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“Savannah got hurt and fell, hit her head, and more than likely broke her arm. I need to go meet them at the hospital.” She’s trying to be the strong momma right now, but I can tell she's seconds away from breaking down at the thought of her daughter in any pain.
I take her hands in mine and stand up, grabbing my stuff. “Let’s go. I will take you. I don’t think you should drive right now. She’s going to be okay, Alyssa.” She nods her head, not saying anything, and I can’t help it. I place a soft, light kiss on her forehead. I grab her hand again and walk out of my office, picking up her purse along the way, and head for the elevator.
The whole way down to my car, she doesn’t say a word until we get in and take off for the hospital, which is just down the street from the office. “Thank you, Evan, for being here with me. Nothing like this has ever happened before. The worst she’s had is a cold. I'm just scared.” Her voice wobbles at the end. I reach over and grab it again, placing a kiss on the back of it.
“I’ve got you, momma, and everything is going to be okay. Savannah is going to be okay.” I say with as much conviction as possible, so she believes me. The hospital is just up ahead, and I pull into the parking lot just as the ambulance pulls in. I park, and we both get out, racing to the back and see Savannah on the stretcher, her face laced with pain.
As soon as Savannah sees her mom, she starts to cry. “Momma, it hurts.” The hurt in her voice is breaking not just Alyssa’s heart, but mine as well. She walks over to the stretcher as they move inside. She brushes her hair back while giving her daughter a reassuring smile.
“I know, baby girl. The nice doctors and nurses are going to help you get better. Then we can go home and have a movie marathon. How does that sound?” She smiles down at her daughter.
“Okay, momma.” She whispers out with tears still in her eyes.
After that, it's a flurry of activity, with doctors and nurses coming in to do an x-ray and confirm that Savannah broke her arm. They wheeled her away to put on her cast, and Alyssa is standing there watching the door waiting for her to come back in. I can see her shoulders shaking, and I know she’s crying. I pull her into me and hold her tight while she cries into my chest. She grabs the back of my suit and holds on tight. She pulls back, looking up at me, and I wipe her tears for her.
“I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to break down like that.” She tries to pull away from me, but I don’t let her. I don’t want her running scared right now. I want her to know that I'm here for the long haul.
“Never be sorry for showing emotion, Alyssa. I told you I'm here for you with whatever you need, and I meant that. I can see the doubt in your eyes, and that’s okay. I will just have to show you daily that I'm not going anywhere. But we have time later for all of that. Right now, let’s just focus on Savannah.” She looks at me, really looks at me, and must find what she’s looking for, making me so fucking happy right now.
“Okay, Evan.” She whispers out, and I pull her to my chest again, needing her in my arms. Just then, they wheel Savannah back in with a pink cast on her arm. Alyssa walks over, placing a kiss on her forehead.
“How are you feeling, Savannah?” She’s fussing, not knowing what to do.
“I'm okay, momma, just a little sore. They gave me some medicine and a pink cast. Can we go home now?” She yawns, and I know she’s going to want to sleep as soon as she gets home. Thank god she doesn't have a concussion; a broken arm is bad enough. Alyssa looks over to the doctor, and he nods his head.
“Her discharge papers should be here soon, and then you guys can go. Savannah was such a brave little girl getting the cast. Make sure you follow up with your doctor, and it should be able to come off within six weeks.” The doctor smiles at us and walks out with a nurse walking in, handing over the discharge papers.
Savannah looks over at me, and I give her a smile. “Who’s that, Momma?”
“That’s my boss, baby girl, Mr. Bradford.” I walk over to her bedside and bend at the knees, so I don’t look so intimidating to her. She graces me with a smile, so much like her mom.
“You look like a prince from my movies.” She looks at me, wondering if I’m actually a prince, making both of me and Alyssa laugh. Alyssa gathers all her stuff, getting ready to pick up Savannah to carry her to the car when her next words stop her.
“Can the prince carry me?” I'm shocked that she would even ask that, but fucking happy that she senses I wouldn't harm her. I look at Alyssa to see if it's okay to do so. Her face is just as shocked as mine, but she just nods her head with a soft smile on her face.
As gently as I can, I pick her up. “Let’s get Princess Savannah home.” We walk out of the hospital, and I know everything is going to change after today. I now have everything I’ve ever wanted in life.
Four
If I ever go missing, please follow my kids. They can find me, no matter where I try to hide.
