Chapter 44
CHAPTER 44
ATLAS
I haven’t left Nora’s side since they finally allowed me into her room.
Hell, I couldn’t even tell what else is in the room with us, because my eyes haven’t looked anywhere except for at her.
I may have lied and said she was my fiancée in order to get back here, but it’s hardly a lie when in reality she’s so much more than that.
She’s my light, my air, my happiness.
The tiny little spitfire of a woman is my entire reason for existing.
She’s bruised and beat to hell and back, with a concussion, her arm in a splint and a few stitches in her belly.
But she’s going to make a full recovery, and our little jellybean is as healthy as ever.
The relief I felt when I heard those words nearly brought me to my knees.
They’re words I know I’ll treasure until the end of time.
Maybe longer.
Now, it’s just a waiting game to see when she’ll wake up.
The doctor said something about her brain needing to recover from the trauma.
A knock sounds outside of her door, most likely a nurse coming to check her stats.
“Come in!” I holler, never once taking my eyes off Nora.
“How’s she doing?” Ellis asks, moving into my line of sight.
I flick my eyes his way; he’s still in uniform and looks damn near as wrung out as I feel.
“The doctor says she and the baby are both fine.”
He drags a spare chair over so it’s next to mine.
“Any idea when she’ll wake up?”
“I wish I knew.” The uncertainty of it all has me on edge.
They’ve told me over and over that she’s fine—because God knows I’ve asked every single person who’s walked into her room.
But seeing is believing, and I know I’ll be a damn mess until I see her pretty hazel eyes and hear her sweet voice.
“Not to be that guy, but…” I can already tell from the tone of his voice I’m not going to like what he has to say.
“…have you heard anything else from Scarlet?”
My shoulders tense at the mention of her name.
“She hasn’t stopped blowing up my phone. I had to turn the damn thing off.”
He sighs and leans back in his seat, the hard plastic creaking under his weight.
“You gonna talk to her?”
“Fuck,” I groan, running my hands through my hair and tugging on the ends.
“I don’t know, man.”
“Talk about a rock and a hard place.”
“I—I just… the rational part of my brain knows it’s not her fault, but at the same time, I…” Tears burn the back of my eyes as I look over at Nora lying on the bed in front of me.
She looks so small and fragile.
“I could’ve lost them both.”
“I know.” He reaches over and squeezes my shoulder.
“No matter what you decide there, I’m with you.”
“Appreciate it.” Those two words aren’t nearly enough to convey how much his support means to me.
Not just in dealing with Scarlet, but in how he’s had my back from the start.
He never once gave me shit over her diary.
He didn’t balk at the idea of moving her into our house.
He didn’t say shit when things went from friendly to more.
Hell, I put his entire job on the line today when I went after Nora, and he.
Didn’t. Say. Shit.
Ellis-fucking-Wilder is the living embodiment of loyalty, and if it takes the rest of my life to repay him in kind, then so be it.
“I mean it,” I say, my voice a rough whisper.
“I fucking appreciate you.”
Ellis huffs, and I know that, like me, he’s trying to keep his emotions at bay.
“I know, man. I know.”
Silence settles back over us as we both go back to watching Nora.
It feels like days have passed, even though according to the clock on the wall, it’s only been an hour, when I feel the slightest twitch of her fingers against mine.
“Pip?” I jolt out of my chair as her fingers spasm again.
“Open those pretty eyes, baby.”
I wait with my heart in my throat, hope surging violently inside of me, but nothing happens.
“Come on, Nora,” I whisper brokenly, desperate for her to wake up.
“Come back to me.”
The room falls silent once again, save for the steady beep of her heart monitor.
“Man, are you sure—” Ellis starts to say.
I cut him off. “Positive.” I felt her move.
She wants to wake up.
She’s trying. I know she is.
My girl may look tiny, but she’s a fighter.
Hell, she’s easily the toughest person I know.
“I’m here, Pip.” I lean down and sweep my lips over her forehead in a barely-there kiss.
“Come back to me.”
I repeat those same four words, over and over, begging her—the universe, right along with anything or anyone that may be listening—for her to wake up.
Right as I lower myself back down into my chair, she gasps, her fingers clutching at mine.
“Nora?” I scramble back to my feet, trying my best to give her space as not to overwhelm her.
She opens her mouth as if she’s going to speak, but nothing comes out.
Panic flares behind her eyes as she clutches her throat.
She wants to say something, but the torment Rand put her through bruised her vocal cords.
“Take your time, Pip.” I brush my knuckles over her cheekbone.
“Want some water?”
She nods fervently, wincing slightly as I grab the jug from Ellis’s outstretched hand.
“Go slow,” I murmur, bringing the straw to her lips.
I watch her throat work as she swallows down several sips, her eyes never once leaving mine, and the look of pain and worry never once lessening.
“Ja-James,” she rasps.
“How’s James?”
My brows pinch together as I try to make sense of what she’s asking me.
“Who… who’s James, Pip?” I ask, proud as hell when my voice doesn’t betray the confusion rushing through me.
“Whoever he is, I’ll find?—”
“Our son,” she cries, her eyes filling with tears.
“He’s our son. I—I met him.”
Ellis clears his throat, undoubtedly asking me whether or not I think she’s okay.
“You met him?” I ask, making sure to keep my tone even.
“When?”
She tries to nod, her tear-soaked eyes begging me to believe her.
“And our daughter—Lydie Grace—I met them both, Atlas, and they’re perfect.” Her entire body trembles as she tries to sit up.
“Please tell me he’s okay. Please?”
Every hair on my body stands on end as the full impact of her words hits me.
James after her dad and Lydie Grace after both of our mothers, my God.
They couldn’t be any more perfect.
She couldn’t be any more perfect.
I’ve heard people can have all sorts of out-of-body experiences after trauma, so maybe that’s what this is.
Either way, her comfort—both physical and mental—is all that matters right now.
“Our jellybean—James—he’s fine. Perfectly healthy and perfectly safe.”
“You mean it?” The fragile thread of hope weaving itself through her words is almost enough to break me.
How she can sound so broken and so resilient all at once, is a mystery to me.
One thing I do know is I’ll do any and everything within my power to nurture that hope.
“Yeah, Pip. I mean it.” I turn my attention to Ellis, and ask, “Why don’t you step out and let them know she’s awake so the doctor can come in and tell her herself?”
“On it.” Ellis immediately stands and heads for the door, pausing on the threshold.
“Glad you’re okay.”
“Thank you,” she whispers.
He gives her a long look and then nods once before stepping out into the hall, pulling the door closed behind him, giving us some much-needed privacy.