by J. M. Hill
I listened for the voices of the people I loved, Michael, Kate, Garrett, Miles, but I only heard the beeping of machines. The pain became more excruciating, every minute feeling like an hour.
“Grace,” Evan said loudly. “Honey, can you hear me?”
My voice wouldn’t let me respond.
“If you can hear me, please squeeze my hand.” A warm hand came around mine, and I tried to squeeze, but I had no strength. “Squeeze my hand, honey. Come on!”
I used all my strength to try and squeeze his hand.
“Good girl.” He kissed my forehead. “I know you hear me. You’re going to be fine okay? I know you must be scared, but you’re going to be fine. I’m going to make sure you’re fine. You hold on.”
I thought about the people I loved. I wanted to be on the couch watching the Avalanche game with Garrett, or in the kitchen baking with Kate. I wanted to be running with Michael.
I wanted to be anywhere with Michael.
It was so dark, and I couldn’t hear anything except my own breathing. The pain was gone, but the darkness became a heavy weight.
“Hold on, Grace. Please, hold on…”
Evan’s plea became an echo in the darkness, and I wanted to hold on, but the dark was too heavy. It pushed and pushed until I was under it, helpless.
“Grace, can you hear me?”
I knew that voice, and I wanted to hear it again. I tried to open my eyes.
“Grace Elizabeth, I want you to hear me,” Michael said.
“Gracie? It’s Garrett, please wake up.”
Their voices came to me like a dream.
“We have to get her into surgery now,” Evan’s voice was clinical and calm. “There’s no more time, the damage is too severe.”
“I love you,” Michael whispered in my ear. “I love you so much.”
I love you, too.
Garrett’s voice shook with emotion. “We all love you, and we’re here waiting for you.”
“Don’t leave me, Gracie,” Kate cried as she kissed my cheek. “Please.”
My heart was breaking with all of their words, and I wanted to tell them how much I loved them, how much they meant to me. “Come back to us,” Miles said softly. “We love you.”
“We have to go,” Evan said.
“Evan, please—I” Michael’s voice trembled.
“Michael,” Evan’s voice was still calm. “Dr. Murphy is a brilliant surgeon, she’s going to be in the best of hands. I promise.”
“But, you’ll stay with her?” Michael asked. “Please, Evan, don’t leave her alone.”
“I won’t leave her,” Evan promised, his voice shook for the first time.
“Come on, little brother,” Miles spoke quietly.
“I love you, my Grace,” Michael whispered. “Please come back to me.”
Michael’s plea was the last thing I heard as the silent darkness submerged me again.
TWENTY
The light was bright. Reflexively, I closed my eyes again, and my head pounded from the slight movement. Something covered my nose and mouth blowing a low, cool stream of air with a medicinal odor that made me nauseous, and my throat was sore. Electronic beeps and hums echoed around me and something on my arm tightened for a moment, and then loosened. A sharp pain emanated from my stomach making my nausea even worse, but I couldn’t seem to move.
When I opened my eyes again Michael’s face was there. Overwhelmed, I tried to lift my hand to touch him, but I was unable to move. Tears escaped my eyes as I looked at him, wishing he would hold me and make the terrible pain stop.
A high-pitched tone reverberated in my ears. Two women, dressed in brightly-colored scrubs appeared and Michael watched them with concern. I kept my eyes on his face, afraid the darkness would come again and I wouldn’t be able to see him.
“What is it?” Michael asked them worriedly. “What’s wrong?”
“Her heart rate accelerates with the pain,” one of the women responded. “We need to keep her sedated, or she could go into cardiac arrest again.”
His expression was anguished as he held my hand to his lips, kissing my palm. Then he leaned into me, burying his face in my neck. His breath was warm against my skin as he shuddered with quiet sobs. I wanted to wrap my arms around him, but it felt like they were strapped down, and I couldn’t move them. With a deep breath, he sat back and wiped his eyes roughly with the back of his hand.
Our eyes held each other’s as he kissed my fingertips, until my eyes became too heavy to keep open.
“Oh, she’s waking up.”
I recognized Kate’s voice right away, and I could hear the beeping of machines and the rustling of movement as I felt someone take each of my hands in theirs.
“Are you sure?”
It was Garrett.
“Yes, I just saw her eyes open,” Kate said softly. “Gracie? Can you hear me?”
My eyes opened. Her face was close to mine and tears fell down her cheeks.
“Oh, Gracie.” She took a deep breath and kissed my cheek.
Miles stood behind her, smiling sweetly at me. “Hey there,” he said with relief. “Boy, are we glad to see you.”
Garrett’s hulking figure was on the other side of the bed. His eyes glistened as he kissed the back of my hand and held it to his cheek.
I tried to clear my throat and the pain made me moan. I lifted my hand to try and move the irritating piece of plastic away from my face, but every movement caused even more pain.
Kate pulled my hand away. “You have to leave that alone. It’s helping you breathe.”
My throat burned as I swallowed, and I winced.
“It’s going to be sore,” she said. “You had a tube down your throat.”
Michael. I searched the room for him, wondering why he wasn’t with me.
“Gracie?” Garrett watched me worriedly.
