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“Matteo? Matteo, are you awake?”
It was Carter. I wanted to say his name, but there was no way I could speak. I might have succeeded I moving my lips, but I wasn’t sure.
“Get the doctor!” Carter shouted to someone.
Shit. I was in the hospital. The beeping was from some kind of machine.
“Matteo.” I felt Carter’s hand on my arm. “It’s okay. I’m right here, sweetie.”
I relaxed back into the pillows. As long as Carter was here, everything would be okay.
When I woke again, I felt a little stronger. I opened my eyes and looked around. This time I remembered what had happened. Landon had shot me, then I shot him back, but I couldn’t stay on my feet. Carter had screamed. He’d cried over me, tears dripping on my face.
I hadn’t died. I’d been sure I would, but I wouldn’t be this thirsty if I was dead, would I? Maybe if drank something I’d be able to speak.
“Water.” I fought to get the word out.
Carter must have heard me because he jumped up from the chair where he’d been slumped over sleeping. He grabbed the pitcher on the table by my bed, filled a cup, and unwrapped a bendy straw. I tried to lift a hand to reach for it and gasped.
“Don’t move. I got this.”
He held the straw to my mouth, and I drank, but he pulled it away before I was done. “You can’t have too much too fast.”
“Thirsty,” I croaked.
“I know, sweetheart, but you have to go slow.”
Carter had dark circles under his eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept it weeks. “Are you okay?”
“Me? You’re asking me if I’m okay? You’re the one who almost died. God, Matteo, I thought I’d lost you.”
“I’m here.”
“You coded twice before they could get you into surgery.”
Damn, no wonder I’d thought I was dead. “How long?”
“How long have you been here?”
I managed to nod.
“Almost a week.”
“Did you sleep?”
“Only a little bit. I wasn’t going to leave you.”
“You need…” He gave me another sip of water. “To take care of yourself.”
“No, I need to take care of you. I’ve survived without sleep before, but you…. There was a hole in your chest. The surgery took hours and hours and I….”
“I’m going to be fine, aren’t I?”
“Yes, you are, but you’re going to take your recovery slowly. No more fucking heroics.”
I wanted to argue with him, but I didn’t have the strength for that, not yet. I was asleep again within minutes.
The next few days passed with me being awake for gradually longer periods of time. No matter what time of day I woke, Carter was there. He brought me water, made sure I got food once I was ready, and when I was allowed out of the bed, he helped me to the bathroom and took me for slow walks around the unit.
