to me. “Wow,” I responded, which was not even a little bit smooth.
“Thank you for last night and for now and definitely for later. For whatever comes at us, I’m glad it’s you next to me.”
Shit, when did Ledger become so wordy and suave? “I want to say something equally as amazing as you’re saying to me, but all I have going through my head right now are ‘wow’ and ‘whoa.’ ”
It was good to see a genuine smile adorn his face, and when he leaned into me and pressed a kiss to my lips, it lit me up inside.
“You don’t have to say anything,” he said and kissed me again.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ledger
The accident occurred an hour from Haven Hart, so Ziggy was in the hospital in some town called Crestfox. The detective we spoke to said he’d meet us there, and I was glad I wouldn’t have to make this trip again. We parked in the garage and made our way into Crestfox Medical. It wasn’t any different from any other hospital except that it was foreign, and I didn’t know where anything was. Shane took over and spoke with the lady at the information booth, and soon enough we were making our way up to the tenth floor.
“He’s in the ICU,” Shane said. “Only you’ll be able to go in, which is fine. I’ll stay in the waiting room, so when the detective comes, I can talk with him first.” He huffed. “If he’ll talk to me.”
“I’ll have my phone on vibrate. Text me when he arrives, and I’ll come out, okay?”
He nodded and when the doors opened, a big sign that read ICU was painted on the wall along with an arrow. The nurse smiled as we approached and asked who we were here to see.
“My name is Ledger Campos, I’m here to see Jason Zabel.”
“Are you family?” she asked as she typed on the computer.
“I was called as his next of kin; he’s my best friend. He has no family.” She nodded and continued to type.
“Okay, only one can go back at a time.” She looked at Shane. “There’s a waiting room right over there.” She pointed to a light-blue door that was slightly ajar.
“Thanks.” Shane squeezed my hand and went to the waiting room while I followed the nurse to Ziggy.
“He has some images and tests in an hour, so you’ll have to go to the waiting room then.” I nodded when she looked at me. My hands shook, and the closer we got, the louder my pulse beat in my ear.
She slid a clear door open and waved me in with a smile. “He can hear you, you know? Maybe your voice will wake him up.” As she passed me to leave, she patted my shoulder.
There was a curtain around him and when I pushed it aside, all I could see was him. But he wasn’t alone; another nurse was there.
“Oh, a visitor!” She was boisterous. “I knew you had friends.” She was speaking to Ziggy as if he could hear her. “I’m Roma, his daytime nurse. And who are you?” Her smile was sheer happiness. Like she wasn’t working in a hospital but maybe some fun amusement park.
“My name is Ledger.” I made to shake her hand, but she pulled me into a hug.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re here. I know he’ll open those gorgeous eyes when he hears your voice.”
My gaze moved to Ziggy. His face was swollen, there was a wrap around his head, more tubes in him than I’d ever seen. He was unrecognizable.
“Can I…am I able to be alone with him?”
She nodded. “Of course! I will have to pull the curtain open, though. We need to keep a sharp eye on all our ICU patients.”
“Oh, yeah. Okay.”
She pulled the curtain and left the room. The door slid shut, and there was silence. When I was a kid I thought all hospitals had that incessant beeping noise of a heartbeat. I later found out that was all dramatization from Hollywood. I couldn’t hear much aside from a low hiss and outside mumblings.
I grabbed what appeared to be a comfy chair and pulled it closer to the bed. I wanted to take his hand in mine and beg him to wake up. I wanted him to open his eyes and yell at me for involving him in this shit. I’d take his hate if it meant he’d be awake.
“Jesus, Zig, I hate that you’re in here. I wish I knew what happened, where