The pain intensified, and the monitors by my bed reacted with high-pitched tones alerting everyone to my pain and panic.
“Get the nurse,” Michael’s voice was next to my ear. I turned my head toward his voice, but the movement caused my eyes to blur with tears because everything hurt.
“I’m here,” he said quietly. “I’ve been right here.”
My body relaxed as I strained to look at him, and he moved closer.
“Do you need something for the pain?” he asked.
A tear escaped the corner of my eye, and Michael brushed it away with his thumb. His eyes were sad as he looked over at Garrett. Garrett pressed a button on the side of my bed, and I closed my eyes, wishing the pain would stop. A nurse strode into the room and Miles said something to her in a hushed voice. Minutes later she returned and injected something into the tube taped to my arm.
Michael stroked my forehead, and my eyes became heavy as a numbing sensation crept over my body. I continued watching him, afraid to close my eyes because I wouldn’t be able to see his face.
“Sleep.” He spoke as if he knew my fear. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
I closed my eyes and felt his breath on my ear as he whispered, “I love you.”
I woke to an unfamiliar face.
Jet-black hair was smoothed into a ponytail, eyes almost as dark as her hair. She studied me carefully, with a stethoscope around her neck. She smiled when she noticed I was awake, and it registered that I was in a hospital. I struggled to remember what happened, but everything was muddled and foggy.
“Hello, Grace,” she said, checking the fluids in the I.V. bags. “My name is Abby. I’ll be taking care of you tonight.” She put the stethoscope in her ears and listened to my heart. “Do you know where you are?”
I nodded minutely.
“Do you know why you’re here?”
Again, I tried to remember, but was unable to think of anything except the ache in my stomach.
“We just gave you meds an hour ago, but if you need more just let me know,” she instructed. “Don’t wait until its unbearable, okay? It’s better to keep it under cont
rol.”
I nodded again, and she typed something into the computer next to my bed.
“Is there anything I can get for you?”
I shook my head, and then winced from the pain.
“Just push the button if you need me.” She pointed to the red button on the railing of the bed and walked out of the room.
My eyes closed, and someone stroked the side of my face. I tried to focus on Michael’s face as he rested his head next to mine on the pillow.
“Hi.” He smiled softly at me and held my hand my hand to the side of his face.
“Where is everyone?” My voice was barely a whisper, and I didn’t look away from his face.
“They went to get something to eat,” he answered. “The hospital doesn’t like all of us in here at the same time, but Evan has managed to convince them it won’t be a problem.”
I nodded and tried to smile, but every movement caused a current of pain to go through me.
“How long have I been here?”
He sighed, as he stroked my hair. “Five days. You’ve been in and out of consciousness.”
“Five days?” I was confused. “What happened?”
“You don’t remember?”
I shook my head slightly trying to remember what had happened. Then a vision of Nina flashed through my mind. I squeezed my eyes shut as the floodgate opened. Memories played in my mind like a dream. Nina’s blank emotionless stare, the excruciating pain, Kate’s screams, Garrett’s anger, Michael’s pleading.
“Nina,” I could barely say her name. “Nina did this.”
The grief in Michael’s eyes broke my heart. “Yes,” he whispered. “Nina did this.”
“Are you okay?”
He shook his head in confusion at my question. “Why on earth would you be worried about me?”
“She hates me,” I reminded him. “And she knows how I feel about you. I was afraid she’d try to hurt you.”
He sighed and leaned toward me, brushing his lips over my eyes and down the sides of my face. I felt the familiar heart-fluttering when his breath was at my ear. A high-pitched tone echoed through the room.
“I love you.” He chuckled softly.
Abby came in and looked at us, Michael’s face close to mine as he grinned. She narrowed her eyes at Michael with a half-smile. “You’re going to have to behave yourself, or you won’t be allowed within five feet of her.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Michael told her, as she checked the machines.
“How’s the pain?” She asked me.
I felt the throbbing, and it was getting worse, but I didn’t want to sleep.
“Grace, if you’re in pain you need to tell her,” Michael instructed.
I looked at Abby and nodded. She smiled and then left the room.
“And it would take the National Guard to keep me away from you,” Michael added with a grin as he brushed the hair from my face.
The throbbing intensified, and I winced from the pain.
“What is it?” He asked worriedly.
“It just hurts.”
He shook his head sadly. “I’m so sorry, Sweetheart.”
Abby returned and Michael kept his eyes on mine as she injected the medicine into my I.V.
“There ya go, Grace, that should help.” She patted my shoulder gently.
“Thanks, Abby,” I said.
He leaned close to me, brushing his fingertips over my cheeks. My eyes were getting heavy already, and the numbing sensation was slowly creeping over my entire body, and I remembered lying in the floor at the shop. Wanting to see Michael’s face in the dark.
“I couldn’t see you,” I told him.
“What?”
“When you found me,” my words slurred together. “It kept getting dark. I could hear you, but I couldn’t see you, because it was too dark.”
His expression became pained and he kissed my forehead gently.
“You’re just going to sleep.” “It scared me when I couldn’t see you,” I argued.
