Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
J ules slowly drifted back to consciousness. The sterile scent of antiseptic and the faint hum of machinery greeted her senses. She felt disoriented, her body heavy and sluggish, as if she were swimming through a thick fog. The harsh fluorescent lights overhead made her squint, and the white ceiling tiles blurred together as she tried to focus.
Not that there was anything to see. She was in a hospital room. That much she knew. She'd been in enough of these stark white rooms as a kid when they'd learned of her diabetes prognosis. She'd steadily avoided them in her teenage and adult years. How had she wound up back here today?
Her mouth was dry. She tasted a lingering sweetness on her tongue. The taste quickly turned bitter, reminding her of the sports drink that had triggered this episode. Jules' head throbbed with a dull ache, and every muscle in her body felt sore and fatigued, protesting even the smallest movement. The events of the hike came rushing back in fragmented pieces—Fish’s worried face, the beeping of her blood sugar monitor, the overwhelming nausea, and then darkness.
Her body felt strange—tired, yet restless. There was a dull ache in her limbs, a heavy fatigue that seeped into her bones. Her tongue felt thick and fuzzy, and she swallowed with some difficulty. Her head throbbed with a dull, persistent headache, and her stomach churned uneasily, a lingering reminder of the hike and the sugary drink that had tipped her system into chaos.
Jules shifted slightly, feeling the crisp hospital sheets against her skin. A soft groan escaped her lips, and she blinked rapidly, trying to clear the fog from her mind. Her vision slowly sharpened. The steady beeping of a heart monitor and the rhythmic hiss of an IV drip punctuated the silence.
Her eyes scanned the room, searching for any familiar faces. Her heart immediately started to race as she caught no sight of her husband. She didn't see Fish anywhere. Was he still up on that mountain of a hill? If he was, how had she gotten here? Maybe he'd carried her all the way down and was now hurt.
Jules caught a faint whiff of his masculine scent lingering in the air. He'd been here even if he wasn't now. The smell of him brought her a small measure of comfort, knowing he had been there with her. But where was he now?
The door creaked open, and her nose wrinkled as the overpowering scent of Amari's expensive cologne filled the room, drowning out Fish's familiar smell. Her ex entered, his professional smile making Jules flinch. She couldn’t believe she used to find that smile handsome and comforting. Now it just felt hollow.
"What were you thinking, going on a hike? You know how risky that is for you."
Amari's tone was chastising, and Jules felt a surge of irritation. She didn’t want to hear his lecture. All she could think about was how much she had loved the view from the hike, and how Fish had believed in her, had thought she could do it.
"Where's my husband?" she asked, her voice weak but steady.
Amari’s face darkened slightly. "He’s gone. I think it was the smartest thing he's done," he said, his tone dismissive. "After he called me."
Fish had called Amari? He couldn't stand Amari, especially not Amari being around her. Yet he'd reached out for help to the man he considered his enemy. All for her. Forget snowplow. The man was a bulldozer.
"Fish doesn’t know how to take care of you. What was he thinking, exerting you like that and then giving you a sports drink? His ignorance could have killed you."
Jules's heart sank at his words. All she heard was that Fish was gone. Not the Fish can't take care of you one bit, because that was wrong. She should've told Fish her limits, but she didn't want him to look at her like everyone else did, like she was lacking or less than. Fish had always looked at her like she was, well, everything. Which made Jules' heart sink all the more.
Amari continued, oblivious to her distress. "You need someone who understands your condition, who knows how to take care of you properly."
"What I need is the man who believes in me and doesn't just look at me for what I can do for him. Fish always asks what he can do for me, what we can do together."
Amari opened his mouth. Words spilled out. Jules didn't hear a single one of them. They were filled with so many I's. Nothing Amari said had anything to do with her.
She had to get out of here and find Fish. She had to explain that it wasn’t his fault. She needed to see him, to reassure him and herself that they could get through this together. Her heart ached at the thought that he might blame himself for what happened to her.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Jules had sat up in the bed and was swinging her legs over the mattress. It felt like she was still climbing that mountain, even though her feet weren't even on the ground. "I need to find Fish."
"Jules, you need to rest. I'm placing you on a forty-eight hour stay."
"You can't do that."
"As your boyfriend, no. But as your doctor I can. You need to focus on your health."
"You just want to keep me and Fish apart."
"What I want to do is monitor your blood sugar levels, rehydrate you properly , and make sure you're stable before being discharged."
Jules wasn’t listening anymore. She was still struggling to put her feet on the floor. However, her body protested with every movement. The pain and fatigue were nothing compared to the panic that gripped her heart. She had to find Fish, had to make sure he knew she needed him.
"And I suppose you'll bar visitors from seeing me?"
"No, I won't do that," said Amari. "Your husband is free to visit. But like I said, he left."
Jules settled back against the limp hospital pillow. Fish would come back. Of course, he would come back. He loved her.