Page 51 of Keeping Collette

“Do you need a drink?”

Now that he’d mentioned it, the dryness of her lips and mouth registered. “Yes.”

“Let me get you some water.”

He let go of her hand, and she whimpered a little at the loss of his touch. She heard the sound of water being poured into a cup, at the same time she became conscious of the beeping of the heart monitor.

“Here you go.” A straw was placed between her lips. “Just a couple of sips.”

She did as instructed, enjoying the feel of the cool liquid down her throat.

Her foggy mind recalled something that Jag or Deal had said, she couldn’t quite remember. “Surgery?” she asked, after Deal had removed the straw.

“What do you remember?” He took her hand again, and some of the fear that had been threatening to overwhelm her, settled at his touch.

“Accident. Got hit.” She wished she could say more, but every word was an effort. There was no pain, so she figured it was because of whatever drugs they were giving her. When they wore off, every inch of her would likely hurt, but she thought she preferred that to this feeling of limbo currently going on in her.

“Yep. Some guy who was high on drugs slammed into the back of your car, pushing you into the vehicle in front. Your legs were trapped, and they had to use the jaws of life to get you out. I was able to open your door, and stayed by your side until the paramedics and firefighters turned up.”

As Deal relayed what had happened, the memories began to return. “The guy who hit, okay?”

“Are you asking about who hit you or who you hit?”

“Both.”

“The woman in front of you is okay. Just a bad whiplash. The guy who hit you has a broken foot and is here as well.”

“Okay.” She took a moment to let what Deal told her sink in. “Happened so fast.”

“It did, but you’re okay now. Do you want to know about your injuries?” His fingers brushed across her forehead in a soft soothing manner. If she could, she would lean into it more, but she was constricted by a weight around her left arm and tightness around her stomach.

“Broken arm?” she asked, considering the more conscious she got, the more everything around lost its fuzzy glow.

“Yeah, it’s a straight forward break that didn’t require surgery. Your left knee was jammed into the dashboard. It’s badly bruised, and there’s some ligament tears, but they’re also minor. You’ll have to wear a brace for a few weeks.” He took a breath, and she prepared herself for the bad news, because there had to be more. “Due to the force of the accident, you suffered some internal injuries. Lacerations to your liver and one of your kidneys. They had to go in and stitch them up.”

“And that’s it?” At least she still had all her internal organs. In the scheme of things, after being trapped, she’d come out of it okay. It could’ve been much worse.

“You also have a concussion, but they said it’s mild.”

It didn’t surprise her one bit that Deal had all the details of her injuries. He would’ve demanded to know. What he said to get them, she didn’t care. She was only glad that he had. It wasn’t as though her parents would’ve given two shits about her to come and see her at the hospital. If they had, they would’ve only come to pilfer the drugs that were supposed to be given to her.

“How long do I have to be here?” she asked, thinking about her job and how she was going to pay her rent. She’d used most of her savings to pay for Courtney’s funeral. She’d wanted to give her sister the best goodbye possible, and hadn’t cared too much about the cost of it all.

“I think the doctor said about a week.”

“Okay.”

The short conversation with Deal had been tiring, and as much as she wanted to stay awake, exhaustion pervaded every corner of her body.

“Sleep, honey. I’ll be here when you wake.”

“Okay,” she whispered, her eyes already shut, but she was aware of the light caress of his fingers down her cheek, and the softness of his lips as he kissed her cheek.

If Deal hadn’t been following her, and wasn’t becoming a huge part of her life, she would be going through this all alone.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Deal closed Collette’s door behind him and stretched. It had been a long two days, but now that she was in her own room and on the road to recovery, she’d told him to leave and get some fresh air. She would be fine for a few hours.