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“What are you thinking right now?” he asked, nervously.
“You… you saved me. Your dad saved me. I’ll never be able to thank him.”
“I thanked him plenty, trust me.” Chase wiped the tears from my cheek with his thumb. “I wish you could have seen him. I don’t know how he got you out of there, Merritt. I tried with all of my might. It’s a memory my mother and I will always carry with us. He was heroic.”
“All I remember are the clips from my dreams, and they were horrifying. He was so brave to do that.” I sat up after a moment. “I have to tell Shelly.”
Chase shook his head. “She already knows.”
My jaw dropped open. “What?”
“My dad took you to the hospital. My mom and I went back to the funeral home to get Shelly. We waited in the hospital together. Then, we found out that you were in a coma. She was terrified. She really beat herself up for letting you leave.”
“Who else knows?”
“No one. Well, I’m sure she told Brody. Oh, and Tanner knows.”
I nodded, falling silent again. I couldn’t pick one clear thought out of my head as a million more questions raced through my mind.
“Do you want to lie down?” Chase motioned to my favorite spot in his arms.
I curled up inside his embrace. Facing me, he pulled the covers around us. “I know it’s noisy in there,” he said, kissing my forehead. “Do you have any other questions you want to ask?”
I sighed. “No. Not now, anyway. I don’t want to take the focus off of you.”
“I don’t mind the distraction, honestly.”
I couldn’t help but smile.
“What?”
“Ever since you came into my life, you have taken my mind off of all the bad things that happened. Now, the roles have reversed.”
His grin illuminated the dim room.
“There’s my smile.” I took hold of his face and kissed his lips. “I hate it when you’re sad.”
“Even though I knew this day would come, I don’t think it makes it hurt any less.”
“No. I don’t imagine it would.”
“Thank you for helping my mom. That meant the world to me.”
“She could use your help, too. She’s worried about you.”
“I’m not ready to be around them yet. It’s too hard, seeing one less family member that should still be here with us.”
“I get it.”
“Between your accident, and his cancer, all I can think about is how brief the good moments are. They can be ripped away from you at any time – with or without warning… and there’s nothing we can do.”
I ran my fingers through his hair. “I know. It’s scary. I’ve focused on the bad things for so long. It makes me not trust the good moments, like I’m waiting for the rug to be pulled out from underneath me.”
“I don’t want it to be pulled out from under us. I want to be with you for a very, very long time.”
“Ditto, babe.”
He yawned.
