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Reed’s deep voice screaming my name was cut short by a horn blaring.The deafening squeal of tires, a thunderous boom, and pain exploding through my body were my only warning before blackness devoured me in one horrific bite.
Deep, familiar voices tugged me from the darkness, urging me to float above the inky abyss.
“Any change yet?”
“No.”
“You look like shit, Tony.When was the last time you slept, man?”
“A couple days ago.”
“Go home.Get some rest.I’ll stay with her.”
“I’m not leaving her, Mika.What if she wakes up?”
I tried to call out to them, but my throat was blocked.My eyes were so heavy I didn’t have the strength to lift my lids.And though I tried to stop myself, I couldn’t keep from sinking back into the empty void.
The nightmares came fragmented and real.Matt’s snarling voice…the gun.The dead baby boy, Nathan, still and peaceful in my arms.Tears and lullabies.Hospitals and blood.My father’s angry face.My mother’s laughter morphing into silent screams.When the blessed peace settled in my head, the pain throbbed sharp beneath my flesh.Sounds melted into an irritating cacophony before falling silence and still.I floated between heaven and hell.Unsure when or which realm I would finally awaken.
Beep
Beep
Beep
The incessant alarm buoyed me to reality.I opened my eyes.The room was dark, except for a soft glow leaking beneath the foot of a door.Looking around, I saw machines and tubes.The pungent smell of alcohol and flowers assaulted my senses in an unsettling combination.Rolling through thoughts in my brain, I had no idea what had brought me to this strange place.As I tried to sit up, pain sliced deep in my head, and a muffled moan rumbled in my chest and reverberated against a blockage in my throat.
Sudden movement drew my attention, and as I lolled my head to the right, Tony’s head lifted from the mattress as his body shifted in the chair beside me.His soft brown eyes, heavy with sleep, opened and began to fill with tears as his chin quivered.
“Oh, baby,” he whispered.“Thank fuck, you’re back.”
Standing, he leaned over and gazed into my eyes.Two tears spilled over his lashes and glided into the stubble covering his face.Dark circles ringed his leaking eyes.I tried to talk, but my throat was clogged with something more than emotion.Tony pressed his warm lips against my forehead, and my heart dissolved beneath his tender kiss.
“I’ve been so scared, Leagh.So fucking scared.”Tony spoke against my skin as his tears spilled onto the pale blue cotton gown draped upon my shoulders.
Tears slid down my cheeks; still, his lips huddled against my forehead as he murmured his relief that I’d opened my eyes.
I wanted to tell him not to cry, but the best I could conjure was a groan.
Tony slowly eased back, wiping his cheeks before he softly blotted mine away with the pads of his thumb.
“Shhh, don’t try to talk, sweetheart.There’s a tube in your throat to help you breathe.You’re in the hospital.”He sniffed and swallowed tightly as fresh tears streaked his handsome face.
His overwhelming emotions frightened me, but his glowing smile settled me.I raised my weighted right arm and cupped his cheek.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Tony choked as he enveloped my hand with his and closed his eyes.“Your touch feels like heaven.”
Peeling my hand from his face, he placed a reverent kiss in my palm.“I want you to blink one time for yes and two times for no.Can you do that for me, angel?”
I blinked once, and Tony smiled.
“Excellent.Do you remember the accident?”
Accident?What accident?My heart thundered in my ears, and I felt my eyes grow wide before I blinked twice.
“Thank fuck,” Tony exhaled.“When you left Reed’s office, you got hit by a car.”
I squeezed Tony’s hand as I felt my brows furrow in confusion.I didn’t remember a damn thing.How could I not remember something as horrific as being hit by a car?
