Alpha Hero - Hope Ford Page 0,15

like I can be sick. I want him to get his sight back. But I can’t help but wonder what’s going to happen between us if it does.

I sit on the edge of the bed and watch as the doctor undoes the bandages. I’m scared, and the pit of my stomach is burning.

“Miss, will you turn down the lights?” the doctor asks.

I go to the light switch and flip it off. The only light in the room is coming from the open curtain on the window. I go to close it and Mack reaches out for me, touching my leg. I grab on to his hand then, knowing how scary this is for him.

When the bandage is removed, Mack’s eyes are closed.

The doctor pats his knee. “Take your time, Mack. Open them when you’re ready.”

He opens them then. But I can’t tell from his reaction if he can see or not.

The doctor points a light at his eyes and he closes them, indicating that he can see something. The doctor runs a few more tests and it’s obvious the longer time goes by that Mack did in fact get his eyesight back.

I’m holding my breath, waiting for him to look over at me. I’m scared and I feel it in every breath of my body.

The doctor asks him to focus on something across the room and has him read it. When Mack does, the doctor responds with, “Good, good.” Then he starts writing something down in his notebook.

It’s then that Mack looks over at me. I know my eyes are wide and I couldn’t hide the fear on my face if I tried to.

He’s staring at me and not saying a word. When it starts to get uncomfortable, I start to fidget. I pull back my hand. “I’ll be right back.”

“No!” he tells me and the doctor’s head whips up.

“Doc, can you give us a minute?”

The doctor looks between us and it’s only then that he notices that there’s something happening in the room. He nods his head and gets up, but before he walks out, he looks at me pointedly. “He doesn’t need stress right now. And don’t let him up until I’ve had a chance to evaluate him further.”

I nod my head and look down at our combined hands. Mack tugs me until I’m facing him, standing between his seated legs.

He’s looking up at me and I still can’t read his face. I’ve never been so nervous in all my life. What I feel for him was not something I was counting on in such a short time. But I know with everything that’s inside me, I don’t want to disappoint him right now.

When he doesn’t say anything, I finally break the silence. “It might be better if I left now.”

Mack

I should let her walk away. With me there’s no guarantee of what the future may hold. If I was a better man, I would let her walk out the door right now… But I can’t.

I pull her down until she’s sitting on my lap. She struggles, but I don’t let her up. “You promised me that you would never leave me.”

Her eyes are wide and I can see the stubbornness in them. I’ve recognized it in her personality, but actually seeing it is a whole other thing. I can’t help but smile.

“Can I be honest with you?”

I nod my head at her, still not believing how beautiful she is.

“I’m fine with me. I like me. But I know I’m not the typical girl you date. I’ve seen pictures of you online at fundraisers, and well, I don’t look anything like those women. I don’t want to do a relationship… with someone that feels like they’re stuck with me because of what happened when they couldn’t see.”

I can tell she tried to hold it back, but she couldn’t. A lone tear slides down her cheek and I lean in and kiss it away.

I nuzzle my nose against her. “You’re crazy, Jane. You’re hot. I want you… and God knows I should let you walk away from me because you deserve better, but I can’t let you go. I fell in love with your heart a week ago. I fell in love with your body yesterday. And I fell in love with your beautiful face today. You’re mine, Jane. You promised you wouldn’t leave me, and I’m holding you to it.”

Epilogue

Mack

The doctor gave me a clean bill of health. I immediately moved Jane into my house and we haven’t