Chapter Thirty-Seven
Whitney
The hospital is quiet this morning as I carry the food and my purse through the hallways before I hit the elevator.
Ryan had barely stirred this morning when I left the bed, which says a lot about how tired he is.
We’ve all been stressed about Trevor, but yesterday they’d downgraded him and moved him to a private room on a regular floor.
To say we’re all relieved is an understatement.
If you ask everyone in my family, I can almost guarantee that we all slept better last night than we have since the wreck. I struggle with believing it’s only been a few days.
The elevator dings and I hop on, not surprised it’s empty.
Not many people want to spend their Thanksgiving morning in a hospital, but it’s tradition for Trevor and I have to have breakfast before we go over to mom and dad’s for a late lunch/early dinner.
I can’t bring myself to stop the tradition just because he’s in the hospital.
If anything, it makes me want to keep it going.
When the doors open on the appropriate floor, I step off, smiling at the staff. They’ve come to know me in the past few days. I hate they have to spend their holiday here, but I’m very thankful for it.
“I brought y’all some donuts and muffins. I know it’s not much,” I put the bakery box down on the nurses station counter. “But it was the easiest thing I could think of to say thank you for taking care of Trevor.”
They’re appreciative and tell me so before I make my way down to where Trevor’s been moved. The door’s closed, so I knock softly.
“C’mon in.”
It’s the most amazing thing to hear his voice. I never knew how much I love to hear him talk until I wasn’t sure if I’d ever hear it again. “Happy Thanksgiving,” I grin as I walk into the room.
I’m surprised not to see Blaze, but I don’t say anything.
“She went home for the morning,” he answers, when he sees me looking over at the cot she’s been sleeping on. “I told her I hoped you’d be here.”
I lift up the bag I have in my hand. “We haven’t missed a Thanksgiving morning unless you were overseas since you were sixteen,” I grab his table and start setting up the pancakes and bacon I brought. “You can have this, right?”
“Yeah, they’re about to kill me with the liquid shit they had me on,” he sits further up in the bed, raising his leg. “I feel like I’ve lost twenty pounds.”
He looks it too. That’s one thing I can’t get over, he looks sick and I can’t stand to see it. I keep reminding myself he’s okay, he’ll be fine. It’s going to be a bit of a tough climb back, but overall, Trevor will be okay.
“We’ll fatten you back up in no time, especially with the way I’m eating now.”
His bruised face looks over at me. “How are you feeling? Blaze told me you’d had some contractions?”
“It’s okay, it’s just the shock of everything. Nothing for anyone to worry about, I promise,” I take a bite of my own pancake, moaning when the syrup explodes against my tongue. Lately I love pancakes.
“I wish I enjoyed food as much as you do right now,” he laughs.
“Ryan says the same thing sometimes.”
We’re quiet for a few minutes and I’m content to sit with him, to enjoy his company. “Has everybody been to visit you?”
“Yeah,” he takes a drink of his orange juice. “The guys were here yesterday and some other friends of ours showed up the day before. I’m just ready to get home, get started on PT, and put this behind me.”
I reach over and grab his hand. “We all are, but make sure you take care of you, Trev. What you went through was pretty traumatic.”
He swallows so hard I see his Adam’s apple move.
“I’m more worried about what Ryan and Blaze saw, to be honest. I hardly remember any of it.
I do remember coming to, I guess in the ER, because I was trying to pull the tube in my chest out and they had to hold me down.
Other than that, it’s a haze of pain and drugs. ”
I set my fork down, my appetite dying a little.
“It was hard to watch, Trevor. Seeing you how you were right after? It was very difficult. Blaze and Ryan saved your life, but neither one of them talk about it. I figure at some point both of them will, but we need to let them do it in their own time.”
“I’m just glad I get to see my niece be born,” he grins, reaching over to grab my hand.
I grab his tightly. “You have no idea how scared I was you wouldn’t make it to her due date. I don’t want her to grow up without you Trev, please take care of yourself.”
In my head I add, We all need you so much. You’re the heart of this family. Please don’t ever let us lose you.
“Thanks for bringing me breakfast.”
I do my best to smile at him, even though tears swim in my eyes. “Can’t break tradition. Nothing could keep me away.”
And that’s the truth. The only thing that’s ever kept me away was an ocean, and even then if I could have, I would have swum it just to see him on Thanksgiving morning.
Renegade
My heartbeat returns to a normal rhythm when I hear Whitney’s SUV pull into the driveway.
I have this irrational fear now that she’s going to wreck and end up in the same hospital as Tank.
I know from my time in the military I’ll get over it.
It’s a form of PTSD, more than likely originating from witnessing Tank’s wreck.
God I miss the asshole. I’m riding with Ace now that Tank’s been hurt, and I realize now how much I enjoyed our time together. The door opens and I go to meet Whitney in the kitchen.
“Hey, Mama,” I greet her, letting her fall into my arms. She still looks exhausted, even though I know she got more rest last night than she’s been getting. “You need to take a nap?”
“Maybe,” she answers, curling into me. “I hate seeing him in that hospital bed, even if he does look better and they’re talking about letting him go home soon. It makes my heart hurt.”
“Mine too,” I cup her cheeks, and push her chin up so I can look into her pretty eyes. “How are you feeling today?”
“I’ve had some contractions,” she bites her bottom lip as she tells me.
“But as the doctor said yesterday, this whole situation has been stressful and I’m measuring early anyway.
I’m ready for her to come any time. It doesn’t matter if it’s early or not.
She’s the perfect size. She could come tomorrow and I’d be happy. ”
That’s my girl, always a fighter, always ready for whatever else she may have to take on. “I love you, Princess,” I lean down, brushing my lips against hers. “Now let’s go lie down before you fall down.”
“I love you, too,” the way she says it never gets old, and I doubt it ever will. I waited so long to hear those damn words that I want to put them in my pocket every time she lets them slip past her lips. “Don’t let me sleep too late, we still have to go to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her not to worry about that. Her parents are probably just as tired, if not more so, than the rest of us, but then I realize maybe she needs to be with them. Maybe that’s how she finds her comfort, with her parents, and who am I to hold that back from her.
We enter the bedroom, and she takes off her confining clothes, slipping naked in between the sheets. Lately that’s the way she loves to sleep, foregoing clothing because it’s too tight on her skin. “Lie down with me and hold me.”
It’s a request I can’t say no to. I get naked too, lying down next to her, curling my body around hers, and holding her tightly in my shield of protection. “How was he?”
“Tired and in a little bit of pain, but today he’s got some of his color back and a little bit of the humor I love,” she’s quiet for a minute. “Blaze came in right as I was leaving.”
“Those two have a very long road ahead of them if they want to make their relationship work,” I move the hair out of her face as I nuzzle against her skin.
“We did, and look where we are now,” her sleepy voice whispers.
As she drifts off I hear her voice in my head. Look where we are now.