That’s the first thought in my mind as I wake up. The pain seeps in with a dull throbbing in my ribs and a sharp pull in my abdomen. My throat feels raw, like I swallowed sand.
I can hear a steady beeping somewhere near my head, but my eyes feel so heavy. I try to lift my hand to rub my eyes, but something heavy presses into it. I try to move my fingers, but it takes a moment before they cooperate, and when they do, I hear a chair scrape.
“Zalea?” The voice sounds hoarse and shocked, and awfully familiar.
It takes a few minutes but I finally force my eyes open, everything blurry for a moment before coming into focus. I look to my right and find Gabriel sitting beside my bed. He’s wearing a dark hoodie over his head, eyes wide and glassy, and so tired I’d believe it if someone told me hasn’t slept in days.
Behind him, on a narrow hospital bench, Zale is sprawled out awkwardly, one arm hanging off the side, mouth slightly open as he sleeps.
“You’re awake,” Gabriel breathes.
My lips feel cracked when I try to smile. “You look…terrible.”
He laughs but it breaks in the middle, halfway between relief and heartbreak.
“You’ve been asleep for two days,” he says, leaning forward.
I frown. “Two days?” The words echo strangely in my head. “The last thing I remember is?—”
My stomach clenches as I remember the accident, the truck headlights shining directly at me before the violent twist of metal. I instinctively move my hand to rest over my sore abdomen, not missing how Gabriel tenses when he sees it.
“What happened?” I ask, my voice barely coming out.
“You were in an accident," he says gently. “There was internal bleeding and they had to operate.”
My pulse starts to race and my throat feels tight. “And…?” I whisper. “Am I okay now?”
He glances down at my stomach and then back at me.
“Zalea,” he says carefully. “Did you know?”
Did I know what?
A nurse appears at the door, smiling softly when she sees my eyes open. “Ah, you’re finally awake,” she says, her italian accent thick, as she steps inside. “We were hoping today would be the day.”
I look between her and Gabriel with a frown. “Does someone want to tell me what’s going on?”
The nurse checks my IV, then the monitor beside me. “You are very lucky,” she says gently. “Very lucky.”
I arch my brow in confusion. What the hell is she on about?
“We discovered that you were pregnant when you arrived,” she continues.
The room goes completely still, the only sound buzzing from the nearby monitors.
“What?” the word leaves my mouth on a breath, and Gabriel’s hand tightens around mine.
“You’re pregnant,” he says, voice trembling. “With twins.”
“But,” I whisper. “But how? My doctor in Hawaii said I wasn’t…the diagnosis…I even had my period—twice.”
I press my palm harder against my abdomen and feel the soreness there.
“They almost…” Gabriel swallows. “We almost lost them.”
My chest fractures open, the pain of losing Gabriella flooding in like a tidal wave.
“They’re still there though?” I ask, not daring to breathe. “They’re still alive?”
