I took a breath, silently scanning my body. “I’m sore, but I can deal. Has my family been here?”
Chris sighed. “Are you kidding me? Of course! Holly wanted to treat you herself when the ambulance brought you in with Fred. I had to physically pull her away. Everybody’s dozing or guzzling coffee in the waiting room now.”
“Who is everybody?”
“Your mom and dad, Holly and Nate. Want to see them?”
“I’d like to. Will it wake Fred up?”
“Let’s wheel you out,” Chris said in a conspiratorial tone.
With a little help from him, he got me into a wheelchair with my IV to follow along and wheeled me down the hallways. The only sounds at this hour were the hum and beep of hospital machines.
When my wheelchair was turned into the waiting room, emotion tightened in my chest. Holly was asleep, curled up with her knees pulled to her chest and her head resting on Nate’s shoulder. He was actually awake. His eyes lifted from the magazine on his lap, and a smile stretched across his face immediately.
Both of my parents were asleep, and I held my finger to my lips. Nate gently shook Holly’s shoulder. She came awake instantly, looking up at him before she looked wildly around the room, and her eyes landed on me.
“Alex!” She jumped up as Nate followed her across the room.
“Keep it to a dull roar. I don’t want to wake Mom and Dad up,” I said quietly when she reached me.
“Wake them up,” she said. “They just want to see you. Then they’ll go home and go to sleep.”
Holly’s voice carried across the room, and my mother lifted her head. In another moment, all of them were surrounding my wheelchair.
“How do you feel?” Holly demanded. “Has Chris checked all of your levels?”
He was standing behind my chair, and I imagined she got an eye roll for that one. “Of course. Everything looks good. He’s feeling a little weak, but he’s fine.”
“How are his oxygen levels?” Holly pressed.
“Within normal limits,” Chris replied patiently.
My mom knelt beside my wheelchair, curling her hands around one of mine. “How are you? You gave us a scare.”
“I’m fine. A little sore, but I think I’ll be all right. I guess they’re going to test my hearing later this morning.”
“How is it now?” Holly asked, leaning down and looking at me, her eyes searching my face as if she could somehow suss it out herself now.
“You’re plenty loud, so I can hear you fine. I’m not sure. My head still feels a little fuzzy.”
Holly straightened, wrapping her arms tightly around her waist. When I looked up at my dad, I met his eyes to see a stoic worry held there. “I’m okay, Dad.”
He patted me on the shoulder. “I know. You gave us a scare.”
“Fred’s okay too. Apparently, he got more pain meds than me,” I teased, trying to lighten the moment.
“Of course he does,” Holly said. “He’s old. He needs to be comfortable.”
“You don’t want me to be comfortable?” I countered as I looked back at Holly.
“I do, but just comfortable enough.”
A tear rolled down her cheek, and she knuckled it away. Nate curled an arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay. He’s okay.”
“I know,” Holly sniffed. “But it scared me.”
My mother gave my hand another squeeze before straightening and pressing a kiss on my temple.
“Why don’t you guys head home and sleep in a bed? I don’t even know what time it is,” I said, looking around the room before my eyes landed on the clock mounted in the center of the wall. “Damn, it’s three in the morning. Go home.”
Nate chuckled. “Now that we’ve all seen you, we’ll go home.”
“I’m on duty at noon, so I’m going to check on you then,” Holly said. “You better be awake.”
Chris laughed from over my shoulder. “If he’s asleep, let him rest.”
After my family left and Chris wheeled me back to my room, he helped me get back in bed. I hated that I needed the help, but I was tired and fucking sore as all hell.
I lay in bed, wondering how to get a hold of Delilah. Just before Chris left the room, I called, “Do you happen to know where my phone is?”
“No clue. I’ll check your things. If you had it on you, it’s probably in a bag with your clothes. If not, I’ll text Holly. She’ll chase it down.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Delilah
Late afternoon North Carolina – the following day
I missed Alex. So much.
I found myself absentmindedly rubbing my knuckles over my heart as if I could somehow assuage the ache there. The ache that was entirely my fault. I was the one who wasn’t answering his calls, although he’d all but stopped. At this point, it was my pride keeping me from calling him. Pride and fear I wouldn’t find a slew of texts from him when I stopped silencing his notifications. I cheated and checked almost every day anyway.
I arrived early for a shift at the bar. Things were quiet here in the midafternoon. We served lunch, but there was always a lull in the afternoon until around dinnertime. Today, there were a few customers drinking beers and playing cards, and some young kids from a nearby college were playing pool. They were even being quiet. I would take all small miracles.
Griffin looked up as I walked into the back side of the bar from the hallway. “Hey there. Didn’t expect to see you here today. Did Shay get ahold of you?”
His question confused me. “Aren’t I on the schedule?” I asked, focusing on the immediate issue.
I quickly crossed over and tapped on the screen of the tablet we had mounted behind the bar that also served as a register. Scrolling through the window for the schedule, I said, “See, I’m right there.”
“I know that. I already called Jade and asked her if she could cover. Shay was here looking for you. Your boyfriend got into an accident.”
I was getting more confused, my brain not quite catching up to what Griffin was talking about. Although my brain wasn’t processing well, my body seemed to know better. Uneasiness tightened in my chest, and dread balled cold in my belly. “What are you talking about?”
“Alex. He was in an accident. I guess Remy called Shay because he didn’t have your number, and Shay came here looking for you. I figured you’d want the night off. Jade will be here soon, so don’t worry about it.”
It felt like static filled my brain, and I distantly heard myself asking numbly, “What happened? He’s not my boyfriend. Where is Shay now?” My questions were flying out, and panic was churning inside. I felt lightheaded, and my throat was so tight with my heart racing that I couldn’t get a breath.
Griffin’s voice broke through the static. “Hey, easy there, Delilah. Sit down.” I felt a chair pressing against the backs of my knees, and my hips collapsed with a thump. “I’m calling Shay right now.”
In another minute, Griffin actually had a small paper bag in front of me. I stared at him blankly, not understanding what he was doing.