Chapter Thirty-Two
Now
A steady machine beep pulsated in her bones, footsteps squeaked up and down an echoing hallway like excited mice, and voices
shouted urgent commands over intercoms, jarring her awake.
Everything was too loud—that was Piper’s first thought. Her second was that cement covered her body, her limbs pinned to the
bed with its weight. She lifted an arm experimentally, but the tug of an IV line snaking out of her wrist stopped her. The
line tethered her to a cold and sterile room, worlds away from her sunlit beach with salty air. Panic rose inside her, her
growing anxiety matched by the increasing volume of a beeping machine by her head.
A young Black woman with a pretty face and a chipper smile wearing medical scrubs popped her head into the room. “I see our
patient is awake!” she said, a little too brightly. “How are you feeling?”
“Wyatt?” was all Piper could choke out as memories of their rescue resurfaced like a developing Polaroid picture, faint at
first, then sharpening into stark focus. The image of Wyatt’s limp and lifeless body forever imprinted on her mind with indelible
ink.
“That’s the man they rescued you with, right? He’s here. He’s recovering.” The nurse consulted the clipboard in her hands.
“I need you to take a deep breath and tell me your pain level.”
Her whole body sagged with relief. “Is he going to be okay?” She needed to know.
The nurse frowned at the monitor by her bed beeping alarmingly. “I’m afraid I can’t disclose his medical information to you,
but he is under the care of our best doctors.”
“When can I see him?”
“Let’s talk about that after we get you back to full health. Now I’m going to give you something to help you sleep. Your parents
should be here when you wake up. My name’s Layla if you need anything.” Layla attached a new IV bag to the pole beside Piper’s
bed. The cold liquid stung through her veins as her eyes grew too heavy to keep open.
“Piper?”
She woke to the sound of her mother’s voice, shrill and hysterical but so familiar she wanted to cry. Her eyelids felt pinned
down, her mouth sewn shut.
“Shh, don’t wake her. She’s sleeping,” her dad’s calm voice soothed.
Piper concentrated on opening her eyes, taking in her parents sitting by her bedside. Her dad’s hair was grayer than she remembered,
the wrinkles around her mom’s eyes etched deeper than before. Had they always looked this breakable? Deep love for them and
their familiar faces overwhelmed her.
Her mom flew to her side. “Oh, baby! You’re awake. You’re safe!”
“How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?” Her dad snapped into doctor mode.
The cuts on her hands still stung from a heavy antiseptic scrubbing, but Piper didn’t want to talk about her injuries. “It’s
so, so good to see y’all. You have no idea.” She blinked back tears. “How long have I been here? How long were we on the island?”
“We got the call yesterday afternoon that they’d found you, and we jumped on the first flight to Miami.” Her dad checked the IV bag by her bed. “You’ve been sleeping all night. They said you were in shock and gave you some strong sedatives that should wear off right about now.”
That explained why she was so groggy.
“I can’t believe you’re okay. That we got you back!” her mom said, tears in her eyes. “It should have been sooner, but they
paused the search when a tropical storm rolled through. Something about protocol.”
Piper would have laughed if she had the energy. Her mom must have raised hell while she was missing. She still couldn’t believe
she’d made it off the island. They were safe. She stretched her arms out toward her parents, and they wrapped her in a tight,
messy hug.
They were clinging to one another when a doctor with a long face and white mustache walked in wearing a lab coat.
He scanned the clipboard hanging on her door. “It’s good to see you awake, Ms. Adams.”
“When can we take her home, Dr. Koester?” her dad asked, standing.
“The cut on her head could have used stitches, she’s malnourished and dehydrated with a few scrapes and bruises, but otherwise,
she’s fine. After another day of monitoring, assuming she continues gaining weight and all her tests clear, she’ll be discharged
and continue recovering under your care at home.” He placed the clipboard back on its peg and smiled at her parents. “Your
daughter is very lucky to be alive. Both of them are.”
