The next morning Matt got up early and didn’t waste any time getting around. He had gathered a few things the night before and placed them in a small cardboard box that now sat on his dresser. He grabbed his ball cap and put it on before picking up the box and walking out of his room.

 

He walked into the living room and noticed Zacky lying on the couch sound asleep. He was surrounded by a collection on beer bottles and the TV was still on from the night before.

 

Bella was lying on the floor between the coffee table and the couch. She started to get up when she heard Matt.

 

“Not right now girl, I have to get going.” Matt said as he reached over and gently rubbed her head. “Zacky will take you for a walk when he gets up.”

He added as he shifted the box under his arm and opened the front door.

 

A Short while later

 

The elevator dinged as it reached it’s destination on the sixth floor. The doors opened slowly and Matt stepped out carrying his box. He could see Tammy was sitting at the nurses’ station. She had a cup of coffee in her hand and she was reading the morning paper.

 

Matt walked up to the counter and sat the box down. “Anything interesting in there?” Matt asked with a smile.

 

“You’re here early.” She replied, returning his smile as she laid the newspaper down on the desk.

 

“Is it too early?” Matt asked as he looked at his watch.

 

“Visiting hours don’t start until ten…but I won’t tell if you don’t.” She replied as she stood up and walked around the counter and stood next to him.

 

Matt smiled at her as he picked up the box off the counter. “How did she do last night?” He asked hesitantly, almost afraid to hear her response.

 

“She had a good night.” Tammy replied as she started to walk down the hallway and motioned for Matt to follow her. “The first one in quite some time.” She added as she softly touched his arm. “You go ahead and go in.” She said when the came to a stop in front of Kylie’s door. “In the nightstand drawer you will find a bag with her belongings in it. Let me know if you need anything.” She added as she turned to walk away.

 

“Thank you.” Matt called after her.

 

“No, thank you.” She replied softly to herself as she turned around and started to walk back to her desk.

 

Matt took a deep breath and then turned the handle on the door, slowly pushing it open. He walked over to the chair next to Kylie’s bed and sat down the box he had been carrying. He opened up the drawer and removed the bag Tammy had left for him. He emptied the contents out onto the nightstand and started to sort through the items. The first thing to catch his attention was a gold heart shaped locket. He picked it up and opened it to reveal what he assumed to be a baby picture of Kylie on one side and ‘Our little angel’ was etched in an elegant font on the opposite side. Matt unhooked the clasp and carefully secured the chain around Kylies’ neck. He stood there for a moment, admiring her beauty, before returning to look through the rest of the items.

 

He pulled a digital camera from her purse and turned it on. He started to flip through the pictures, hoping to find something that might tell him who she was. Her Drivers license was issued in Michigan and the pictures on her camera seem to document her trip from there to California. The majority of the pictures were of sunsets and other outdoor scenery.

 

The only glimpse into her life was the golden retriever puppy that was featured in a good portion of the pictures. There was one in particular that caught his attention. Kylie was lying in a field of wildflowers and the puppy was lying beside her. She had the most beautiful smile Matt had ever seen. He turned off the camera, removed the memory card and put it into his pocket. He put the camera onto the nightstand and continued to look through it.

 

“Jackpot.” Matt said to himself as he smiled and pulled a black ipod from the bag. He walked over to the box he had brought and pulled out the portable stereo he packed. He found a place to plug it in and turned the power on. “Let’s see…” He said aloud to himself as he powered on the ipod and began to scroll through the artists. He couldn’t help but smile when he realized that Kylie’s playlist really wasn’t that much different from his own. “What would you like to listen to first?” He asked as he looked over towards Kylie. “How about we start with the most played list?” He added as he put the ipod onto the dock and pushed play.

 

He walked back over to spread out items and smiled as the first song started to play. It was Patience by Guns n’ Roses.

 

“Are you trying to tell me something?” Matt asked with a smile as he looked over at her. He started to sing along as he picked up the items off the nightstand and returned them to the bag to the bag and put the bag back into the drawer.

 

Matt walked over to the chair and started to remove the rest of the items from the box he had brought with him. When he was finished he walked over beside Kylie and sat his hand on top of hers. “I have to go for now.” He said as he softly caressed her hand. “I will be back again in the morning.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and then walked towards the front door.

 

“Are you leaving?” Tammy asked as she walked through the door and found her self face to face with Matt.

 

“Yeah, I have to be at the studio. I tried to get out of it but the guys are a little mad at me for blowing them off yesterday.” Matt explained. “I left the music playing, I hope that’s alright.”

 

“It’s fine.” Tammy replied with a smile. “I talked to admitting and we’re going to do everything we can to keep this room empty…you’re welcome to stop in when ever you would like…day or night.” She added as she gave Matt’s arm a gentle squeeze.

 

“I’ll stop in on my way home then.” He replied with a smile as he walked towards the door.

 

“We look forward to seeing you.” Tammy said as she folded her arms across her chest and watched as Matt walked out of the room. She sighed deeply as she walked over to check Kylie’s vitals.

 

As she reached the foot of her bed, she once again could feel tears beginning to form in the corner of her eyes as she looked around the room. There was a vase filled with beautiful yellow roses on the stand next to Kylie’s bed. There were candles of assorted sizes and colors all over the room and it was beginning to smell a little less like a hospital room. Tammy couldn’t help but let the tears escape her eyes. For the first time in months, she allowed herself to have hope.