Chapter 8
Chapter
Eight
Every inch of her body ached, even her eyelids, as Narelle tried to open them.
Why did she hurt so much?
She hadn’t started a new fitness regime. Besides, doing exercise wouldn’t make her eyelids hurt.
Her brain was fuzzy, as if she’d drunk too much, but she never liked getting drunk, and at the most, had two glasses of wine whenever she went out. Always alternating between taking sips of the alcoholic beverage and sparkling water.
Nothing about her present mental or physical predicament made any sense.
She shifted and moaned when pain lanced through her middle, and one of her arms and legs seemed weighed down.
Her hand was engulfed by something warm. The touch immediately reassuring and calming.
Wait, why is someone touching me? Where am I, that I’m lying down so that can happen?
Panic began to swell inside of her.
Why couldn’t she remember what she’d done?
What had happened to her?
Where she was?
“Rest, Narelle. You’re okay.” The deep voice was familiar. It was a voice that had filled her dreams, but it was impossible he would be there.
Whatever was going on with her, whatever was causing her pain and her fuzzy mind, was conjuring up Andy.
The pain through her body was becoming more unbearable and the fact she couldn’t open her eyes didn’t bother her as much now. With her eyes shut, it was so much easier to fall asleep.
Besides, when she was asleep, nothing hurt.
Narelle didn’t know how often she drifted between sleep and wakefulness. Each time, she couldn’t seem to break the shackles surrounding her, to become fully awake. She was aware of hearing her mum and dad talking to her.
She recalled them saying she’d been in an accident, and that alleviated her fear a little—if she’d been hurt, then the pain made sense. She didn’t remember the accident, but her parents wouldn’t lie.
What she hadn’t heard again, or felt, was Andy’s touch. The drugs she’d been given to deal with her pain must have made her believe that he was in the room with her.
This time, as she floated to the surface, her brain was a lot clearer. The pain still there, but not as intense, and her eyes didn’t feel so heavy.
With more effort than she thought possible, she blinked a couple of times, grimacing as the light penetrated her senses. It didn’t appear that bright, but it had hurt
She closed her eyes again and counted to ten, determined this time they would remain open.
Pleased when they stayed open, she looked around, taking in the muted light.
The beeps of the machine monitoring her heart, something that she’d gotten so used to hearing every time she floated to consciousness, that it was now almost white noise.
The IV dripped beside her bed, and someone slumped in the chair beside her.
It wasn’t her mum or her dad, but the person was male, his head forward on his chest as he napped.
A hand rested on her bed near her plastered left leg, as if he wanted to touch her, but didn’t want to disturb her.
Who was he?
Hope sprang to life that it was Andy, but she squashed it down. There was no way it could be him.
As if he was aware of her scrutiny, he lifted his head, and she gasped. She had to still be asleep. Her mind was playing tricks on her. “Andy?” His name a hoarse whisper, as her throat was dry and very sore.
His lips lifted into a smile she remembered so well. “Hey, you’re awake.”
Words seemed impossible because it sounded so real, but it had to be a dream, didn’t it? This couldn’t be happening. He wasn’t here.
“You’re not real.” Maybe if she said it out loud, she’d wake up, but that would mean this moment wouldn’t be real. It was too late though, she had spoken them, but Andy was still there.
“I am. How are you feeling?”
“What are you doing here?” Again, the possibility she was suffering from amnesia flashed through her mind, and they’d connected after she returned from Bali. It didn’t seem right though.
“I was at the intersection where you had your accident. I stopped to help and was shocked to see you.”
“You live in Perth?” The questions kept popping out of her. The more she asked, the more she’d get the answers she wanted, so she could understand how Andy was by her bedside. How he’d been at the same place as her when she’d had her accident.
An accident she still couldn’t remember all the details of.
“I do. And I take it so do you.” His words were gentle, as if he didn’t care she was asking questions and not listening to what he was saying.
“I do. But how are you in my room?”
Wasn’t it only immediate family members who were allowed in patients rooms, particularly those who’d been seriously hurt like she had?
Narelle recalled one of the times when she woke up. The warm hand over hers. The gentle voice she thought was Andy. She knew her parents had been in here.
Had Andy told them about their night together?
She was a grown woman. She didn’t answer to her parents, but she also didn’t want them to know about her sex life, either.
“Perhaps I should start at the beginning.”
“That might be a good idea.” She shifted, but grimaced when pain shot up her arm.
Andy’s brow furrowed. “Do you need some pain medication? I should call the nurse anyway and let them know you’re awake.”
A nurse bustling into the room was the last thing she wanted. She wanted answers as to why the man she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about for three months was sitting by her bedside. And it wasn’t the first time he’d been there. Of that, she was sure.
“No. I’m fine. I just have to be careful not to move.” She swallowed and licked her dry lips. “But I wouldn’t mind a drink.”
Andy shot up and went over to the small jug that sat on the rolling table pushed to the side. His movements were swift as he filled the small glass with water. “Don’t drink too much,” he cautioned and held the straw against her lips.
She took a cautious sip, and then another, the liquid warm, but wet, and that was all that mattered. He placed it back on the tray and moved it over her, so that she could reach if she needed anymore “Thanks.”
He settled back in his chair, and she wished he would hold her hand, but he kept them lightly clasped in his lap.
“To answer one of your questions. Yes, I live in Perth. Have lived here my whole life. I work for a security company. I’m a former SAS soldier.
All the guys I served with work at Power Security now.
One of our former leaders started the company and asked us to join him. ”
She’d been partly right when she thought he might have been a spy. Working in security was sort of similar. “Is that what you were doing in Bali? Security work.”
Andy shifted in his chair, as if he found her question uncomfortable. Would he answer her truthfully or not?
“I was, but I can’t talk about what I was doing. We have contracts with Government Agencies here in Australia and in the United States. Some of the things we do, we can’t talk about.”
All through his explanation, he maintained eye contact with her, a sure sign that what he was telling her was one hundred percent the truth. Everything about what he said intrigued her.
“I can see that you want to know more.” He smiled wryly.
“I do, but I respect that you can’t share.” A wave of fatigue washed over her, and she tried to fight it. They’d only started the conversation, yet it was impossible to keep her eyes open.
“It’s okay. Sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up. I promise.” He finally touched her hand, and warmth floated down her veins.
Narelle knew he would keep his promise.