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He quickly crossed the room and knelt next to the bed, taking her hands in his own. “I’m so, so sorry my family did this to you.”
“What? The video from the wedding?”
His head jerked back as he frowned at her, utterly confused by her nonchalant expression. “Yes. It’s all over the Internet. Including your…”
“My seizure?”
“Uh, yeah.” He let go of one of her hands and rubbed his tired eyes. “Why aren’t you more upset?”
“Hawk, I knew what I signed up for when I agreed to marry you,” she said gently as she stroked his face. “I knew we’d be the focus of a lot of attention, and I knew that someone would leak our wedding to the media. This isn’t a surprise to me.”
“But my mom is the one responsible for it getting out.”
He explained to her what had happened, and she surprised him again by cuffing the back of his head. “I can’t believe you told her you never wanted to see her again.”
“But she’s responsible for all of this!”
“No, she’s not. Stop blaming your mother to make yourself feel better.”
Behind Sunny, Anya kind of inched out the door, leaving them alone as he stared at his wife. “I’m not.”
“You are, and I understand the need to blame someone, but your mom is not responsible for Liberty’s actions. I mean, okay, she kind of is, but her intent wasn’t malicious. Just…incredibly dumb. But you can’t hate your mom for that.”
“She hurt you. Don’t lie to me and tell me it doesn’t bother you.”
She sighed, then stroked his cheek. “It does bother me, but I’m not going to let it consume me. I didn’t do anything wrong. Compared to what I’m facing, it’s really not that big of a deal. I’m hardly the first or last person to have a seizure. Maybe some good will come out of the video being posted. Either way, I’m not going to waste my precious time worrying about it.”
When she put it that way, he felt both better and worse. “You’re right.”
“Of course I am.” She booped him on the nose with her finger. “As long as you remember that, we’ll have a great marriage.”
He gave her a weak chuckle and her smile faded to a warm look. “I’m sorry your mom hurt you, but please forgive her.”
“I’ll try.”
Leaning forward, she gave him a soft, minty kiss that soon turned into something with a lot more tongue.
“Knock, knock,” Jesse said loudly from the doorway. “Food delivery.”
They ate with their friends, and a steady stream of visitors arrived well into the evening. By seven, Hawk could tell Sunny was worn out, and he asked the nurses to turn new visitors away. With everyone gone, and the tv turned down to a background murmur, Hawk found himself unable to look away from Sunny. Earlier, Kira had brought a bag packed with Sunny’s things. She wore a pair of soft purple pajamas with little clownfish all over them along with a pair of bright orange super fuzzy socks that made him grin every time he saw them.
They were just so…Sunny.
Patting the bed, she said, “Come on, we can both fit up here.”
He gave the hospital bed a dubious look. “I’d break it then get kicked out.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please, the nurses here practically cream their panties every time you look at them. They love you.”
“Fine, get up. But if they yell, I’m blaming you.”
“That’s fine.”
“Brat.” He settled on the thin mattress, scooting over as far as he could. “Come here.”
It took some maneuvering, but they managed to arrange themselves into a semi-comfortable position. Sunny draped over him, her head resting on his chest near his neck with one leg on the bed, the other thrown over his hips. He was basically her mattress, but he had to admit he loved having her close. Her hair still held the faint scent of her shampoo, but her natural smell was stronger, and he took deep inhalations of her warm head.
“Are you sniffing me, you weirdo?” she asked with a giggle in her voice.
“I am. You smell good.”
“I haven’t showered in two days.”
“I like it.”
She laughed again, resting her hand on his heart. “I can’t believe that tomorrow morning is my surgery. I’m scared, but I’m also kind of relieved. Like, finally I can get this over with and figure out what rest of my life will be like. The not knowing has been the worst. Though I will miss my hair. I just hope when it grows back, it’ll cover the scar.”
He struggled for the right words, something strong and inspiring that would take away all her fear, but he couldn’t find any. His breath seemed to choke and his heart raced as he fought against the sorrow, the fear trying to engulf him. Sunny must have noticed his distress, because she braced herself on his chest and tears instantly filled her eyes.
