. He's good at his job, but everyone misses you, mostly Kate. She and Daniel are dating now. Chris has been out of the country for a while. But he informed me that he's back home and will be coming to the hospital today. So, how was your day?" Steven explained as he tried to start up some kind of conversation with his friend.

Silence, followed by more silence until Steven's fake smile became stiffer and stiffer till it turned into a frown.

"You've got to say something, man! Seeing you like this is killing me! Why wouldn't you speak? What happened between you and Jennie when you went to England?" Steven angrily uttered in a loud voice.

Jackson did not react. He did not want to explain because speaking about what happened that day was like reliving his worst nightmare over. It was enough that he dreamt about that day every night, and each time it hurt more than the first. He wants that moment to remain in his dreams, and talking about it will only make it real.