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“I love you, Frog.”
“Love you, Toad.”
Several minutes later, the doctors called Chase in to do a CAT scan of his skull, and an X-ray of his ribs. He had a concussion, which was expected, but no broken ribs. The cut on his forehead was stitched up, and he was instructed to ice his injuries to help with the swelling.
We remained in the waiting room, periodically asking for updates on Dave. I lied to the receptionist, telling her that I was his sister. She told me she would let me know when I could see him. I was happy to stay; I felt safe in the hospital, and we didn’t exactly have a place to go back to. Chase nodded off, but I could not fall asleep. My pants were shredded from crawling over broken glass, and blood covered my exposed knees. The nurse was kind enough to give me a bag of ice for my knuckles while I waited. Every body part ached, but I welcomed the pain. It meant I was alive – I had survived, and so had Chase.
After the sun came up, Chase opened his eyes and smiled sleepily at me. “Have you been watching me sleep this whole time?”
“I was so worried that you were…” I could not say the word. “I thought I was too late for my second chance.”
He tucked a curl behind my ear, and stroked my cheek with his thumb. “I would give you a hundred chances.”
I leaned over in my seat and pressed my lips against his. It had been so long since I felt them. They were even better than I had remembered.
“Miss Adams?” a nurse called. She smiled when I stood. “He’s awake now. He’ll have some nasty bruising on his head, but he’ll be fine. His shoulder was dislocated, so he’s in a sling. He can go home in a couple of hours.”
“Oh, thank God,” I breathed.
“Would you like to see him?”
“Yes, please.” I held my hand out for Chase to take as he hobbled over to me.
“I’m so glad you guys are alright,” I murmured as we followed the nurse down the hallway.
“Our fathers were with us tonight for sure,” he replied.
I smiled at the thought. “We have two incredible guardian angels watching over us.”
The nurse led us behind a curtain. Dave was sitting up in bed; his right arm was in a sling and he sported cuts all over the left side of his face. He managed a smile when he saw us.
“Hey there, sis.”
“I am so glad you’re okay.” I hugged him gently.
“You look like shit, Abercrombie.”
Chase chuckled. “You don’t look too hot, yourself.” He gestured for me to sit in the chair next to Dave’s bed, but I shook my head. He needed to sit more than I did.
“Thanks to this one, we’re both okay,” Chase said.
Dave’s face twisted in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Merritt was able to get downstairs, break down the door, rescue me, and then drag you out to the ambulance.” He was looking at me with pride in his eyes.
Dave’s hand reached out for mine. “You came back just in time to save us.”
I squeezed his hand, tearing up again as I thought about what could have happened had I not flown to California when I did.
“Your hands!” Dave gasped, turning them over to look at my bloodied knuckles.
“It’s nothing,” I reassured him. “Do you remember what happened to you?”
“When the quake happened, the shelves of liquor collapsed. All I remember is trying to dodge the flying bottles. Something knocked me out, and I went down. The doctor said I dislocated my shoulder.”
I cringed, remembering what it was like to be in a sling similar to his.
“How bad was the damage?” Dave asked.
