lose him…I’ll never be the same again.
~*~*~*~
“Hey, wake up honey.”
I flicker my eyes open to see Payton standing by my bed. The hospital could really kick me out, considering I don’t really have anything wrong with me, but they don’t. God bless them for that. Payton strokes my hair and whispers, “He’s out.”
I bolt upright. “Is he ok?”
“Come on, I’ll take you to his room and you can talk to the doctor.”
I don’t hesitate, I take her hand and leap out of the bed. She rushes me to Slade’s room. When we get in, there is a doctor standing by his bed, talking to a nurse. Slade is out of it, tubes come from so many different directions I don’t know where they begin or end.
“Doctor, is he ok?” I whisper.
The doctor turns and stares over at me. “Dasha Jewel, right?”
“Yes.”
“He’s ok. He had serious internal bleeding but we managed to stop it. It’s going to be a rocky twenty four hours, so many things can go wrong, but for now, he’s stable.”
“And his leg?”
He sighs. “It’s not in a good way. While I believe he’ll walk again and race again, it’ll take months of physio…”
I swallow and hot tears drip down my cheeks. “This shouldn’t have happened to him.”
The doctor pats my arm. “It could have been a lot worse for him.”
I nod and Payton squeezes my hand. I didn’t even realize she had it.
“I’m going now, you can sit with him, I know he has no one else here.”
I thank him and then take the seat beside Slade’s bed. His skin is pale, his cheeks hollow and he looks like he’s lost all his life. I grip his hand. It’s cold and I have to maneuver around a tube to get hold of it tightly. Payton touches my shoulder and I peer up at her.
“I’ll leave you to it, call me if you need.”
“Thank you Pay, I love you.”
She kisses the top of my head. “I love you too honey.”
When she’s gone, I let the waterfall burst and I sob until I’m heaving. I squeeze Slade’s hand and whimper useless words to him.
“Remember when we had that food fight on my graduation day? I think it was the first time we nearly kissed. We got so close and then right as we were about to connect lips, you smashed an ice cream in my face. I’ll never forget your laugh. It’s like my sunshine, it’s my everything. It keeps me going. Slade, if you don’t wake up…you have to wake up. You keep me going. Without you, I’m empty. Slade please, please, wake up.”
I run bury my head into his side, and I breathe him in. Even after surgery and being slathered in all the wonderful smelling things hospitals use, I can still smell him. I can still smell that musky, manly scent. I grip him tighter and cry until there’s nothing left but the sound of my breathing alongside of his. I’d never race again, if it meant he woke up. I’d do anything to see his cheeky, devilish smile just one more time…I’ll give it all up. All of it.
Chapter Thirty Two
“Hey, wake up.”
I groan and lift my head from the side of Slade’s bed. I blink a few times and the hand on my shoulder shakes me again.
“Hey baby girl, are you ok?”
I turn and peer up at my father, relief floods me knowing he’s ok. I was so worried…when I see his face, I gasp. It’s bloody, his eye is black and his lip is split. Dried blood is spread across his cheek.
“Daddy!” I gasp, leaping up. “What happened?”
“I found Michael.”
“Daddy, what did you do?”
He forces a smile and shrugs. “I beat him senseless, then I dragged him to the police station and forced him to admit what he’d done to Slade and you. When you’re done here, you’re going to tell them what happened.”
“Will he be charged?” I whisper.
He nods, cupping my cheek. “If anyone ever hurts you, baby, you tell me.”
“I was frightened of him daddy, but now…I wish I had told you. Then…” I turn and look at Slade. “He wouldn’t be here.”
“Sweetheart, it’s not your fault Slade’s in here.”
“I knew Michael was beating him and I let him convince me not to tell anyone. He was ashamed that his father still beat him…”
My father stares over at Slade too, and his eyes soften. “I know how he must have felt. It wouldn’t be nice to not be able to escape