There are tears in his voice and it shakes me to my core.
“You love me?” he asks hoarsely, his face buried in my hair. “I have loved you for so long and was just afraid to tell you. I was scared it would make you run. I fucking love you so much, Daisy. So fucking much I thought I was going to die myself when I thought you were dead. Never again do that to me. You can’t die on me.”
I can’t even hug him back. Or speak and it’s killing me to hear him this torn up, in this much pain. I knew he cared. It’s hard not to when he’s shown me through his actions how much hecared, but I had no idea it went this deep. That it affected him this much.
He moves so that his forehead is against mine and all I see are his eyes. “I wanted to go stomp asswipe’s head in, but my only thought was you. You were lying there bloody and broken, and you weren’t fucking breathing. I breathed for you until the ambulance arrived. Dylan and Collin kept your heart beating. We weren’t going to let you die. I refused to let you die. Please don’t ever die on me.”
I wish I could promise that, but I can’t. He knows that, but in the moment, I get why he’s demanding that. I wish I could give him that reassurance.
Instead of saying anything, I tilt my head up and kiss him.
He doesn’t move.
I pull back look up into terrified gray eyes.
“I could hurt you.”
I shake my head ever so slightly, aware of how much it’s starting to hurt when I do that. He’s not going to hurt me any more than I’m already hurting.
“I…what if it messes with your head injuries?”
I tilt my head and pain slices through it this time.
“See? You had major brain surgery. No kissing until the neurologist clears it.”
I want to laugh at his expression of vindication, but if I do, it’ll only hurt worse. Instead, I settle for a grumpy glare.
“Nope, Red, I almost lost you. I’m not going to do anything that might set you back.” He hugs me again, kissing my cheek. “When the bandages come off your head from brain surgery, then we’ll discuss kissing again.”
Bandages on my head? I try to lift my hand to check and moan in pain. I keep forgetting to not move.
“They had to repair two brain bleeds and then they had to relieve pressure from swelling by drilling holes in your head.While it might not be as intensive as some brain surgery, it’s still major brain surgery. You have a hell of a concussion on top of that. You need to take it easy.”
“He’s right.” The same nurse that was here before comes in. “You need to take it easy and rest. Your body is still healing from major injuries. The best thing you can do is sleep.”
“Sleep?” Hutch mutters. “She’s been sleeping for a week.”
“Yes, but that was medically induced,” the nurse explains. “Her body’s natural instinct is going to be to sleep, and we need to let her. The more she rests, the faster she’ll heal.”
“See? You need to rest and not be thinking of kissing.”
The nurse laughs. “Normally, I’d say kiss all day, but we need you resting right now more than anything else. Once you’re feeling better, then kiss him all you want.”
Hutch looks even more vindicated.
I stick my tongue out at him.
“I need to take you for scans and x-rays. Hutch, you go find food, she’s going to be a while. And don’t give me any sass. She’s awake, alert, andbreathing. Go eat before you fall down.”
He’s not been eating?
The nurse seems to understand my confusion. “If it wasn’t for my husband, he’d have starved.”
“Cora is Shaw Chandler’s wife.”
That means nothing to me.
“Shaw is member of the Raptors hockey team.”
