I’m cocooned in strong arms. Lips brushing my forehead.
“Hang in there, angel. Help is on its way.”
Bright lights flash overhead.
Voices talking in sharp, harsh tones.
Everyone sounds so serious.
Someone presses down on my stomach. Groaning, I try to push their hands away, but they stop me.
“Sorry, I know this hurts,” a strange voice says.
Then stop.
I want to scream.
Voices talk in hushed tones around me. Some I recognise, others I don’t.
A familiar warmth spreads up my arm, soothing me, and I lean into it as my hand is encased in theirs. Firm lips touch the skin, another hand running through my hair.
A forehead rests against mine. “I love you, Kat,” the voice says, before their lips touch the tip of my nose.
I try to smile, let them know I love them, too.
A curtain swishes. Other voices join the mix, speaking too fast for me to follow, as their conversation flies backwards and forwards.
“Scans.”
“Ruptured Appendix.”
“Potential peritonitis.”
“Surgery.”
I allow myself to drift off.
I’m so tired.
The pain is finally subsiding, so I switch my focus to the hand gripping mine.
The doorto my room opens, and I turn my head.
“Hey,” Gabriel says, stepping into the room. “You’re looking better.”
Smiling, I place a finger to my lips, pointing to the corner of the room where Jax has finally succumbed to sleep, although his neck is at an awkward angle.
Gabriel nods, stepping into the room. He drops a kiss on my cheek before placing a punnet of red grapes, my favourite, on the table next to the bed.
“Thank you,” I say quietly.
He drops into the chair Mum vacated not that long ago.
“How are you feeling?” he asks, his eyes darting to Jax.
“Is it your turn?” I ask, quirking an eyebrow.
“They are limiting us,” he chuckles. “I think the doctors and nurses are sick of us all. We were pacing the corridors for hours while you were in surgery.”
