He pulls in a short breath before looking off to the side of the room. Heading that way, he grabs a chair and returns, setting it close. He sits on his knees atop it, keeping him level with the height of my bed. He’s a slight man, but he must be at least mid-twenties.
“I’m sorry I was so blunt.” He seems far more chagrined than when he was telling me my pacemaker would fail. “It’s just… I knew we didn’t have much time, and I didn’t want you to be afraid.”
“Yeah, well… You telling me I was about to go into cardiac arrest wasn’t exactly comforting.”
His face pinches. “I know. And I’m sorry. It just…it had to happen that way. I don’t think I could have changed it even if I tried.”
My pulse beats heavily. Caspian seems to notice my unease because he sighs before opening his mouth again.
“I saw it happen, okay? I’ve seen it countless times over the past however many years. Not all of it. I never caught your name. Some of it was blurry, or I’d get bits and pieces at a time. But I knew your heart would fail because I saw it happen. Again and again and again.”
I reach for my juice. The liquid goes down in a lump, and I cough around it, working to clear my throat. Caspian reaches for me like he wants to help, but I hold up a hand.
“You saw it,” I repeat. “As in…you had, what, a vision?”
After a moment, Caspian shrugs.
“Jesus,” I mutter.
“I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t believe me.” He sounds so very small when he adds, “No one ever does.”
I let out a slow breath, setting my juice aside and closing my eyes for a minute so I can think. “You had a defibrillator with you. I heard you say that to someone outside.”
“Yes.”
“Because you knew I’d need it?”
A slight pause. “Yes.”
“Because you knew my pacemaker would fail and my heart would stop.”
“Yes.”
“Because you saw it happen. In a vision.”
A longer pause this time. “Yes.”
I crack open my eyes, finding Caspian watching me with a wary blue gaze. “I don’t…notbelieve you.”
He looks close to laughing, but there’s definite relief on his face. “Well that’s leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else in my life.”
His words cause a pang in my chest, something akin to sympathy flaring. But I don’t know this man. I’m not sure I can even trust him.
And yet… He’s single-handedly responsible for saving my life, isn’t he?
How couldn’t I believe what he’s saying, at least in part? No other explanation makes sense. Him being there wasn’t a coincidence. He was waiting for me. Waiting to save my life.
I swallow around the lump in my throat. “I, uh, guess I should thank you?”
His smile is almost sad, but that relief remains. “You don’t have to thank me, Lee. You’ve saved my life so many times. The least I could do was repay the favor.”
His words have me stilling, but before I can say anything more, the door opens. Caspian and I turn as one.
“Well,” my doctor says, breezing into the room, “I was hoping I wouldn’t see you back here so soon, Lee. I hear we ran into some trouble while hiking?”
Caspian slides out of the way as the doctor checks me over, taking my vitals and explaining briefly the surgery he did to replace my pacemaker. It’s not the first time, considering my congenital heart defect.
“Do you have someone who can help you get home?” he asks, finishing his examination. “I’m clearing you to leave, butyou’ll want to take it easy for a few days. Especially considering the extra stress you were put under.”
