His silence was almost too much to bear, and big fat tears slipped down my cheeks.
“I’ll give the two of you some space,” Summer whispered.
“If you need anything, just press the buzzer and I’ll be right along, okay?”
I gave the nurse a nod, and the two of them left.
“It’s me,” I whispered, those two words drenched in so much pain, I felt it right down to my soul. “The nurse said I should talk to you, but now I’m sitting here, looking at your broken and bruised body, and I’m not sure I have any words.”
I inhaled a ragged breath. “I love you, Maverick. I love you so much that part of me wishes I were the one lying there so I wouldn’t have to see you like this. You have to come back to me. You have to wake up and come back to me.” My thumb smoothed over the curve of his hand, willing him to give me a sign he was still in there.
“My dad asked me what I remembered, but there’s nothing after the drinks with Declan at Hitters. They said a truck lost control and ran us off the road. We took out another car, but thankfully, the driver was okay.”
Another wave of pain hit, crashing over me like a tsunami. The truck driver had walked away with a few bumps and scrapes, the driver of the third car had been treated at the scene, and I was here. It seemed so unfair somehow.
“It shouldn’t be you,” I sobbed, clutching Maverick’s hand as if it was the last time I would ever get to touch him. “I just need a sign... something to know you’re still here with me.”
But the seconds ticked by, and no sign came. Maverick—my Maverick—one of the strongest, most determined, and loyal guys I knew, was gone.
And I didn’t know how I would survive if he never came back.
Chapter Five
Kyle
“Do you want me to come in there with you?” Laurie squeezed my hand. We’d been standing outside Rick’s room for two minutes. Lo was inside, I could see her through the blinds. I wanted to go inside, to hold and comfort her. But I couldn’t move. Fear like I’d never known before coursed through my veins.
“Kyle, it’s time.”
“I know... I just... Fuck, babe. How am I supposed to go in there?” Lo had already lost too much, more than any young woman should. If Maverick didn’t pull through this, it would crush her.
Crush all of us.
“Babe.” Laurie moved around me and took my face in her hands. “She needs you. If your places were reversed, Maverick would do this for you. You need to go to her. I can come?”
“No, you’re right.” I covered her hands with mine. “I need to do this. You’ll be okay?”
“I’ll be right out here. If you need anything—”
“I know.” One of my hands cupped the back of Laurie’s head as I kissed her deeply. “I love you.”
“I love you too. Now go be with our girl.”
With a small nod, I turned for the door, slipping inside.
“Kyle, thank God.” Lo rushed over to me and I pulled her into my arms.
“Ssh, cous. I got you.”
She sobbed quietly into my t-shirt, fisting the damp material between her trembling fingers.
“I’m here. I’m right here.” We’d gotten the first flight out of Maui, but it wasn’t quick enough. I should have been here. When they got the call, I should have been here.
“Don’t do that,” Lo whispered, finally pulling away from my chest.
“Do what?” I frowned.
“I can hear your guilt from here.”
“I should have been here.”
“No.” She shook her head. “You were right where you were supposed to be, on your honeymoon. God, I’m so sorry you had to cut it short.”
“Now who’s the one talking shit?” I offered her a weak smile. “I’m right where I need to be.”
“Thank you.” Lo threw her arms around me and we stood there, silently saying everything we needed to.
We were scared...
Lost...
We needed Maverick to pull through this.
“Come on, you can get me up to speed.”
I steered her over to one of the chairs beside Maverick’s bed. It hurt to see my stepbrother lying there, hooked up to various tubes and wires. For as long as I could remember, Maverick had been the strong one. The stubborn and insurmountable one. Maverick was a force to be reckoned with. And now he was lying in a hospital bed in a coma.
“The doctors still aren’t telling us anything, not really. They’re concerned about the swelling on his brain and want to get that under control before they deal with the damage to his spine.” A fresh wave of tears spilled down her cheeks.
“They think it’ll be permanent?”
“It’s too soon to tell.”
“Shit.” I ran a hand over my face, letting out a long breath.
“I keep expecting someone to walk through the door and tell me it’s all a sick joke.” She smothered a sob, covering her mouth with her fist.
“Have you been home? Showered? Eaten anything?” Lo was a mess. Dark circles ringed her eyes, and her skin was pale.
“I can’t eat. Your mom and Summer have been force-feeding me graham crackers. I haven’t been home. I was officially discharged yesterday, but they agreed to let me stay in here. Your dad talked to the doctor.”
It sounded like something he would do.
“You need to take care of yourself, cous.”
“I need him to wake up, Kyle. That’s all I need.”
“Can you remember the accident? My dad said you couldn’t.”
Lo nodded. “I remember bits and pieces now. We were at Hitters with Declan and his brother. We left and Maverick said he wanted to show me something...” She averted her gaze, blinking away more tears.
“Lo?”
When she finally met my stare again, the pain in her expression gutted me. “I think he was going to propose.”
“Fuck,” I breathed.
“They found the ring box, but the ring was long gone.”
“Lo, I—”
“It’s okay.” She sucked in a ragged breath. “All that matters is that he wakes up. We’ll deal with the rest then. I just need him to wake up.” Lo clutched my stepbrother’s hand in hers.
“Rick is the strongest person I know; he’ll get through this.” He had to. Because if he didn’t... no, I couldn’t think like that.
Maverick was a fighter.
If anyone could overcome this, it was him.
Lo
One week.
I sat in that hospital room watching Maverick lying there, still and unmoving. My dad, Rebecca, and Gentry begged me to go home and get some rest. But my home was here, in that hospital bed. I couldn’t leave him.
I wouldn’t.
The nurses grew used to my presence, working around me. One nurse called Jennifer, a lady with kind eyes and a warm smile, took a shine to me.
“Morning, sweetheart,” she said breezing into the room. “How are we this morning?”
I was just rolling away the foldout bed they'd had wheeled in for me four nights ago when they realized I had no plans to leave.