18. Dahlia #2
I didn’t know how long I sat like that, just holding his hand and watching his chest rise and fall with each breath he took.
Nurses came in and out periodically, checking on Hunter and then coming to inspect Asher’s IV and monitor his vitals.
I felt myself drifting off again, my head bobbing every so often, jolting me awake.
I felt like I was in a daze, not quite asleep but definitely not fully awake.
A hand grasped my shoulder, startling me out of my reverie, and I yelped, jumping half out of my skin.
“It’s just me,” Amanda soothed, rubbing my shoulder gently.
“It’s just me.” I gasped out a sob, nearly knocking over the chair as I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her tightly.
“I’m never letting you out of my sight again,” she muttered, squeezing me tightly. “I’m getting you microchipped.”
“Okay.” I laughed, my tears staining her shirt. “Whatever you want.” She finally let me go, giving me a once over and shaking her head.
“Dee, you need a shower. Come on, let me take you back to my place, get you cleaned up a bit.” She smiled, and I shook my head.
“No, I need to be here in case Asher wakes up,” I replied, glancing over my shoulder at his prone figure in the bed. Amanda’s face pinched, and I could tell she wanted to protest, but lucky for her, Hunter stepped in first.
“Go get some rest, Dahlia. He won’t be waking up tonight, anyway.
He’s got about two months of sleep to catch up on,” Hunter told me.
“I promise, I’ll call Amanda if anything happens.
” My chest seized, and I looked back at Asher again, torn between wanting a shower and not wanting to leave his side.
Finally, the need for my own clothes won out, and I gave Asher’s hand a quick squeeze before following Amanda out of the room.
She looped her arm around my shoulders, holding me close as she guided me through the hospital and into the parkade.
My heart sped up when we walked past the spot where Curing had grabbed me, and I was relieved when we finally reached Amanda’s car.
The further I got from Asher, the weirder it felt.
We’d been basically glued at the hip for what felt like ages, and now being away from him I felt…
untethered. Amanda cranked up her music as we drove back to her place, but I still couldn’t quite relax.
Her roommate wasn’t home, so we had the place to ourselves.
Amanda ushered me into the bathroom as soon as we got in, and I wondered just how badly I must stink.
It took a while to get showered since I had to somehow avoid the bandages on my neck.
I managed it eventually, and when I stepped out I found a pile of clothes neatly folded on the counter, which I assumed I was meant to wear.
I pulled on the leggings and the oversized sweater, recognizing them as Amanda’s, not mine.
She must’ve not had any of my things around here, which made sense because the apartment was cramped enough as it was.
I’d have to get her to drive me to that storage unit of hers so I could load up some of my things.
I left my hair to air dry and came out to find Amanda busying herself around the table, a pizza box already set out.
My stomach grumbled as the smell reached me, and, as soon as she saw me, she grabbed a couple of slices, setting them on a plate for me and beckoning me to sit down.
“How’d you get a pizza here so fast?” I asked, taking a bite and immediately burning the roof of my mouth.
“I’ve been carefully and consistently flirting with their delivery guys for months.” Amanda smirked, sitting down with her own slice. She set her phone down on the table beside us, and I glanced at it, wondering if Hunter had called.
“No news,” she told me, reading my mind. “I’m sure he’ll be fine, Dee. He’s surrounded by doctors, in his natural habitat.” She winked, and I rolled my eyes at her.
“You didn’t see him in the ambulance,” I murmured, pulling a mushroom off of my pizza and flicking it back on the plate.
“One minute he was fine, and the next, it was like his battery just… died.” I didn’t trust them at this point, I needed to see him awake and talking to actually believe he was going to be okay.
“We’ll go back to the hospital first thing in the morning, after you get a good night’s sleep,” she told me, and I huffed a laugh. I didn’t think I’d ever sleep well again after all the shit that had happened recently.
We finished our pizza and curled up on the couch together with some tea and a bad reality TV show.
Amanda draped her legs over mine as we laughed, and she filled me in on the latest gossip in her life during the dull bits.
Her roommate, Jillian, was having her birthday party at a country bar next weekend, for reasons neither of us could ascertain, and Amanda begged me to come with her.
“Please, I don’t want to be running solo with a bunch of idiots in cowboy hats and chaps,” she whined, tugging on my leg. “We can wear tassel vests and daisy duke shorts, it’ll be fun!”
“Maybe, I’m not sure,” I replied, biting my lip.
It was hard to say how comfortable I’d be rejoining the world so soon after what I’d been through.
But maybe it would be a good thing, to just…
reinsert myself back into my life again.
“I’ll think about it, okay?” I compromised, and she smirked, probably thinking she’d already won.
I must’ve fallen asleep at some point and, for once, I didn’t have any nightmares. Maybe it was because Curing was finally dead and I could rest knowing that I’d gotten away from him yet again. Or maybe it was just the exhaustion finally catching up to me.