Piper perked up at this news. “Does that mean that Wyatt will go home soon, too?”
The doctor frowned. “Wyatt’s condition is much more serious.”
“What does that mean?” Piper didn’t appreciate his cryptic tone.
“I’m afraid I can’t say much about his medical condition, but I assure you he is being well taken care of.”
That answer was wholly unsatisfying. It killed her he was in the same building, but she couldn’t see him.
“Thank you, Doctor.” Her mom took Piper’s hand and patted it in between hers. “I’ve already set up an appointment with a plastic
surgeon back home to see what they can do to make your scar less noticeable. So don’t worry about that.”
Piper touched the puckered mark on her forehead, feeling protective of her battle wound. It was a reminder of what she’d been
through—what she’d overcome.
A different nurse bustled in and announced that visiting hours were over while she changed the bag for Piper’s IV drip again.
Whatever was in it made Piper driftless, like she was floating outside of her body, but it wasn’t enough to shake her deep
worry. Rationally she knew that the hospital was the best place for Wyatt to receive the care he needed, but she couldn’t
shake the image of him lying unconscious in the sand.
Through a haze, she said goodbye to her tearful parents, exchanging a flurry of “I love yous.”
Then she was alone once again.
Allie burst into tears the second she walked into Piper’s room the next morning. “Oh my gosh, it’s really you. You’re alive!”
“Come here and hug me,” Piper commanded.
Allie threw herself into Piper’s arms, her face blotchy from crying. Piper reciprocated the embrace with equal intensity.
“How are you?” Allie asked, still squeezing her. “That’s a stupid question, but I don’t know the proper etiquette to greet
your best friend who’s been cosplaying Brooke Shields in Blue Lagoon for seven days.”
Piper chuckled. “Fair enough. I’m dehydrated, a little sunburned, and a lot banged up, but otherwise great.”
“I’ve been worried sick about you. I haven’t slept. You can’t imagine how grateful I am that you’re in front of me. That you made it home!”
Piper pulled Allie in even tighter. “You and me both.”
Allie released her and sat up, taking one of Piper’s hands in her own, her expression somber. Piper’s stomach churned. Did
she have bad news about Wyatt’s condition?
“Piper, I’m so, so sorry. If I hadn’t insisted that you get on that plane with Wyatt, you never would’ve crashed. I can’t
imagine how scary that must have been. Please know how sorry I am; I will spend the rest of my life making up for it.”
Piper suppressed her grin. She’d missed Allie’s over-the-top theatrics. “Stop it. I would have done anything to get to your
wedding, and I hate that I missed it.”
Allie nodded. “I hate that, too. I almost didn’t go through with it. I had no second thoughts about marrying Oliver, but I
couldn’t imagine standing up there without you by my side. I didn’t want that to be the memory of my wedding day.”
“I’m glad you did it, even if it was hard. I would feel even worse if this whole disaster ruined your wedding.”
“Everyone kept telling me that. That you’d want me to do it, but I didn’t want to without you. It was awful.” Allie paused,
shaking off the dark memory. “Oliver was so understanding, though. He left the decision up to me, and in the end, I cried
through the entire ceremony. Our photos are a complete disaster, but now he’s stuck with me.”
“He’s a lucky man. I can’t wait to see these photos.”
“I’ll make it up to him one of these days.”
“I’m sure you will.” Piper wiggled her eyebrows at Allie, who punched her arm lightly.
“I called and left you a voicemail before I walked down the aisle.” Allie hugged a pillow to her lap. “Gave a play-by-play of the day’s events to your voicemail like a crazy person, but it helped a little. Let me believe you would call me back as soon as you could.” Her voice broke on the last word.
“Oh, Allie.” Piper squeezed her friend’s hand.
“Ugh, I promised myself we wouldn’t cry.” Allie wiped a tear off her face. “We should be celebrating. Oliver and I have already
decided we’re having a big anniversary party next year so we can properly celebrate with you. And redo the photos.”
“As long as no planes or beaches are involved, I’m in.” Piper grinned through watery eyes.
