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“He’ll be okay, Lucy.” Sam gently rubs my leg, offering me hollow words of comfort. The urge to throw up suddenly overcomes me, and I shoot up, giving Sam a near heart attack as I run to the bathroom.
Once I’m done being sick, I cradle the toilet bowl, my tears bouncing off the porcelain. Before this tragedy occurred, I was faced with a prospect which now seems like the most important thing in the world. Splashing my face with cold water, I peer at my reflection, giving myself a scare at how worn-out I look. There is no animation behind my eyes because my life is lying in that hospital bed, comatose.
Rubbing a small circle over my belly, I know it’s time to find out once and for all. “Will you sit with him? I just need to go to the pharmacy,” I ask Sam as I exit the bathroom. He sits in the blue plastic chair beside Saxon.
His broken reflection is a mirror image of mine. His hair is snarled, his stubble is shaggy, and the bags beneath his eyes reveal he’s had as much sleep as I have. “Of course. I haven’t left his side. Neither have your parents.”
“My parents? They’re here?”
Sam nods. “Yes. Piper is back home, trying her best to look after the ranch. But your parents and I, we’ve taken turns. He hasn’t been alone.” Those words touch me beyond belief because knowing he’s had someone by his side ebbs away at the grief. “I thought you’d need them here too.”
A fresh set of tears sting my eyes. “Thank you, Sam.”
“For what?” He genuinely looks puzzled.
“For being here for him…when I couldn’t.”
He lowers his gaze, sighing regretfully. “I owe him.” Nothing but sadness laces his admission, and regardless of the past, of everything said and done, blood is thicker than water. Both Stone brothers have proven this. That in spite of their differences, they will always stick by their kin.
And this is the reason I fell in love with them both. They’re empathetic, strong, but most of all, they are good.
“I won’t be a minute.”
“Take your time.” A sense of peace settles over me knowing Sam is with Saxon.
Once we ended things, Saxon took off on his Harley without a word to Sam. He could have argued or thrown punches, but what would be the point? It didn’t change the truth. Throughout this entire ordeal, Sam and Saxon were able to reconnect. Even if it was for a small fraction in time, those memories are real. If my naivety, my need to see the world through rose-tinted glasses was able to bring them together, then that’s one thing I did right.
The pharmacy is downstairs, so I catch the elevator to the ground floor. These walls have seen so much sadness, but as I reach for a pregnancy test on the shelf, I also realize it’s seen some miracles as well. I can only hope I bear witness to one too.
I pay for the test, asking the cashier to put it inside a paper bag. There is no hiding from the truth, but I can’t do this now. Here. If it proves positive…the thought is too heartbreaking to process.
My stomach gurgles, and I don’t know if that means I’m hungry or if I need to throw up. At this stage, I’m betting on the latter. I make my way back up to Saxon’s room, relieved the nausea has subsided for now. That relief is short lived however when I hear a voice filled with complete malice address me. “You have some nerve showing your face here… You should be…”
“Cleo! That’s enough.”
My head snaps up, unsure if I’m really seeing Cleo and Hogan standing up ahead. But when she comes charging down the hallway, fire behind her eyes, I know they are. Hogan grabs her arm, but she shrugs violently from his hold.
“This is all your fault!” she yells, disregarding my personal space. But I don’t flinch. “If only you’d stayed away from him, he wouldn’t be in that fucking hospital bed!”
She’s right. Thisismy fault. If only I’d begged him to stay. Or if only I’d gone when he asked me to leave, things would be so different. “I’m sorry,” I state, refusing to cry.
“Save your apologies. They mean nothing to the dead.”
A gasp leaves me, but that’s soon followed by rage. I am seconds away from slapping her cheek. How dare she. “He isnotdead. I know you’re upset, but we all are, and talking that way doesn’t solve anything. It was an accident, and yes, of course I blame myself…”
“So you should!” she exclaims. Hogan stands at her back, his eyes lowered. His stance is that he agrees with her. He may not like her delivery, but he stands by every word that she says. He knows something, they both do, and I’m about to find out what.
“Hogan?” He guiltily meets my eyes. “Do you know where Saxon was going?” After a few still seconds, he nods. “Where? And why didn’t you tell Sam?” The pieces of the puzzle are there, but the disorder clouds my vision.
When more silence greets me, my tether snaps. I’m breathless, clutching onto the paper bag, afraid of the truth. “Hogan? Tell me!”
Sam emerges from Saxon’s room, apparently wondering what the commotion is about. I know there’s a reason he didn’t tell Sam, and that reason is…me.
“Lucy…”
“Lucy? You’re Lucy?” The nurse from earlier approaches me, looking among us all. We look seconds away from brawling. I instantly regain my composure, embarrassed.
“Yes. That’s me.”
