For Fox Sake

Chapter 25

Ryan

I’m so sick of hospitals.

But I’m also not leaving until Jake wakes up.

“Anything yet?” Finley whispers from the doorway, her face stark, eyes shadowed with fatigue. She steps into the room, her gaze roving over Jake, asleep in his bed, and then moving to Ari, passed out in a cot next to him.

“Not yet. Hopefully soon.”

The doctor told us yesterday he should be waking up at any minute.

I rub my thumb over his hand.

“Did you want to sit with him?” I shift in the chair, ready to stand.

“No. It’s fine.” Her brows crease. “Have you slept at all?”

I shake my head. “No. I can’t.”

She clucks in sympathy. “I get it. I’ll be back, I’m going to let the others know.”

She disappears and I stare at Jake’s face. Willing him to open his eyes, as I’ve been doing every minute for the past fourteen hours.

All in all, he got lucky. The driver of the car braked at the last minute, so the speed was greatly reduced when the impact occurred. Jake was knocked off his feet, cracked some ribs, has a crap ton of bruises, and hit his head against the pavement.

They did an MRI and determined there was no brain bruising or bleeding, and the concussion is mild, but he hasn’t woken up.

Maybe it’s because of the pain meds.

Ari scraped her hands and knees on the pavement when Jake shoved her out of the way, but was otherwise unharmed. Emotionally, she was a wreck, terrified, racked with guilt, certain she had been the cause of Jake getting hurt.

She couldn’t contain herself. She was so excited to see him. She knows to look both ways, but she’s only six.

I had been on the porch watching her only a minute before the whole thing went down. I went inside to use the bathroom, and when I came out, Ari was gone. I ran out into the street and came across the whole scene right after it happened.

I should have made her come inside while I peed, but I had no idea Jake would show up, no idea she would run out into the street after him, no idea there would be a teenage kid driving down the road, not paying attention.

The ambulance arrived within minutes, whisking both Ari and Jake away.

The driver was also beside himself with guilt.

The whole thing was a series of unfortunate events.

But no one was seriously injured, so all in all... it will be okay.

I just wish he would open his eyes and then I might believe it.

It’s probably better that he rest and heal.

His entire family, all four sisters and their significant others, arrived about six hours ago. After crowding the room for a few minutes, they set up camp in the waiting area and have been taking turns coming in to check on him.

They’ve been wonderful. I’ve been hugged more in the past six hours than I have the rest of my entire life. They brought us food, insisting we eat something. All of their care and assurances are the only reason Ari was able to finally fall asleep.

I wish I could join her. I’m exhausted and yet wired. I lean forward and rest my head next to Jake’s hand.

Maybe I’ll just shut my eyes for a minute.

Jake’s fingers twitch against mine and I jerk up, eyes flying up to lock with his.

He’s awake.

My heart tumbles in my chest.

His smile is crooked. “Hey you. Surprise.”

I burst into tears.

He shifts in the bed, trying to move. I put a hand up to stop him and try to pull myself together, wiping at my face. “I’m okay,” I manage. “I was so worried.”

He winces. “What happened?” Then his eyes widen, his whole body going tense. “Ari. Where is she?”

“She’s fine,” I assure him. “She’s asleep.” I gesture toward the cot on the other side of his bed.

He looks over and then relaxes, slumping back into the bed. His hand squeezes mine. “Tell me everything.”

I give him the rundown of the accident, how his whole family is here waiting for him to wake up, how no one was injured except for him, and his injuries are not major, and everything is fine. At least it will be, once his bruising heals.

“I’m sorry.” His voice is hoarse.

I grab the cup of water from the side table and hold the straw to his mouth. “What are you sorry for? None of this was your fault.”

He drinks some water and settles back in the bed. “I wanted to surprise you and Ari. I should have been paying more attention to her when I was parking.”

“Jake, you saved her. I am the one who should have been paying more attention. I shouldn’t have left her alone.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault. I,” he blinks rapidly, “I dreamed about Aria.”

Surprised by the sudden change in subject, I lean forward. “What?”

“I was in Aria’s room with her, and we were talking, and it was a real conversation we had before she died, only it was different.” His gaze grows distant. “She told me to forgive myself.”

