They wheeled her through the halls to an employee elevator. When Theo didn’t get in, she started squirming.
“Your husband said he needed to make some arrangements for your daughter. Don’t worry, he’ll be right back.”
The words didn’t assure her like they were supposed to. Her father had given her a million different excuses for so many things and none of them had been true.
Once her bed was placed in her room and her IV checked, the nurse showed her how to use the call button, told her to rest, and that someone would be in soon. Rest? Right. Highly unlikely.
The silence in the room was deafening. Alone. It wasn’t the first time, but this time was almost worse. Closing her eyes, she attempted to get her breathing under control. Pain slashed through her head like thunder, but suddenly other aches burst to life. Her ribs, her back, her left leg and arm. Spots on her face burned like ash had been flicked at her. When she attempted to obliterate her rampant tears, the pain in her nose took her breath away, and she cried out.
“Whoa, what are you doing? What happened?”
Theo was back. Was he staying like he said? God, she needed him to stay, needed him to lie to her if only for tonight. There was no way she could make it through a night here by herself.
“My nose. Really hurts.”
Moving closer, Theo said, “Yeah, it broke when the airbag hit it. Accounts for all the blood on your clothes.” He held up a plastic bag with the hospital insignia on it. “I don’t imagine we’ll be using these again, as they cut them off you when you got here.”
What had she been wearing? Had it been a favorite outfit?
“I don’t remember…Theo, why don’t I remember what happened?”
After tucking the bag in the corner of the room, he perched on the edge of the bed and stroked her arm, the one without the IV.
“You have a concussion. A fairly severe one. The doc doesn’t think you have any bleeding in the brain, which is good.” His expression didn’t look like it was good. He looked worried. “They’re keeping you overnight simply to make sure. It’s only a precaution.”
“You need to go home and take care of Jordan.” Which would leave her all by herself in this hell.
“No.” Theo’s lips twisted, and the dimples near his mouth winked at her. “Angie’s going to stay the night and bring her to school tomorrow.”
“Will she be okay without you?” Jordan should matter more than her sanity. “I’ll be fine if you want to go.” Her trembling voice gave her away.
“Jordan’s stayed with Angie on many occasions. They make it a girls’ night. Although she is worried about you. Wants to make sure you’re coming back.”
“If you let me.”
Theo’s brows knit together. “What does that mean?”
“I had a nervous breakdown before, Theo. Now, I don’t remember what happened when I crashed your car.”
Cradling her face, Theo stared into her eyes. “Someone told you your baby died. Having some problems after that is understandable. As for this afternoon, the doctor told me it’s common for people with head trauma to have loss of memory, especially surrounding the accident. It might come back to you at some point or it might not. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re okay.”
When he pressed his lips to hers, she sighed. God, she hoped he meant all this.
“I thought I might lose you, pixie,” Theo said, his voice gruff like he’d swallowed sand. “Ialmost had a nervous breakdown, thinking I’d just got you back only to lose you again.”
She stroked his face, the stubble on his cheeks rough against her fingers.
“What if Jordan had been in the car? I could have killed our child, Theo. I don’t think I could live with myself if that happened. Maybe I’d be better off not being near her.” It would be the end of her, but at least her daughter would be safe.
“Don’t even think that. Jordan is fine, and you’re fine.”
“But what if I have another breakdown? Or keep forgetting things?” Putting her child in danger was the last thing she wanted to do. It would be worse than when she’d thought her baby had died. And that had pushed her over the edge.
“Let’s not worry about that right now. You should rest, so you can heal.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered as she closed her eyes. The lids were heavy, yet she didn’t want to lose sight of Theo. He was her lifeline at the moment. “I’m so sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about, pixie. Get some sleep. They’ll be waking you up soon enough for vital signs and check-ins.”
