Beautifully Awake(144)

“Hey, you ... you’re scaring me. Chase, look at me.” Her voice was so fucking frail, just above a whisper. She sounded like an angel.

My girl was back. Her crystal glass blue eyes were open. Heavy and drug-laden, but open. She was wide awake and asking me to look at her. Her face was still swollen, her bruising now black. She was gorgeous.

I caressed her cheeks and showered her perfect face with gentle kisses. “You came back to me. Fuck baby, I love you so much, so much.” Never again would an hour pass without her hearing how much I loved her.



“Chase, what ... why are you-”

“I know you’re confused, baby, it’s normal. But you’re awake, you’re talking and you’re mine. Sweet fuck. Christ, I could have lost you.”

“Hey ... you didn’t lose me. I’m right here with you.” She couldn’t really lift her head from the pillow but weakly pulled my face to hers and kissed my nose. Fuck, if I hadn’t done that to her sweet face a million times. It was the softest, sweetest kiss. Her warm lips were my heaven.

Then a shadow crossed her face. “I remember … Chase, I remember everything. The stairwell, CJ ... he was … oh my god, it was Jennings ... and then I fell. My head … it hurts so bad.” She cringed and clenched her eyes while she attempted to grab the back of her head.

“Baby, don’t touch, you have a nice sized gash back there. We’ll get you some more pain meds. We didn’t want to give you too much that you couldn’t wake up.” Shit, I could only imagine how fucking bad her head hurt.

“What about poor Kate, is she okay? Oh god, did he do something to her?” My selfless girl had her head bashed in by a fucking lunatic, was in a coma for two days, had so much brain swelling she needed to have her body temperature dropped so low she almost shivered off the fucking bed, and she was worried about her girlfriend. I loved this woman.

“Kate’s fine. Don’t worry about her. And Jennings, he’s a fucking drug addict rotting in a jail cell. He won’t hurt you or anyone else again.”

“Sierra ... and the baby? Oh god, she’s gonna be worried about me. It can’t be good for the baby.”

“Shhh. Sierra’s fine too. She’s actually downstairs on labor and delivery. She broke her water this morning. Otherwise, she’d probably still be up here driving me fucking crazy. Looks like you woke up just in time. You’re gonna be an aunt sometime tonight.”

“This morning, what ... wait, what day is it?” Her brows shot up in confusion.

“Wednesday night, baby. You’ve been in a coma.” Damn. I hated the panic on her face.

“A coma? What? Did my dad know? Oh god.” She was still worried about everyone else. Pure fucking sweet.

“It’s okay, baby, look at me. Everyone knows. Everyone’s been here patiently waiting for you to wake up.” I smiled for the first time in days. Fuck, it felt so good. I pressed the call button and told the ICU nurse she was awake and to get her morphine drip ready.



“I sent your dad and Sharon back to my place a few hours ago. They needed some sleep—they haven’t left your side. They were exhausted, but they’ll want to hear your voice. Let me get them on the phone. You okay to talk?”

She nodded.

While she talked to her dad, I texted Dodd and Asher.

AWAKE!

My girl looked so weak, pale and battered talking on the phone, but she was talking. It was the best fucking sight in the world. She hung up and smiled at me, nothing but love in her eyes.

She wasn’t going to rest peacefully until everyone was accounted for, so before she asked, I gave her the rundown. “Dodd texted back. Sierra just got her epidural. He’ll keep us in the loop and have her call once she’s comfortable. Just so you know, she hasn’t stopped bawling since she found out you’re awake.”

“She’s never gonna let me live this one down. Poor Dodd.” She half smiled. “Was she that bad?”

“Put it this way, baby, I finally figured out the whole Asspuck name. She’s ... a lot ... and be glad you’re not down there. Dodd basically made it sound like he has been doing nothing but wiping fluids ... fluids dripping from too many orifices.”

“Ow, don’t make me laugh.” She winced in pain when she chuckled. But she laughed. She was awake and laughing.

“Do you have any idea how many times I’ve pictured your beautiful smile?”

She bit her bottom lip and did that thing where her smile goes a little crooked, driving me crazy. So fucking sweet. “Careful, baby, that’s the face that puts me over the edge. And I need you better. We have plans. Lots of plans, involving some quality healing time at the Cape ... naked.”