Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
I shook my head. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to go with him.” Fuck, I couldn’t even imagine letting him out of my sight now.
“No problem.”
I could stop the tears from flowing whenever I wanted.
I sniffled and wiped at my cheeks.
Right now, everything looked worse than it was, I reminded myself. Being in a hospital room could turn a paper cut into a bloodbath. At least he was asleep, and he’d been examined by doctors. In the end, we’d been pretty lucky. Jake had a mild concussion, and the wound in the back of his head hadn’t been as deep as I’d feared. It’d just knocked him unconscious for a moment.
I kept repeating all this to myself. Mild concussion, small lacerations, light sprain in his shoulder. Minor bruises and scrapes. Mild, small, light, minor. Mild, small, light, minor.
I’d sustained two tiny fractures in my fingers that would heal in a week or two. Plus cuts and bruises. Nothing that required stitches, but the wound on my cheek might leave a scar. I didn’t care. We were okay. Jake was okay. He was only asleep. Only asleep.
I wiped at my cheeks again, wondering if I would have to change the bandage anytime soon if I soaked it in tears. God. I felt dumb. Damn crybaby. He was all right. He’d made it. He’d saved my life too.
I should go call Seth. I should call Nikki. Sandra. Somebody. But I couldn’t. I wasn’t ready to face questions and worries. All that would have to wait. We’d have to face law enforcement too. It was Coast Guard jurisdiction, so I wasn’t too bothered. We weren’t gonna say anything we shouldn’t, obviously. They would conduct their investigation, and Jake and I were a call away if they needed anything.
Someone had already stopped by. Aside from get-well wishes, he’d handed over clothes. Sweats, underwear, socks, and hoodies.
I exhaled unsteadily and shifted in my seat. They should have queen beds in hospitals. Sitting at his bedside wasn’t enough, goddammit. I wanted to be right next to him and…
Fuck. Always by his side. I sniffled and pulled out my phone.
The fact that I hadn’t contacted anyone yet was actually a relief, because my phone wasn’t ringing off the hook. I had one new email, the confirmation from the hotel I’d booked for tonight.
It was a wonder my phone worked at all, to be honest. My screen was cracked, but it’d been protected from the water in my pocket. Jake’s phone, however, was dead. I’d gone through our pockets and gathered everything in a plastic bag, with our wet clothes in another.
I’d checked the distance between the hotel and the nearest shoe store as well. Comfort was my priority. I had to make sure Jake was comfortable. I knew his shoe size, so maybe I could run over there later. Not that I wasn’t looking forward to sticking my new Coast Guard socks into a pair of wet boots. Sarcasm.
What else did we need? We’d get room service. I was getting hungry.
They were letting Jake go as soon as he woke up and had talked to a doctor again. Only if he felt nauseated or too woozy would they recommend he stay the night.
I moved my chair closer when he stirred a little. Hope lodged itself in my throat. I wasn’t gonna wake him up or anything, but God, I wanted to hear his voice.
He shifted some more, and pain flitted across his face.
Unable to help myself, I reached out and covered his hand with my own.
I’m here.
Turned out, incidents like this one weren’t all about the bigger wounds. Being from a family of so many service members, I was used to stories of gunshots, IEDs, and shrapnel. Even though this couldn’t quite compare, I’d experienced firsthand that there were pains that didn’t make it into the tales of guts and glory. The headaches, the soreness, just getting banged up and bruised—that shit hurt too. I had one bruise on my thigh that hurt like a son of a bitch the second I moved. I didn’t even know what’d caused it.
Jake let out a quiet groan and squeezed his eyes shut harder.
I was on my feet before I knew it. “I’m here, Jake. Do you need painkillers? I’ll call the doctor—”
“Wait,” he grunted. He gripped my hand. “Wait. Fuck.” He released a breath and tried to relax. A moment after, he cracked his eyes open and blinked drowsily.
I smiled, and my vision became blurry all over again. “Hey.” I cupped his scruffy cheek. It felt so good to see him awake. “We’re at the hospital. Do you remember?”
He nodded minutely. The tightness around his eyes faded, as did the furrow between his brows. “I also remember you goin’ holy fuck, holy fuck, holy fuck all the way up to the helicopter.”