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Addison's mother looked at me and took my hand. “She’ll be alright. She has to.”
I nodded.
Over the next few days, as Addison remained sedated, her parents offered to take shifts, so that someone was sure to be there when she woke up, but I refused. I wasn’t going to leave Addy’s side. They could come and go as they needed, but I couldn’t leave. It was my fault she was here. It was my fault she ran away. I needed to be here for her now. I needed to be the one she saw when she woke up.
Mike continued to feed me information as he learned more, but so far, we didn’t know who was behind the attack. The plates had been stolen, and we were doing everything we could to track these men down.
One of the men who Mike had taken down had been identified. He was a felon, with a long track record of violence, but so far, no motive had been connected. The other assailants had gotten in the van and taken off after the first guy went down. We still didn’t have much to go off of.
Something gnawed at me, and I had to figure out what it was. It had to be related to me, and not Addison. It had to be. She’d been in my car, headed to my house. While I didn’t make a habit of keeping enemies, I certainly knew that if this was indeed targeted, it would make a lot more sense that they would have been after me, and not Addison.
32
DAMIAN
Today was the day.The day the hospital was taking Addison off the sedation, now it was up to her to wake up and start breathing on her own. I stayed close by her side all day, waiting for her to wake. Hoping that she would wake, and that she’d be ok, that there wouldn’t be any brain damage.
I stared at Addisons bruised throat and arms and felt sick to my stomach knowing that Addison had almost lost her life because of me. Because I hadn’t been able to clearly express my feelings and it had sent her running.
The machines steadily clicked and beeped around me. As I sat quietly in the room with her, hope and shame mingled and tangled together in my heart and mind.
Addison's parents went down to the cafeteria for lunch. My eyes were heavy, and I tried to keep them open, but I felt myself drifting off for the first time in days. I had kept myself awake for too many days. Instead of sleeping while Addison slept, I’d stayed up, terrified to sleep, in fear that her condition would be different when I woke up. My eyes flickered shut against my best effort.
I awoke to the room full of nurses, and Addison wide eyed and terrified as she choked on the ventilator tube. The nurses quickly eased the tube out of her throat as she coughed.
She tried to speak, but her voice was hoarse and the sounds wouldn’t come out.
In a flash, I was at her side. “Don’t try to speak.” I soothed her. “You’re okay, you’re alright. The baby’s alright.”
She looked up at me with her soft green eyes and began to tear up. I squeezed her hand and brushed her tears away. “I thought–” I shook my head. “I didn’t know if you were going to make it there for a while.”
Addison whispered out, “Damian–”
I gently put my finger to her lips. “Easy, it’ll come back. You just have to give it a little time.”
“I’m sorry.” She croaked out.
I laughed between tears. “You’re sorry? You have nothing to be sorry about. I’m the big dummy that couldn’t express his feelings. I’m sorry Addison, I’m so sorry. It should have been me. They were after me.”
She blinked at me and smiled softly, taking my face in her hand. Her eyes flicked up to the door as her parents came rushing into the room. It was a flurry of tears and hugs.
I stepped back and gave her parents some room to be with her, and I sat and watched her, my heart aching the whole time.
* * *
Days later,we were finally back home, and Addison slowly but surely began to regain her voice, though I encouraged her not to go too hard, too fast.
I lay next to her in the dark, watching her sleep. Neither of us had been sleeping very well, each of us having our own nightmares plague our sleep. Suddenly, Addison made a gurgling noise in the back of her throat and she began to choke in her sleep, crying out.
“Addy.” I gently shook her awake. “It’s just a dream.”
Her eyes fluttered open, and she scrambled away from me in the darkness. “It’s me Addy, it’s Damian.”
She sat there panting and out of breath, looking disoriented for a moment before registering where she was. She began to cry and collapsed back into the bed.
“I’ve got you, you’re ok.” I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into my chest. She clutched my chest and buried her face in it.
“Every time I close my eyes, he’s there. His cold dead eyes are there.” She sobbed.