“She’s right.”

His eyes lift to mine. “I didn’t mean to forget her.”

“You didn’t forget her.”

He swallows. “But I wanted to.”

I shake my head. “That was only because you were hurting. You’ll remember. And we have a whole box of memories of her, the letters your dad wrote me.”

“We do.”

“I can read them with you. We can remember together if you want.”

One corner of his mouth kicks up. “You will?”

“I might be living close, pretty soon.”

His eyes widen. “Really?”

“I may have a list of places near Whitby with nursing schools, which Bernie gave me the other day before you arrived.”

He grins. “I knew I liked her. When are you moving?”

I chuckle. “I haven’t even applied yet, let alone looked for places to live. I haven’t come up with any kind of plan to make anything work.”

His smile doesn’t dim in the slightest. “But you will.”

“I might not get accepted again at Cornell.”

His fingers twitch in mine. “You will.”

“You don’t know that.”

“If you don’t get in there, you can apply to other places. Or reapply next semester. And in the meantime, you can live with me. I’ve been making a list too, of available real estate near Whitby.”

My stomach dips. He has? “It’s not too soon?”

He shrugs, but then winces. “Who decides what’s too soon?”

“Jake?” Ari sits up in the cot, her voice thick with sleep.

“Hey, superhero.”

She immediately scrambles off the cot.

He lifts his arm and she climbs up next to him, settling into his side.

“Careful,” I say.

Jake tugs her closer. “She’s fine.”

Ari blinks at me with bleary eyes. “Are we gonna live with Jake?”

“I don’t know, baby.” I meet Jake’s eyes. “I would need a job or something.”

“You have any experience in property management?” Finley asks from the doorway. “I’ve been on the hunt for another manager to hire, even if it’s part-time, to take over some of my duties. I want to focus on teaching ice skating, not to mention my upcoming wedding. I’m looking for someone who doesn’t totally suck and it will be a bonus if you’re good with kids.” She winks.

Then the whole group of them tumble into the room.

“Look who finally decided to wake up,” Oliver says, his tone as dry as the desert.

“Have a nice nap, princess?” Archer adds.

Finley moves around the bed to the side I’m sitting on. “Sorry to butt in. We weren’t trying to eavesdrop.”

Piper is right behind her. “Right. We weren’t trying anything, we were just doing.”

“But seriously, we need to talk about this job opportunity,” Finley says to me in a low voice.

The next half hour is noisy chaos, Jake’s family assuring themselves he is, in fact, okay, and then a nurse comes in and kicks everyone out.

He’s going to be discharged later today after the doctor clears him. He’ll need to take it easy for a bit since his ribs will take four to six weeks to fully heal.

We say goodbye to his family, and I promise to take care of Jake. They are flying back to New York tonight.

Once they’re gone, it’s just Jake and Ari and me.

“So. Have you thought about it?”

I adjust his blanket. “Thought about what?”

“Momma,” Ari says, annoyed, “are we going to move to New York with Jake or what?”

I chuckle. The sass on this one is unreal sometimes. “I’m not sure. What do you think?”

“I think it makes sense.”

I choke back a laugh. “You might be right.”

Jake’s smile is blinding. “I’ll stay here with you while things are sorted out and I’m recovering. I’ll have a lot of time to make phone calls, help you with whatever you need that doesn’t involve heavy lifting, and get things in motion for us to go back to New York together. Finley might be calling you daily about working with her, so be prepared for a lot of pressure and probably some guilt trips.”

Emotions bubble up. I can’t believe we’re talking about this. I can’t believe this will happen.

“Hey.” Jake looks down at Ari and then over at me. “It’s a lot. We have a lot to think about, a lot to do, but... I love you. I love you both. We got this together, okay?”

Ari stares up at him. “Okay.”

I blink, trying not to cry. I lean forward to press my lips to his. “I love you too.”

“Me too!” Ari wiggles, planting a slightly wet kiss on my cheek before giving Jake’s chin similar treatment.

Jake’s laughing eyes meet mine. In that second, it hits me. It doesn’t matter how hard the journey ahead may be. It holds little weight compared to what we’ve both been through, the sequence of events that brought us here to this moment, together.

Whatever happens next, we have each other.