Chapter 47
Chapter Forty-Seven
Blair
I spent the next two days in the same chair, eating the hospital food they brought up for her. I never understood why they kept bringing it for her, knowing she couldn’t eat it.
I held onto her for most of the day, just rubbing her hand and repeating the same phrase. Please come home. Please come home. Please come home.
I washed her face and watched as the doctors came in and checked her every so often. Every time, they gave me pitiful looks before leaving.
Kaia came by yesterday and sat with me for a while. She had closed down the store for the day, which she didn’t think Drea would be happy about, but I told her she would get over it.
Fallon came back to check in. She sat with her while I took a shower and got some real food.
Mackenzie had offered to run me home to pack a bag and made sure to keep Fallon on the phone the entire time in case something changed. It didn’t.
For four days, her status never changed.
She never got worse, but she never got better, and every second longer, I was filled with guilt.
I knew accidents happened, but she wouldn’t have been a part of it if I had stayed in Seattle.
If we had worked things out sooner, maybe things would be different.
Cara hadn’t come by while I was there, which I was thankful for. I wasn’t ready to see her, not like this. I had Fallon send her text updates. Apparently she saw her before I arrived.
I had just gotten out of the shower when I could have sworn I saw movement. Fallon and Mackenzie were sitting on the couch on their phones, so I couldn’t ask one of them.
I sat next to Drea and took her hand, waiting to see if it happened again. Sure enough, a minute later, I felt a twitch in my hand and jumped.
“What?!” Fallon yelled.
“I think…” I stopped when I felt her finger twitching. “Call a nurse!”
Mackenzie got up and yelled for the nurse, who came in quickly after.
“What’s going on?” one of the nurses asked as the other checked the machine.
“I was coming out of the bathroom when I thought I saw her hand move. I sat down and felt her fingers twitch in my hand.” It sounded crazy to my own ears, but I knew what I saw.
The nurse walked over and checked all the monitors and then checked Drea. When her hand twitched in mine again, I jumped. “There!” I yelled, pointing to her hands. “They twitched again!”
The movements became more frequent, enough that the nurse took notice and paged the doctor. I couldn’t have stopped the tears if I’d wanted to. I was sure she wasn’t going to wake up, and there she was, alive. Drea was alive, and she was coming back to me—to her family and friends. Not to me.
With everything going on, I had forgotten what I was to her, or what I wasn’t. I was happy she would be okay, but that didn’t change that I meant nothing to her.
A few other nurses had come in just in time for Drea to start waking up. She was blinking slowly a few times, and trying to give her eyes time to adjust to the bright hospital lights.
When she finally opened her eyes, mine were filled with tears as I held her hand.
“Blair?” she groaned.” She winced at a pain she must have been feeling, and I squeezed her hand.
“Hi.” I smiled through the tears. I couldn’t believe she was awake.
She looked around the room and saw Fallon and Mackenzie, who were both crying and holding each other. “What’s going on?”
We sat and listened while the nurses told her everything that had happened, and her face went pale. “Did I kill anyone? Oh my God, how could I have been so stupid? I should have—”
“Drea, relax,” Mackenzie soothed. “There was a bad storm, and it was an accident. It’s not your fault. These things happen.”
She turned to me, and I grinned, forgetting the past hurt, forgetting the things we’d said, at least in that moment. I was just thankful she was alive. We could resume the real world later.
“Blair, I am so sorry. I was so stupid. Everything I said, I was scared. I should have told you sooner. I lo—”
“Don’t.” I stopped her. “Just work on getting better. We can talk later.”
The doctor came in before she could say anything else, and I was grateful for that. I didn’t want to fight with her when she had just woken up.
He checked her vitals and asked her dozens of questions. I didn’t take my eyes off her the entire time he was talking. The part of the conversation I did catch had me turning my attention toward him.
“Also, you’ll need someone with you for a few days, just to make sure there isn’t anything that arises. Do you have someone who can look after you?”
Drea looked to Fallon, who nodded. “Of course, babe, we can—”
“I’ll do it.” The words left my mouth before I could think them through, but I didn’t need to.
All eyes were on me as Fallon spoke. “Blair, that’s sweet of you, but we can handle it. You guys aren’t exactly—”
“Can you guys give us a minute, please?” I asked. They looked at Drea, who nodded.
Drea looked at the nurses and the doctor. “I’ll go put in an order for some pain meds and let you get some rest.” I thanked them as they all left, leaving me and Drea alone for the first time in weeks.
When everyone was gone, Drea released our hands that were still joined together, and I looked down at the loss of contact. I had forgotten I was still holding her hands. I hated to admit it felt good. It felt really good to be connected with a piece of her again.
“Blair, I appreciate you wanting to help, but you don’t owe me anything. You were right to leave the way you did. Fallon can look after me. You should go home and get some rest.”
“You really want me to go?” I asked. I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving, but I wouldn’t stay where I wasn’t welcome.
“Of course not, I never want you to go. I just—”
“Then please let me help. I wasn’t able to take care of my parents, and now they are gone. The thought of losing you too… I can’t handle that.” I couldn’t say the words I wanted to say: I love you and it would destroy me if you left.
“Okay, okay. I can’t argue with that logic. If you’re sure. Will you let me tell you how I feel now?” She grinned.
I shook my head. “No. You almost died, and you wouldn’t mean it. Just get some rest and feel better so you can go home tomorrow. We will talk when you’re better.”
“Fine, but my feelings won’t change whether I’m dying or not.”
That word didn’t sit right with me. I couldn’t imagine a world without her—my world without her. Even though she wasn’t technically in my world anymore, I still hated the thought of losing her forever. A part of me still belonged to her… loved her.
“You’re not dying! I’m not letting you off the hook that easily.”
“I didn’t think you would.” She smirked.
“Drea, I… I owe you an apology for how I left things between us.”
She furrowed her brow and tried to sit up, but winced at the pain. “Apologize? Blair, you have nothing to apologize for. I understand why you left the way you did. I treasure any time spent with you, even if it was out of anger on your side. I hurt you, and you had every right to leave.”
I sighed. I was angry. I was so angry, but seeing her like this? The thought of losing her, like this? “Just work on getting better.”
I wanted her to get better so I wouldn’t feel guilty about leaving. I didn’t know how things were going to work out. Did I forgive her for everything? Was there a future for us? Only time would tell…