Skyla pulled back from Reese and glanced at Blake who immediately shook his head.
“What’s going on?” Reese asked.
“I can help him,” Skyla blurted out. “We can all go home tonight knowing Garrett will be just fine. I just need a few minutes -”
“No,” Blake said, his voice firm and loud. He closed the distance between them and took both of Skyla’s hands in his. “You’re pregnant, Skyla. You can’t risk it. We have no idea what it will do to you or the baby if you put yourself in that kind of state right now.”
Skyla sighed. “I’m sure it will be fine.”
“No,” Blake said again. “We both know you’d never forgive yourself if something happened to our baby because of you putting yourself at risk like that.”
“It doesn’t hurt me, Blake.”
Reese felt like a bobblehead, trying to keep up with their conversation.
“Yes, it does. Or have you forgotten how weak you get afterwards? Because I haven’t. I still remember carrying you out of that house. Out of that damn motel when you couldn’t even keep your eyes open. I still remember all of it.”
Reese winced, knowing exactly what motel he was talking about. “I’m sorry,” she said, just loud enough to be heard. “I would never ask Skyla to do anything that would hurt her or the baby.”
Skyla turned to face her then. “Of course not, and I honestly don’t think it would.”
“There’s time,” Blake said. “Garrett is critical but stable.”
“You said he was in a coma when you called me,” Skyla said.
“He is, or at least the doctors think he might be, but they also think he could wake up on his own anytime,” Luke said. “There’s no reason for you to put yourself or the baby at risk right now.”
The tension between everyone subsided only when Skyla gave a seemingly agreeable sigh. “Fine,” she muttered. “We’ll wait.”
Everyone sat back down on the couches, and a heavy silence filled the space, interrupted only by a few whispered exchanges.
Luke and Orly were leaning on each other, barely able to keep their eyes open. Hallie and Caden were playing a game on his phone. Blake and Skyla were looking at sonogram pictures on her phone, and the rest of the guys were just sitting quietly, like they were ready to do whatever needed to be done at a moment’s notice.
They had all tried to distract Reese, but she just wanted to be left alone. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate her friends’ efforts, she just couldn’t really focus on anything but needing and praying for Garrett to wake up.
Two hours later, they all stood when Dr. Shaw approached. “He’s all settled upstairs if you’d like to see him. I made sure to let his nurse know that you would be coming. Just don’t stay too long because he needs his rest.”
“Is he awake?” Reese asked with all the optimism she could muster. The doctor probably would’ve opened with that if Garrett’s condition had changed, but just in case it had slipped the doctor’s mind, she had to know.
“Unfortunately, not yet,” Dr. Shaw said.
She appreciated his choice of words. Instead of just saying ‘no’ he’d said ‘not yet’ and that oddly gave her more hope than she’d had five minutes ago. “Okay, thanks. I’d like to spend the night with him if that’s okay?”
Dr. Shaw nodded. “Let the nurse know and she’ll bring you a cot and some bedding.”
Reese forced a grateful smile. Dr. Shaw left and the guys quickly cleaned up the area while the women got their things together. As they rode the elevator to the fourth floor, Caden pulled Hallie to his side. “He’ll be okay. He probably just needs the night to sleep it off.”
Reese swiped at a tear on her cheek, and Hallie forced a smile and nodded. Her friends were the best people in the world, but the only thing she wanted right now was for Garrett to wake up and look at her the way he always did.
She hadn’t missed the part about him possibly having brain damage, but she honestly didn’t care. Of course, she wanted him to be okay, but if that wasn’t the case, Reese already knew she wasn’t going anywhere. She’d take care of him, and if he couldn’t work, she’d find a way to earn enough money to support both of them.
They stepped off the elevator and followed the signs to the Intensive Care Unit. Garrett’s nurse, Tina, introduced herself and allowed them to see Garrett one at a time. Reese offered togo in last because she knew once she went in, there was no way she could leave him.
When it was finally her turn, she said goodnight to the guys, and hugged Skyla, Hallie, and Orly. Then she quietly stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. Garrett looked so peaceful. She wasn’t sure what she’d imagined, but aside from a few scrapes on his face and a white bandage taped to the back of his head, he looked almost perfect. Even his color was good. His cheeks were pink. His lips full, ready to be kissed. All that was missing was the tenderness in his eyes every time he looked at her. She stood at his bedside and leaned in to kiss him. She pressed her lips to a scratch on his forehead, then to the tip of his nose. When she touched her lips to his, she couldn’t hold back the tear that escaped down her cheek. “I love you,” she whispered. “You just have to come back to me.”
The nurse had brought in a cot for her just as Dr. Shaw had said, along with some sheets, two pillows, and a blanket. Reese arranged them on the cot then went into the ensuite bathroom where the nurse had left her some towels and toiletries.
She laughed through her tears. This place almost felt like a hotel room instead of a hospital room. If only Garrett was awake, teasing her from the bed instead of lying there in a coma with an IV in his arm and at least half a dozen other tubes and wires, she could almost call it romantic. She sighed heavily, letting out a ragged breath.
It was going to be a long night. She brushed her teeth and finger combed her hair. By the time she crawled under the covers, she was feeling every ounce of soreness and exhaustion from the day. But nothing about this sleeping arrangement felt right. Despite being in the same room, Reese still felt too far away from Garrett. She threw the covers off and went to stand at his bedside again. She stroked his cheek, and pressed another kiss to his mouth. Then without giving it much thought, shecarefully laid down on the bed next to him. Turning onto her side, she had just enough room to place her head in the crook of his arm and gently draped her arm over his torso. She briefly worried about hurting him, but Garrett didn’t even flinch, let alone move so much as his pinkie finger. “Come back to me,” Reese begged. “I love you.”
