Page 119 of Wrecked

Suzanne chimes in, “It also doesn’t hurt that Derek from Cincinnati drove back yesterday to take her to dinner.”

My jaw drops. “He drove three hours to see you?” I wave my hands in the air and motion for more. “Okay, details. I want them all!”

I lean back and listen to my friends tell me their stories.

It’s a simple conversation, but it reminds me that my life will go on. My life is good. The Nicos of the world are not going to get me down.

I wake up to a rolling sound in the hallway. Apparently, I am only allowed to take catnaps for the duration of my stay here. I open my eyes as Dr. Ditto strolls in the room with an empty wheelchair.

“Thought you might like to go for a ride,” she says.

There’s something in the way her mouth is rising on the side that lets me know I’m not going for an MRI.

She helps me get up and sit down in the chair. I have my baby-blue pajama top on with matching striped pants. My hair is brushed and pulled back into a ponytail, and I’ve scrubbed off the stank makeup I had on from the bar.

Dr. Ditto rolls me down the hallway and through a set of doors that is only for personnel. She’s just about to push me through a hospital room door when she leans down and says, “I think this will keep you from having any more nightmares.”

We enter the room, and the only thing I see is Adam lying in his bed. His eyes are closed, and he has a large red gash on his face from being hit. Other than that, he looks perfect.

I turn my head back to her. “I thought only family could see him?”

She wheels me closer to his bed. “Magic makes me want to break the rules.”

No sooner does Dr. Ditto leave the room than I am on my feet and leaping to Adam’s bedside. I pull a chair over and kneel on it. My hands are in his hair and on his face, caressing the stubble and the line of his chiseled jaw.

I lean forward and kiss his lips. They’re warm.

I kiss him again because I can.

I kiss him a third time because, up until this moment, I was seriously questioning whether he was dead, and no one had the heart to tell me.

I kiss him a fourth time because one event might give me nightmares, but it’s this man who has been giving me the sweetest dreams for seven years. His dreams trump every evil vision. This man defends all hate.

“I’m starting to think that getting stabbed is a good thing,” he says.

I kiss him some more.

“I had no idea what happened to you. They wouldn’t tell me anything.” I hold his head in my hands and stare at how beautiful his features are.

“Leah,” he whispers, raising a hand to my cheek. “Don’t cry. Everything’s gonna be okay. They got Nico.”

“They did?”

He rubs my cheek. His eyes crinkle as he stares lovingly back at me. “He was in bad shape, so he hadn’t made it far from the house. He’s going away for a long time, and he’s not getting out.”

I laugh and sob at the same time. “That’s the second best thing to happen today.”

“What’s the best thing?” he asks.

“Finding out you’re alive. It’s official; I can’t live without you.”

“That’s a good thing.” He pulls my face down to him and brushes his lips against mine. “I only live for you.”

I bury my head into his neck and weep. Yes, I’m a crying machine, and I can’t control a single emotion.

He kisses my head and rubs my back. “I have another thing to tell you. Victoria OD’d again. Her parents came this time. They’re admitting her to a long-term rehab in San Diego.”

I lean up and bite my lip as guilt stews in my belly.