26. Valentina
Chapter 26
Valentina
The sky swirls above me as I try to keep my eyes open.
I don’t know how much time has passed. My body is cold to the bone. And the pain.
My God, the pain is so unbearable that sometimes, I don’t even feel it. It’s as if I’m numb.
It must be shock. That’s it. I’m in shock.
Exhaustion tugs at the edges of my vision and as much as I want to sink into the oblivion it provides, fear keeps me fighting to stay awake. But I must have slept through the night. Here, nestled against the trunk of a sugar maple, the darkness wrapped around me like a vice. I was terrified. Weary and tired and freezing.
And yet, when I opened my eyes, the blue sky greeted me. The storm has abated. I need to make a move. To draw attention to myself. To get some help. But just when I think I’ve gathered the strength to do so, I slip back into unconsciousness.
Then, I see him.
With his slate gray eyes and his short, brown hair. Broad shoulders, strong jawline, and irresistible smirk.
In my dreams, Avery is with me. His arms are around me, holding me up, supporting my weight, protecting me from the fear that squeezes my windpipe, from the pain that blazes like wildfire in my veins.
I love you, Lena. It’s as if I can hear his voice.
He said he wasn’t a rainbows-and-magic kind of man. But he’s more than that. He’s all I ever dreamed of and everything I was too scared to accept. To embrace. To fully surrender to.
And now, it’s too late. He’ll never know the depth of my feelings for him.
I should have told him when I had the chance. Instead, I pushed him away and in doing so, I let myself down.
Tears gather in the corners of my eyes. It’s almost too much to bear.
What if I never see him again? What if I never see Mamá, Papá, Ale, and Carla?
I have to make a move. I have to find help.
But my body betrays me. It doesn’t react to the commands in my mind. It doesn’t even flinch at the worries that spiral through my thoughts. Or the faces that appear in my dreams.
Valentina! I hear him again.
Smiling to myself, I manage to shimmy out from beside the tree. In the clearing of the path, I lay flat on my back and stare at the sky. It’s turning to dusk now—the blue is disappearing into golden yellow, burnt orange, then navy. And it’s mesmerizing. Beautiful.
Here in nature, I can take a deep breath. I suppose if this is it for me, it could be worse.
Valentina! Lena, please!
A pang cuts through my chest again as I hold on to his voice. Then, I focus on the memory of his face. I keep it at the forefront of my mind.
It looms above me. So real and lifelike, I could reach out to touch him. Cup his cheek, press his mouth to mine. But my arm doesn’t lift. Instead, I smile.
“Avery,” I breathe out.
“I got you, sweetheart. I’m here, Lena.” His voice is so close.
I’m hallucinating.
“Don’t move her. Check her neck. Her head.” A man’s voice.
Hands. Gentle and clinical.
Warmth. A blanket.
Water. A godsend.
And then, I’m airborne once more.
The steady rhythm of a heartbeat pulses against my eardrum.
“I love you, Valentina. Gonna get you home, sweetheart.”
Home. That sounds nice, doesn’t it?
When I wake hours later, strange smells and bright lights assault me.
“Shh, you’re okay,” a voice says. Kind eyes blink and something prods my arms. “You’re severely dehydrated. You have a concussion. But don’t worry, you’re in good hands.”
And again, I’m out.
“It’s a bad sprain but she’s going to make a full recovery.” My sister’s voice.
Carla’s here!
I relax and let go, knowing I truly am in good hands.
“Never gonna leave you, sweetheart. You’ll have to fight me on it.” Avery’s voice, a whisper in my ear. He kisses my cheek. “I need you, Lena. I saw your note and fuck, beautiful, you broke my heart. I love you, too. I’m not going anywhere. I should have fought harder for you. No more breaks because I can’t handle space and silence from you. I won’t.” Another kiss. “When you wake up, Lena, I’ll be right here.”
When I finally come to, I don’t know how many hours have passed.