I felt my eyes closing, and I fought to keep them opened. “I’m not leaving, Grace,” he promised. “I’ll be right here when you open your eyes. I promise.”
I nodded as my eyes closed, remembering his promise.
Just like he promised, Michael’s face was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes.
“You kept your promise,” my voice was gravelly.
“Of course, I did,” he replied.
“Grace?”
I turned and saw Ava’s lovely face, and I swallowed the sob that wanted to come out.
“I’m so glad to see you,” I said.
She smiled, bending down to kiss my cheek, and wiped at her tears. Will stood behind her, rubbing her shoulders. “Hello, Mr. Anderson.” I smiled weakly, and heard quiet chuckling all around.
His eyes narrowed playfully. “Hey, now. None of that nonsense.”
I heard Kate’s giggle, and looked at the foot of my bed where she was painting my toenails a hideous shade of blue.
“The blue matches your fabulous hospital gown,” she chirped with a shrug. “Garrett wouldn’t let me paint his nails, and I was bored.”
Garrett snorted a laugh, and then smiled widely at me.
“Hey,” I said to him.
“Hey, yourself. How are you?”
“I’d really like a shower.” I knew it had been much too long.
“Oh, I wouldn’t be worried about that,” Miles laughed. “Kate sends us out of the room every day, so she can…do whatever she does.”
Kate winked at me before returning to my pedicure.
“So, when do I get to go home?”
Michael’s expression became grave, and he shook his head.
“It’s going to be a while. You were bleeding internally, and they had to do some serious repairing—“ his voice trailed off.
“You went into cardiac arrest twice,” Garrett continued for Michael. “You’ve been in critical condition.”
I closed my eyes, and nodded, still feeling quite a bit of pain with each movement.
“What day is it?”
“Saturday,” Michael answered.
“Don’t worry, Gracie,” Garrett smiled proudly. “I’ve got our games on the DVR, I haven’t even watched them, because I’m waiting for you. However, the Avs are looking suh-weet.”
Everyone chuckled and Michael rolled his eyes at me.
“Of all the things to worry about,” he shook his head. “You two would worry about the NHL.”
“I wasn’t worried,” I said confidently. “I knew Garrett would take care of me.”
Garrett smiled smugly and nodded. “Damn straight.”
Something occurred to me suddenly, and panic returned.
“What’s wrong?” Garrett asked.
“Did they catch her?”
Garrett’s jaw clenched. “No. ” he shook his head. “When you were in surgery, Sheriff Henderson was here. We told him about Nina, and Kenny gave him the security tapes from the shop. They’re looking for her. She obviously didn’t know about the security cameras.”
“Didn’t know, or didn’t care,” Miles amended.
Nausea rolled in my stomach as I remembered something Nina had said. I squeezed Michael’s hand.
“She was watching us,” I told him in a hushed voice, though I knew the others could hear.
His expression became confused, and my pain worsened.
“The night we had our date, and you danced with me…she was watching.”
Garrett muttered something unintelligible, and Michael’s eyes narrowed as he studied my face, his anger palpable. “They’ll find her, Grace, don’t worry. She won’t hurt you again,” Michael assured me. “I’m not worried about me,” I argued. “She could hurt you or Kate or Garrett or Miles…what about your mom and dad?”
The thought of Nina coming near any of the people I loved, caused the pain in my stomach to flare and my breath quickened with my panic.
Michael took my face in his hands and lo
cked eyes with me. “Grace, you need to calm down.” He waited while I tried to slow my breathing. “Do you really believe my brothers and I will ever allow anything like this to happen again?”
Garrett grunted in agreement, and I shook my head. He was missing my point.
“But what about you?” I said. “She wants you. She could hurt you.”
“The only way she can hurt me, is to hurt you. And that will never happen again.”
Ava stroked my forehead soothingly. “You shouldn’t worry about this right now,” she said. “You need to rest and get better.”
As much as I wanted to do as she asked, my mind wouldn’t allow not to worry. No one really knew what Nina was capable of doing. Even though I believed Michael when he said he wouldn’t let her hurt me again, I couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d be back. I remembered the emptiness of her eyes as she stared at me with no fear. No remorse. I didn’t even see hatred in her eyes, I just saw—nothing.
“Grace, it’s okay,” Michael whispered. “Please don’t worry about this right now.”
He watched me, his expression soft, his eyes tired and red. Bronze stubble covered his jaw, and I wondered how long it had been since he slept.
“You’re so tired,” I told him. “You should go with your mom and dad and get some sleep.”
“I sleep just fine here,” he said obstinately. “I’m not leaving.”
“It’s actually a good idea, son,” Ava said. “At least for one night, you would sleep so much better in your own bed.”
Michael kept his eyes on me. “You don’t be worrying about me, you just get better, that’s the only thing you need to worry about right now.”
I didn’t want him to leave, but I was worried about him.
“Kate and I will stay, little brother,” Miles told him. “She’s right, you need to get some rest. You haven’t had a full night’s sleep in almost a week.”
I felt terrible.
“Michael,” I shook my head sadly, “you need to sleep.”
He rested his head on my pillow and stroked my chin with the tip of his finger.
“I like being the first person you see when you wake up,” he whispered.