Whenwereachedmyhouse, I expected Evan to drop us off, leave, and go back to work. What I didn’t expect was for him to walk inside, place Savannah on the couch, cover her with a blanket and watch every Disney princess movie with her she wanted. It was so cute that I had to take a picture without them knowing and send it to the girls letting them know what happened. They freaked out at first that she got hurt, but I told them I would talk to them later with a promise to hang out soon. I even had his mom message me asking if I needed anything and with the promise to have lunch soon. After a few hours of being home, I'm still left wondering what to make of it. When Savannah asked if he could carry her to the car, it shocked me because she just doesn't take to anyone that fast. But with Evan, she has no such problems. She clung to him as if she had known him all her life, and maybe she can sense that he was someone who would protect her. He left me reeling when he told me he wasn’t going anywhere and that he was going to show me daily. Now that I'm home, it is all I can think about, and he must see it on my face because every time he caught me spacing out, he just gave me a soft smile. He was letting me know without words that everything will work itself out.
The things I feel for him are what is scaring me into really trying again. To put myself out there for the possibility of having my heart broken yet again, and it’s not just me now that I have to think about. I want this to mean something. To know that in the end, this is where I'm meant to be, who I'm meant to fall in love with. I can see myself falling in love with Evan. The way I already feel for him is nothing I've ever felt before. The way my whole body lights up whenever he is near, and when he held me in the hospital, it felt like I was finally home, like he's been the missing piece of my life. I think my biggest fear is Savannah getting attached to someone just for them to leave, and I know I can’t live in fear for the rest of my life and possibly screw up what could be my forever, either. God, I'm such a hot mess sometimes, and that’s okay, too.
Tessa and Mia, for years, have been telling me to get out and go on dates, but it never felt right at the time. I let them set me up on one blind date, and that ended in disaster with my drink dumped on his head after he made an offhand comment about me being a single mom saying no man is really going to want me. You don’t get to judge me and my life until you've walked a mile in my shoes. Until then, people should keep their comments to themselves. After that, I swore off men, just wanting to focus on my baby girl but looking over at Evan with Savannah on the couch watching Tangled together gives me hope for the future. It might be too soon, but I want to take the chance and see where this goes with him. I want to start living my life, being a hot mess and all. I’m brought out of my thoughts by the doorbell ringing. Hopefully, it's the pizza I ordered. I can see Savannah is ready to sleep, but she needs to eat before she takes her pain meds. Tonight is going to be a long night. I get up from the couch and can feel Evan at my back, beating me to the door and grabbing the order from the delivery driver. He tips him and closes the door even though on the app, I already tipped him. He just walks into my kitchen, placing the boxes and chicken bites Savannah loves on the island before turning towards me.
I walk to the cabinet and pull down plates, and I can feel him looking at me, making me blush at the attention. He takes the plates from me, placing them on the island, and lifts my chin with his finger until my eyes meet his. That small touch sending shivers down my spine.
“Are you okay, Alyssa? If me being here is making you uncomfortable, I can leave.” The fact that he’s thinking of my feelings puts me at ease. For once, someone is putting my thoughts and feelings first, and it’s an amazing feeling.
I grow a pair and grab his hand, giving it a squeeze and holding it like it's my lifeline. Wanting him to know how much I appreciate everything he has done for Savannah and me today. “You're not making me uncomfortable at all, Evan. I just want to say thank you for being here for us today. It means a lot to me.” My voice wobbles with the emotions I'm feeling.
He places his warm, soft lips on my forehead, and I just melt into him. “I told you, Alyssa, I'm not going anywhere, even if it takes a lifetime for you to see that. I know you are scared. You don't have to fear anything with me.”
Blowing out a breath and telling him how I feel. “I am scared, but I don’t want to be. I want to try. Getting to know what true love feels like to know that person sees me, hot mess and all. My baby girl will always come first, and sometimes I can’t just drop everything when I want. So before I start anything, I need to know if that is something you can handle.” There it's out there, and the wait for him to answer me is killing me. Sure, it would hurt if he couldn't, but I would just pick myself back up and move on with my life. I just want to be as open and honest with him as I can. I don’t want there to be any lack of communication if this is going to work. He needs to know where I stand on this.
He grabs my face in his hands so I can't look away from him. I can see every emotion he is feeling right now, and it steals my breath. “Baby, I knew getting into this that Savannah will always come first, and that’s how it should always be. It might be fast, but fuck the rules. I know in my heart and soul that you and that precious baby girl of yours are meant to be mine. I will take care of the both of you like you should be treated. Just know that I have you now. Your hot mess is also my hot mess, and I will never let go. Know that your heart is safe with me; your baby girl's heart is safe with me. We will always go at your pace, always.”
