“It’s late,” he said, reaching out and touching my wrist. “Security is lax now that you’re on a regular ward. I only planned to pop in to see you, I didn’t think you’d wake up. I don’t want to start anything with your doctor or parents, I know they’re only doing what’s best for you. I’ll keep my distance until you’re stronger, but I can come back in a few nights to see you again.”
I nodded. “I’d like that . . . I’m truly sorry about all of this, Anderson. It’s not fair to you.”
“It’s not fair to you,” he stressed. “You’re the one who’s going through hell, but I’ll walk through hell with you if it means you get better.”
His words touched me.
“Thanks, Anderson.”
He surprised me when he leaned in and pressed his lips gently to mine.
“I love you, baby,” he said, applying slight pressure to my wrist. “Don’t forget that.”
When he pulled back, he smiled at me when I nodded. He flicked my light off, bent down to kiss my forehead, then left as quietly as he came. I closed my eyes, trying to find a place in my heart for Anderson. I knew it was going to be a difficult task because no matter what life seemed to throw at me, at the end of the day, the only man who my heart wanted was Elliot McKenna.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
NOAH
The cycle of being a doted-on patient continued for two days on the regular ward before anyone, including Doctor Abara, would even consider letting me even try to move about – which meant my catheter was removed, but I had to use a bedpan to pee and a commode for number twos. It was humiliating but it was a step in my recovery I had to take. Another step was strengthening my muscles. I now had a physical therapist come into my room and exercise the limbs that were able to move, to keep my strength up; apparently they’d had someone do this during my coma to keep my body as strong as it could be. At first, exhaustion made me meekly listen to my parents, and even Elliot when he suggested I just rest, but I was done resting.
I had spent a lot of time sleeping and not enough doing anything else. I knew I needed my strength, but sleeping all the time was extremely tiring. It was a paradox.
I could stay awake for much longer periods now; my headaches were still there, but the level of pain was nowhere near the height it had reached when I first woke up. That meant the painkillers I was on were no longer at a constant high dosage, which I was thankful for because all they did was kill the pain by making me numb and drowsy enough to fall asleep. I was never a big fan of using medication for every little twinge of pain I felt, and I wasn’t about to start now.
I had awoken from my first nap of the day, and I hoped it would be my only nap until I went to sleep that night. I found myself wondering if Anderson would drop by again. I hadn’t mentioned his visit to Elliot or my parents because I wasn’t sure how they would take it. Elliot didn’t like him just as much as Anderson didn’t like Elliot, and mentioning either one in the other’s presence didn’t seem like a very good idea. So since Elliot was with me nearly every waking moment, I kept it to myself.
It was interesting how I was able to cope with Anderson’s existence now. The situation I was in was slowly becoming my new normal. Having a husband who I didn’t remember didn’t seem as shocking today as it had ten days ago when I awoke from my coma. I wondered how I would view it in ten days from now. I hoped things would only get easier from here on out and my understanding of things would become clearer, because as of right now, my brain was still warped.
I had a lot of things I needed to get to the bottom of. I needed to know why Elliot and I were no longer together; I needed to know more information about the car accident I was in. I needed to know why my parents were scared to let me make decisions for myself and why they kept referring to never letting us drift apart again.