“Concussion or no concussion, I’m telling you now—I don’t even haveoneboyfriend.”
“That’s what your sister said, but the two guys seem to have other ideas. We had to get security involved.”
“You arekiddingme!”
“It really was something. Between you and me, I’d go for the taller one,” she whispers. “Lewis, right?”
I muffle a groan. My headache just got way worse.
“So… Who should I send in first?”
“Just my sister and her wife,” I say.
A minute later, and my hospital room is plunged into chaos as Raven and her impossibly swollen belly come marching in. I peer up at her, expecting to get my ass kicked, but her face is drawn and pale.
“Honey, I was so, so scared…”
She strokes my hair, her eyes filling up, and when she tries to pull me in for a hug, it’s so awkward. I can feel her tears wet against my forehead.
“Somebody help me…”
“Easy, Ravy!”
I look up. Tears are brimming in Charlotte’s eyes, too.
“You guys look like shit,” I croak.
“You look fugly as hell,” Raven manages through her sobbing.
“What day is it?”
“Saturday.”
“Where’s Joey?”
“With RJ—he promised to show him how to pull a radiator apart.”
“Lucky son of a bitch,” I mutter. “I had to waitwaylonger for Dad to show me!”
I should’ve known Dad’s name would trigger her now.
Raven bursts into tears again. “I thought I’d lost you, too.”
“What can I say?” I can feel myself welling up. “I’m a survivor.”
I can’t even imagine how she must have felt when she heard about the crash. If the roles were reversed, I’d have been destroyed.
“Don’t you ever put me through that again, Amy Hitman!” She pulls out a chair and sits by my bedside, clasping my hand in hers. “I’m sorry for everything I said last week. Esteban told us what happened with that asshole at the bar, and I feel so guilty for lashing out at you like that.”
“Just breathe, Raven. Think happy, vagina-opening thoughts.”
She starts laugh-crying again. “I’m gonna make it up to you, I swear. As soon as you get out of here, I’m gonna make you the center of my world.”
I shudder. “Let’s hope they keep me here for a good few years, then.”
“You feeling okay?” Charlotte asks.
“I feel like I’ve had the shit kicked out of me. And like I need water.”
