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A few moments later, her eyes flutter open, but her vision seems unfocused like she doesn’t really see me.
“Hey, everything is okay,” I whisper, squeezing her hand in mine as gently as I can.
“Julian...” she croaks, and I cradle her face, turning it toward me.
“I’m here, just relax. You’re safe now. I won’t leave you, and I won’t let anything happen to you either. I’m sorry, Elena.”
Her eyes flutter closed once more, and she falls back to sleep.
Over the next few hours, she slips in and out of consciousness. I don’t think she knows where she is or that I’m here, but that doesn’t mean I’m leaving her side.
I don’t care about anything but her right now, and I never thought I would say that.31ElenaThere is an insistent buzzing, or maybe it’s a beeping, that fills my ears. I can’t really be sure which one it is, all I know is that the sound grates on every one of my nerve endings. My throat throbs, and as I try and swallow, it feels like someone has poured sand inside my mouth.
What’s wrong with me?
Something similar to a groan escapes my lips, and as I try and blink my eyes open, all I see is white—white ceiling, white lights, white walls. Instantly, I know something is off. I’m not in Julian’s house—our house.
No wait, we didn’t get married yet because… just as I’m about to sink deeper into my thoughts, my head starts to throb like someone is chiseling at the side of it with an ice pick.
Turning my head, I find Julian sitting beside me in a chair. He looks too big for the small space. My nose wrinkles as I suck in a breath and the smell of antiseptic fills my lungs. At the same time, a sharp pain ripples across my ribs.
“Try not to move or breathe too deeply. You’ve got a concussion, bruised ribs, and a twisted ankle.”
Licking my lips, I open my mouth to speak but find there are no words. All I remember is getting up in the morning. The day of our wedding, and then… my mind goes blank.
“What happened?” I croak. My gaze moves down my arm, to where an IV is inserted. Mentally, I think of all the things that Julian just said was wrong. Jesus, was I in a car accident or something? “How long have I been here?”
Julian’s gorgeous features fill with anguish. “About a day.”
“What happened?” I ask again.
“You don’t remember?”
“No, I don’t remember anything.” I keep searching my brain for the missing pieces to the puzzle, but thinking hurts. I just want to go back to sleep.
“You fell down the stairs.”
“Oh…” I visualize the staircase leading to the foyer. I recall walking down them so many times, but I don’t remember falling. “I don’t remember that.”
“That’s okay. You hit your head pretty hard. All that matters is that you are going to be okay. The doctor says you’ll make a full recovery.”
Relaxing into the hospital bed, I feel a little better knowing that. At least nothing that happened will have a lasting effect on me.
“We didn’t get married, did we?”
“No.” Julian shakes his head, a ghost of a smile curves his lips. “We were walking downstairs to get ready for the wedding when it happened. I tried to grab you, but I wasn’t fast enough,” he admits shamefully. The sadness and guilt in his voice is like a knife being stabbed into my chest. He blames himself, I know it without even asking him.
“It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault,” I try to soothe him.
His mouth pops open, and he’s about to say something else, but we’re interrupted by a quiet knock at the door. A moment later, the door creeps open, and a petite nurse walks in. She must be new because she can’t be much older than me.
Her eyes immediately gravitate toward Julian, and she clutches onto the clipboard she is holding like it’s a protective shield. I’m not sure why, but she’s clearly scared of Julian.
Of course, he doesn’t help matters as he scowls at her, his eyes dragging up and then down her body like he is sizing her up.
“Hello, Elena,” she greets me when she finally tears her eyes away from Julian. She tries to hide the tremble in her voice, but I can still hear it. “How are you feeling?”
“Good, I guess.”
“Any pain right now?” she asks as she starts to take my vitals, completely ignoring Julian’s presence.
“My head hurts a little, but not that bad.”
“We can give you some more pain meds in about an hour. In the meantime, it would be great if you could get some fresh air, maybe go on a walk. I could push you in the wheelchair if you would like–”
“I’ll take her on a walk,” Julian cuts in gruffly. “Just leave us the wheelchair.”
