“Ssshhhh, just relax, rest.”
I take his advice and give in to the overwhelming weight that is pulling my lids shut.
I drift in and out of consciousness for an undeterminable amount of time. Each time I wake, I figure out a little more of my surroundings. I am not in my penthouse. I don’t know where I am, and I’m not lucid enough to figure it out. The curtains are open and the sun streams in. The man that has been there every time I wake up is still here but now with his head resting on the edge of my bed.
I feel like I have just enough energy to want to move. I push up, but feel a sharp pain in the back of my hand and let myself rest back on the bed. A hospital bed. Why am I in a hospital? Machines and monitors bleep and whirr all around me. I tentatively lift my hand and rest it on Denham’s head while he sleeps, stroking his hair with my fingertips.
He stirs and lifts his head to face me. “Arianna…you’re awake?” he asks. Worry mars his handsome features as he pushes himself up on his elbow and strokes a strand of hair from my face.
“Yes, I’m awake … I think.”
I’m confused, I feel strange. I don’t understand why I’m lying in a hospital bed, and I can’t figure out what time of day it is.
“Are you okay? How do you feel?”
“I…I don’t know. I don’t…” My tongue catches on the roof of my mouth and I’m in desperate need of a drink. “Water…” I say hoarsely, unable to get any more words out.
He hops up and grabs a glass of water from the nightstand.
“Here,” he says, holding it to my mouth. I try and take the glass from him but I have little coordination. I sip enough to wet my mouth and as much as I don’t want to, I cry. The emotion is overwhelming and deep sobs catch in my chest.
“What happened, what’s wrong with me?” Everything is a jumble and no matter how hard I try, I can’t piece it all together.
“Shhhhh.” Denham places the glass back on the nightstand and pulls me into his arms. “You fell, Ari, you must have slipped and knocked yourself out, or blacked out…”
“I…I don’t remember anything,” I sob. I hate this. It’s a frightening feeling. I feel helpless and scared.
What if he hadn’t found me? Of course he would have found me. I’m not alone now. He cares.
“We couldn’t wake you so we brought you straight here. Do you remember anything at all?”
I try. I try to remember any little detail that would start to set me straight.
“No, I…” I calm my racing head and take a deep breath, trying to let things come back. “I…don’t remember a thing.”
Blank, totally blank. I remember Spike interrupting us. I remember Denham leaving with him. Then…nothing.
“I can’t remember…I’m sorry,” I say
“It’s okay, Stunner. It’s not important. What’s important is that you’re okay,” he soothes. “I need to call the nurse; she’ll want to know you’re awake.”
He stands and presses the call bell above the bed, pulling me back into his arms and cradling my head in his hands.
“Ouch,” I wince, “My head.”
“My god, Ari, you have an egg sized lump on your head, you must have really hit the ground with a thud.”
I nod into his chest “My ribs hurt too…everything hurts,” I whisper sorrowfully. “Can we go home, please. I hate hospitals. I hate needles.”
He chuckles lightly, “Let’s just get you well enough to move around first, shall we?”
“How long have I been here? What time is it?” I ask, still confused.
“It’s mid-afternoon, just after two. We came late this morning. Beth called me to say she couldn’t get ahold of you and you hadn’t arrived there.”
“Beth?”
“Yes, do you remember she messaged you this morning?”