“I promise. We’ll serve all your and Wyatt’s favorite foods. You two will be the guests of honor.” She frowned. “Unless you
still hate him with a fiery passion?”
Hearing Wyatt’s name made her stomach lurch. “For the record, I never hated Wyatt. I was just hurt by him.”
“Hmm, I recall you making us buy a voodoo doll to inflict pain and suffering on him during our trip to New Orleans less than
two years ago.”
“Oh, God!” Piper covered her face with her hands. “I’d forgotten about that. That was petty of me. Looks like karma came back
to bite me, huh?”
“I don’t know.” Allie pursed her lips. “I think it’s pretty good karma that you both survived, so you must be doing something
right.”
“Speaking of, have you seen him yet? They won’t give me any details on his condition, and it’s driving me crazy.” Piper couldn’t
hide her angst.
Allie nodded. “I just came from his room. You’re the medical expert, not me, but from what I can gather, he was in full septic
shock when he arrived at the hospital, and it took a while to get under control. The doctors said he likely wouldn’t have
made it if he hadn’t gotten treatment when he did.”
Piper shuddered. “But they think he’ll pull through, right?” Wyatt not making it was intolerable. He had to be okay.
“That’s what they’re telling us. He had a rough day yesterday, but he’s healing fast and through the worst of it. They have him on enough medication to tranquilize a horse, but they moved him out of intensive care. And if all goes well, he’ll come to Cedar Falls in a few days and stay with my mom until he’s one hundred percent better.”
Piper let out a long breath. Thank God Wyatt was going to be okay. A tear leaked down her face, followed by another.
Allie tugged her close for another hug. “He’s going to be fine, don’t cry. Wyatt’s a tough cookie. You know that.”
“I know.” Piper brushed her tears away. “But seeing him so sick and lifeless was one of the worst moments of my life. I’ve
never been more scared.”
Allie sucked in her cheeks. “I can’t imagine. He’s lucky you were there. You saved him.”
“We saved each other.” The corner of Piper’s mouth tilted upward in a half smile.
“So, does this mean you and Wyatt are friends again?” Allie asked, one eyebrow cocked. “Can we go back to the way it used
to be?”
“I’m not sure if we’ll ever be able to go back to the good old days, but yeah, we’re friends again.”
Allie sat back and scrutinized Piper. “Friends or something more?”
Piper covered her eyes with a hand, avoiding Allie’s penetrating gaze, but couldn’t stop the hot flush from crawling up her
neck and face.
“I knew it! Something happened on the island, didn’t it?” She pried Piper’s hand off her eyes. “Tell me!”
“Maybe there was a moment between us,” Piper relented, giving in like an overplayed Jenga tower. “But being on the island
was like being in an alternate universe where only the two of us existed, and we didn’t know if we would make it back home.
It’s like it doesn’t count toward real life, you know?”
Allie studied her. “Do you want it to count?”
Piper’s stomach dropped like a free-falling elevator at the question. Her immediate instinct was yes, which terrified her.
She raised one shoulder. “I’m scared to want anything with Wyatt.”
A tight knot formed in her stomach from expressing her worst fear.
“Before you count him out completely, maybe give him a chance.”
Piper threw Allie a side-eyed glare. “Why are you suddenly Team Wyatt? He dropped out of your life, too, remember?”
“I will always and forever be a loyal Team Piper member.” Allie raised her hands in defense. “You know that. But I also know
that Wyatt hasn’t had the easiest of paths in life. I know he regrets how he left things with you—with all of us. Plus, he’s
family, and I love him like a brother, even if I’ve wanted to strangle him more than hug him these past few years.” Allie
patted Piper’s knee. “There’s nothing like almost losing someone to make you realize how much they matter to you and how the
past isn’t nearly as important as the present.”
Piper nodded. “You’re right.” She knew that feeling all too well. “Now, enough Wyatt talk. Let me tell you how your bridesmaid
dress may have saved our lives.”