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She nodded.“I’m sorry, too, Colt.”
I knew she was, but the only one who should be sorry was the son of a bitch who caused the woman I love all this pain.
Chapter Fifteen
Colton
Surgery took way too long if you asked me.I mean, I was glad her ankle was finally being fixed, but I didn’t like her being gone so long.
After the orthopedic came in to see her finally, he decided he had time and could do the surgery on her ankle right then and there and with her sedated, prepping her became easy.They rolled her out before I even knew what was happening.All that time, sitting and waiting, and then suddenly something was happening, but it still felt too fast for my liking.
Meanwhile, Damon had called the rest of my family and told them what happened, fielding calls and questions for me.Frankly, I wasn’t sure I could’ve dealt with this without him.By this point, the entire family knew that Scarlet and I were having a baby, that we’d lost one, and that we didn’t know Scarlet’s state of mind.Hell, I was still confused myself.My stomach was in knots over the car accident.
Damon came up to where I was sitting in the too cold waiting room and placed a hand on my shoulder.“She’s in recovery.The nurse says you can see her now.”
“Damon, I really appreciate you staying, but you can go home if you want.I’m not going to leave Scarlet’s side.”
“I’ll stay for as long as you need me to, Colt.Really, I mean it.I’ve never seen you like this before and I’m not leaving you.Not now.”
I let out a sigh.“All right.”I got up to make my way to her room.
Max came to pick Brooke up about a half hour ago so she could get some rest, promising she’d be back in the morning.The only way she was leaving, though, was with updates.“Hey, do you mind calling Brooke, letting her know Scar’s awake?”I asked before leaving the waiting room.
Damon nodded, knowingly.“Will do.Just go and be with Scarlet, okay?Let her know we’re praying for her.”
“Sure,” I responded.I felt like a zombie as I opened the door to her room.
My heart immediately ached when my eyes met her.I didn’t know what I was thinking, but the battered and bruised version of Scarlet I had seen before was still there, although her ankle was now casted.I didn’t ever want to see her like this again.She looked so vulnerable lying there.Her eyes were closed, so I moved quietly to the chair by her bed to avoid waking her.
I fought every urge to reach out and take her hand in mine.Right now, she needed rest.The left side of her face was still covered in bandages from where the glass got her.Her lips were swollen and she had a cut on her top lip.The hospital gown was covering most of the other marks, but I could see the start of a nasty bruise on her collarbone.My eyes stopped at her stomach, where I knew she was carrying our child.
The monitors were beeping constantly and I looked down at her hand for a moment, thinking maybe I could just brush my hand against hers, let her know that I was here.But, no, I didn’t want to startle her.The IV in her hand must’ve caused bruising, because the top of her hand was six different shades of blue.
I just didn’t understand how this could happen.Just this morning we were happy, goofing around.I had never been this caught off guard.In the Army we were prepared for situations to arise, but we were also trained on how to handle them, but, this, this was something I could’ve never been prepared for.
She’d been through so much in the past few months and all I wanted to do was erase all of the pain for her.I wanted her to feel safe and protected again, like she did this morning.
The way Brooke and the nurses explained how on-edge she was when they told her about the miscarriage, it wasn’t right.None of this was right.She was supposed to go to the doctor, find out she was pregnant and come home and tell me.Never was this supposed to happen.Fuck.I cursed at myself not for the first time for not getting in that car with her, driving her to the doctor in the first place.I had plenty of time before my job interview, I could’ve gone with her.But she told me she needed some alone time and I wanted to give her the space she needed.
I watched as her eyes began to flutter open and immediately went to touch her hand.I gingerly laid mine on top of hers, bending to press my lips to them.
“Colt?”she asked, her voice scratchy.
“Scar,” I replied.
She turned her head to meet me and closed her eyes with discomfort.“Colt, I’m so sorry.”Tears began to well in her eyes and I could see the pain.
I brushed my hand over the side of her face, gently as to not cause her any more pain.“No, I don’t want to hear you apologize.You have nothing to be sorry for, do you understand me?”I added, “None of this was your fault.”
She shook her head then.“That’s not true.I should’ve told you this morning.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
“I suspected,” she said.“I was afraid you’d—“
I shook my head, stopping her.“Be upset,” I supplied, passing her an ice chip to soothe her throat.She barely nodded, but I could see I nailed it.“Baby, I’m so happy that you’re pregnant.It was the best news I’ve ever received.We’re going to have a baby.”
Finally, she spoke a little clearer, more like herself.“I didn’t trick you into it.I didn’t get pregnant on purpose to trap you.”
