What the hell is decompression sickness? I pull out my phone to search it, but Noah quickly snatches it from my hand. When I glare at him, he just stares back, raising an eyebrow, daring me to challenge him.
“Stick to the facts. He’s okay right now,” Noah says calmly.
I hate when he’s reasonable. Leaning back in my chair, clinging to the arm rests, I close my eyes. There’s nothing to do but wait.
“Hey.”
A hand shakes my shoulder and I jolt upright to find Isla hovering over me.
“He’s asleep but stable. They said we have a few hours before visiting time’s over. Do you want to go in first on your own?”
Surprised, I look around the waiting room and lock eyes with Teddy’s mum. She nods and smiles reassuringly, but I still feel guilty. “I shouldn’t. I … family should go first.”
“Go,” Isla says sternly, pointing towards the corridor. The look on her face brooks no argument, so I pull myself up cautiously, coming eye to eye with her. Deciding today is not the day to argue with a six-foot red-headed woman, I edge around her and make my way down the corridor.
As I enter the room my heart leaps into my throat. I wasn’t prepared to see him like this. I walk over on unsteady legs, taking in all the tubes and wires attached to him. His skin’s no longer bronze, and his once blush lips have a tinge of blue to them. The only thing reassuring me he’s alive is the steady beep of the heart rate monitor. I stare at his chest, watching as it moves up and down in shallow waves.
The ceiling feels too low, and the room too narrow. The clinical, bright-white lights stab my eyes and make my temples throb. My mind replays the same thought over and over—I could have lost him today.
I find a chair and drag it to the side of his bed, then take his hand in mine, holding on tightly. I take a deep breath to steady myself. “You can wake up now,” I say weakly, searching his facefor movement. My stomach turns over when I see gauze on the side of his head stained red from his blood. Carefully I stroke his hair from his face. “I’m here, Teddy.”
When we were kids and I couldn’t speak, Teddy would talk non-stop to fill the silence. His deep voice was enough to calm me and let me know everything would be okay. I try to do the same for him.
“The first time we met, I hadn’t made it very far into the woods. It was dark, and I was getting paranoid that Shane was coming for me, or that there would be someone hiding behind a tree, ready to grab me. But then I saw you running. I don’t know why I felt like I could trust you. We hadn’t even spoken to one another, but I ran after you. Even knowing what I know now, I think if I were given a choice to do that again, I’d run after you every single time.” My eyes scan his face, then his body, searching for any kind of response. Feeling hopeless, I try something else. “When you first told me you were Scottish, I was surprised because I’d thought you were Irish the whole time.”
Nothing.
“Once, I bought you a big box of chocolates, but I ended up eating them all while you were at work. I didn’t have enough money to replace them, so I bought you a twenty-pence candy necklace instead,” I blurt out, biting my bottom lip.
“You’re in big trouble if that’s true.” Teddy’s hand twitches in mine, and his voice comes out deep and gruff.
I let out a startled chuckle. Then I laugh. I laugh until all my emotions get tangled up and they turn into heaving sobs.
“Stop it. I can’t stay mad at you if you do that.”
“I can’t help it,” I choke out.
Teddy groans as he tries to pull his body up, and I quickly find the controls to lift the bed into a sitting position.
“Are you okay?”
“No,” is all he says, and he sounds pissed.
“Do you need me to get someone?” I stand and look at the door.
“No. I’m—fuck, my body feels like I’ve gone twelve rounds with Robbie.”
I frown at him. “Twelve rounds ofwhat?”
“Boxing …”
I raise an eyebrow at him.
“Robbie’s a boxer. … You know what—not important. My head is pounding.”
“What happened out there?”
“The line broke somehow. I have no idea what was happening topside, but I can remember breaking the surface and there being no one there to pull me up.” He frowns, then shakes his head.