But the pain is manageable, the throbbing in my ankle has subsided, and the chill in my bones has thawed.
I turn my head and note Avery sitting in the chair beside my bed.
“Oh, thank God,” he says as soon as he sees me. His eyes are rimmed in red. Has he been crying? For me? “You’re awake.”
“Avery,” I say, my throat scratchy.
He jumps into action, filling a small cup with water and holding the straw to my lips. “Tiny sips, Lena.”
I do as he says, letting the cool water slip over my tongue and down my throat. Instantly, I feel more awake. More alert.
“What happened?” I ask, trying to piece together the past few days.
“How much do you remember?” Avery asks gently, pressing the call button for the nurse.
“I was in the mountains, doing research.” I frown. “And the skies opened up. I slipped on a patch of ice and tumbled down. Hurt my ankle.” I reach to touch the side of my head and my fingertips brush across a bandage. “Hit my head.”
Avery nods. “It knocked you out. Your ankle is a really bad sprain. To be honest, a clean break would have been preferable. But it will heal. It was the concussion, dehydration, and hypothermia that we were really worried about.” He shakes his head, looking pained. “They couldn’t find you, Lena. You were in the fucking mountains, alone, delirious and in and out of consciousness, for just over twenty-four hours.”
“I was?”
He nods, heartbroken. “I’ve never been so scared in my fucking life. Cooper, Cohen’s brother, put together a team of his mountain-biking friends. A few of them are former military and have legit skill sets. We linked up with the emergency personnel and university teams and shared information. More people meant more distance covered and fuck, was it lucky, that we found you when we did.”
“I’m sorry.” I reach for his hand.
He grips my fingers. “Don’t be. I’m just happy you’re safe.” He shifts forward to kiss my forehead. “I’m taking you home, Lena.”
I frown. “But what about us?”
Avery snorts. “That’s what you want to talk about right now?”
I nod. “I need to, Avery. I’m sorry I pushed you away. I’m?—”
“I saw your note. You wrote it before you left for your trip,” he says.
I nod, recalling the sticky note I left on the kitchen island.
“Did you mean it?” Avery asks.
“Yes.”
“Good. Because I love you, too. You’re it for me. I fucking hated the space between us, Valentina, but I know it’s been a lot, and I understand that you want your parents to approve of us.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Yes, it does. Your family matters. I think with time, they’ll come around, sweetheart.”
“I hate how easily I questioned things. It made me feel like what we had was already shaky, but it wasn’t, Avery. It’s just that the timing wasn’t on our side. We didn’t have enough months or years behind us for me to feel secure.”
“I know. As soon as you pulled away, I started getting scared that you’d end up resenting me if you didn’t have the opportunity to have more experiences. I wondered if I was making you feel the way I once felt when I was with Mila. I started to project that shit onto you, Lena, and it terrified me. I never want to lose you. We can work through things with your family together.”
“It’s the way we should have from the beginning,” I admit, looking up at him. “If you still want me, I’m yours.”
Avery grins. He holds my hand where his wedding band encircles his finger. “Forever.”
I smile back, relief flowing through me. “I want you always,” I promise him, tugging his fingers.
He comes willingly and kisses my lips.
“All right, there will be time for that soon enough,” the doctor interrupts, entering the hospital room. He smiles at me. “I’m Dr. Allen. You gave us quite a scare, Mrs. Callaway. But we’ve kept you overnight and everything checks out. Are you ready to go home? Something tells me your husband will take good care of you.”
“I’m ready,” I say, looking at my husband. I mean it in more ways than the doctor can comprehend. I’m ready to truly become Mrs. Callaway.
Avery understands, and his eyes soften.
“Let’s go over a few things and we’ll get you discharged,” Dr. Allen agrees.
As he goes through my care with Avery, I study my husband.
His broad shoulders and strong jawline. His slate gray eyes and smirk. He saved me in more ways than he’ll ever know. He’s my home, my heart, my everything.