She had so much to say to him. So much to apologize for. Olivia felt his fingers tightened around hers.
“Open your eyes, sweetheart. Talk to me.”
She wanted to. More than anything she wanted to see him again, but her eyelids felt weighted.
Working to peel them open, her body fought against the strong painkillers the doctors must have given her. When Olivia heard a moan, it took her a second to realize it had come from her.
“You can do it, baby. That’s right. Come back to me.”
Quick flashes of light felt blinding as her eyes finally began to open. They felt scratchy and dry. At first, everything around her was blurry, including the shadowed figure hovering over her. She blinked a few times to clear her vision until finally, she saw him.
Jake was leaning over her, his one hand holding her uninjured one. With his other, he caressed the top of her head with such gentleness it brought tears to her eyes.
“H-hi.”
She was surprised by how sore her throat was, how ragged her voice sounded.
Jake choked out a sound that was something like a half laugh, half sob. He smiled, but he looked so tired and weary. There were shadows under his eyes, and from the growth covering his strong, handsome face, Olivia knew he hadn’t shaved in a while.
She was so busy noticing how exhausted he looked, it took her a second to realize there were tears sliding down both of his cheeks.
Her heart hurt. For him. For herself. For all of the pain they’d both been forced to endure.
She started to raise her casted hand, wanting to somehow ease his pain, but it was heavy, and she was too weak to try to remove the sling.
Jake brought the hand he was holding to his cheek, uncaring that his emotions were literally spilling over her.
“Hi, sweetheart.”
He drew in a stuttered breath then let it out slowly, looking down at her through those red-rimmed eyes. All she could do was stare back.
They stayed like that for a precious moment, and Olivia relished every second of it.
She was alive. Jake was here, and she was okay. Well, maybeokaywas a bit of a stretch.
She hurt like hell and knew that when she actually allowed herself to really think about all that had happened, she’d probably break down into a total mess.
For now, though, Olivia was determined to remain focused on how lucky she was to be alive and to have the man she loved by her side.
A trickle of doubt starting creeping its way in. Did she still have him? He’d saved her life, but that didn’t mean he still wanted to be with her.
Jake would never allowanyoneto suffer unjustly if he was able to prevent it. It’s who he was. And she’d walked out on him. Just left without giving him the chance to explain.
An image of Jake’s tortured face hit her so hard she had to close her eyes, again. In her mind, she saw Jake looking at her and crying like he was now. Except there was no joy in his eyes. No relief. Only misery.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” Jake’s question snapped her back to the present, his brow creased with concern. “Are you hurting? I’ll go get the nurse and tell her you need more pain medicine.”
“N-need to t-talk.” She was trying to tell him they needed to talk, but she couldn’t get much out past her scratchy voice.
Jake reached over to the plastic pitcher sitting on the tray next to him. He filled the insulated cup next to it and secured the lid. Sliding the bendable straw between her lips, he held the cup steady for her.
The cool water felt amazing on her dessert-dry throat.
When she was finished, he returned the cup to the tray before getting up and turning to leave the room. Olivia saw him wiping away his tears as he walked. She had to stop him.
Yes, she hurt, but she needed to tell him before the nurse came back in. Whatever they were giving her was sure to put her back to sleep, and Olivia couldn’t bear the thought of Jake spending one more second thinking she didn’t still want to be with him.
“I couldn’t...let him...hurt you,” she rasped.
