Page 111 of Rigid

She blinked again.

As the doctors and nurses rushed in, I reluctantly stepped aside. Sandy rushed to me, and wrapped her arms around me.

Together, we shed a tear.

But this time they were tears of joy.

THIRTY-FIVE

Sandy

They had just taken the tubes out of her throat, and although her bandages hadn’t changed, she could at least speak. According to the doctors, she would be taken out of ICU by the end of the day. Eager to hear everything she had to say, Smokey and I stood on opposites sides of the bed and waited with baited breath.

He fed her a few more ice chips. “Does it hurt?”

She blinked.

“Can you talk?”

She widened her eyes.

“Maybe,” she whispered. “I love…” Her eyes rolled in my direction. She blinked and then looked at Smokey. “Both of you.”

“We love you, too.”

“I uhhm. I can’t remember…”

Smokey looked at me, and then at Eddie. “Don’t worry about what happened that night. You need to get better so we can get you out of here.”

I hoped she’d never be able to remember what happened. I feared I’d never forget it, but to think of her recalling the events of that night made me feel ill.

“My arm hurts,” she whispered.

Smokey sighed. “It’s broken.”

“That sucks.”

“Could be a lot worse.”

She blinked a few times, and then looked at the cup of ice. After Smokey gave her a few more ice chips, she continued.

“I want pie. Apple pie.”

Smokey laughed. “I’ll check with the doctor. Maybe in a few days.”

“Someone was. A guy tried to. Where’s my ring?” she stammered.

I held up my hand. “Right here, waiting for you to wake up.”

She blinked.

Smokey looked up. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

I turned toward the door. Dressed in a burgundy set of scrubs and a new pair of tennis shoes, P-Nut sauntered into the room.

“Someone order a sexy nurse?” he asked.

“What in the absolute hell are you doing, Nut?”