“I’ll be right here when you wake up, sweetheart. You just take your time. I’ve got you.”
CHAPTER 51
WREN
The sun danceson the surface of the water above my head. I keep swimming, kicking my legs harder, but I can’t come up for air. My lungs burn as if they are on fire. I fear I might burn from the inside out.
The edge of my vision blackens, I kick harder but I can’t hold it anymore.
I can’t keep swimming. I’m so tired.
Breathe, the voice tells me.
I can’t!
You have to.
Pain. That's all I could feel. My chest felt like I had a cinder block dropped on it. My limbs were heavy and everything ached.
Faintly, I could hear machines whooshing, beeping and. . . was that. . .snoring?
Slowly, I opened my eyes. I had to blink a few times to focus on my surroundings. It was dark with only a faint light coming from around a curtain.
I’m in a hospital.
I turned my head and had to fight the groan. Pain exploded in my head and blurred my vision again.
“Shh. . . Wren, hold still.” I felt Alex next to me. His face was pale, tired. Dark circles were under his eyes and even his cheekslooked thinner than I remembered. “Do you know where you are?”
“Hospital.” My throat was hoarse. I tried to bring my hand up, but it pinched and I realized an IV was in it. “What happened to you?”
“You,” he breathed, brushing my face.
“I’m the best thing that ever happened to you,” I responded cheekily, managing to pull some humor through. I felt like I had been thrown into a trash compactor.
Alex smiled, I leaned into his touch. He dropped his head to my shoulder, his chuckle turning into a silent, body-shaking cry.
“Oh, my love.” I buried my nose in his hair, inhaling his scent. I kissed his head and tried to comfort him the best I could. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
His head jerked up, fire eyes on me. “No, Wren, I’m sorry. Once again I left you and you got hurt. I almost. . . You were. . .”
I understood his implications then.
“You weren’t breathing. . . You were d?—”
“Shh. I’m here, Alex. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.” He dipped his head down, his lips ghosting over mine.
“Mr. Harper, what did I tell you about being in the bed with Ms. Jacobson?” The curtain opened and a nurse came in. I winced at the bright light that flooded in, burying my face into his chest.
“And I told you, Ms. Connie, that you would have to pry my cold dead body out of this bed.” He tightened his hold on me, he sounded serious and a smile broke across my lips.
God I loved him.
“Sir, that is my patient and?—”
“This is mywife.I will not be getting out of this bed.”
I jerked at his words, staring up at him. His eyes flicked down to me, giving me a look that saidnot now.
