He’s alive. He’s going to be fine.
Taking a deep breath, I slowly walked over to his bedside. Now that I was here, I wasn’t sure what to say or do, so I did what I always did when I was on edge: I rambled.
“You’re in much better shape than the last time I saw you. I’m glad you listened. You know, when I told you to hold on. And now look at you. Doc says you’ll wake up soon, and hopefully you won’t be in too much pain or remember the accident. I’ve heard some people say they don’t remember anything and others that say they relive it again in their dreams.”
I shoved my hands in the pockets of my faded jeans and rocked back on my heels. My eyes caught on the pictures and cards displayed along the wall, and a smile tipped my lips.
“It looks like your students miss you. I know I would.” My mouth snapped shut at that admission, but then I thought,Screw it. Not like he’d remember any of this anyway.
“So, I guess I won’t be seeing you for a while. I won’t complain too much about that, since at least you’ll be around tohavea coffee. I’ll make sure to tell Joe to have the latte machine in perfect shape for when you come back. I have a feeling after the beat-down he gave it the other day that he’ll have to order a new one anyway.”
A noise outside his room had me freezing and listening for whoever might be about to come in and catch me, but after several seconds, it went quiet again, and I let out a relieved exhale.
Looking down at Reid’s face, I memorized his features in case it was the last time I ever saw him. There was no guarantee he’dbe back at Castle Hill or stopping for coffee at Joe’s. Hell, there wasn’t even any guarantee that he’d be completely himself when he did emerge from the coma. Personality changes, memory loss… You name it, I’d seen and heard it. I hoped that wouldn’t happen to Reid, but just in case…
“Take care of yourself, Bluebird,” I told him, and then on an impulse, I reached down and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “I’ll be seeing you.”
I turned to leave, glancing over my shoulder one last time at Reid’s peaceful expression, when suddenly the door to Reid’s room opened, and I heard his mom say, “I’ll just be a second, I forgot my?—”
As soon as she caught sight of me standing by the bed, she came to a standstill, surprise and confusion crossing her face. But when her gaze drifted behind me, whatever she’d been about to say was forgotten as her mouth parted in a gasp.
“Oh my God.” She brought her fingers to her lips as she started forward, and I quickly moved out of the way, willing myself to blend into the wall already.
What a stupid idea it was to sneak up here. A truly stupid?—
“You’re awake,” she said.
What?
I spun around so fast I almost lost my balance, and even more so when I saw that Reid’s brown eyes were open—and they were looking right at me.
Part of me thrilled at seeing him awake. The other part panicked.
I have to get out of here,I thought, backing away, ready to make my exit without any more notice, when Reid’s father and sister rounded the corner.
His father’s eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”
Oh, shit.I really hadn’t thought this through, and now I’d violated about ten different privacy laws, had a run-in withReid’s family—oh, and Reid was now awake and watching the whole thing go down.Way to go, Ollie. Really.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, my hands going up. “I really shouldn’t be in here. Forgive me?—”
As I went to move around him, I had every intention of leaving before they could call security to come up here and remove my ass, but at that moment, one word had that plan flying out the window.
“Ollie.”
I froze.
There was a wheezing sound, and Reid coughed a little, but then he croaked out my name again, and this time I knew it hadn’t been a figment of my imagination.
I spun around slowly, to where Reid’s family looked every bit as shocked as I was. Though I had Reid’s attention, theirs was fully focused on their son and brother.
“Reid… Oh my God.” His mother broke down into tears as she reached for his face, and then seemed to remember his wounds and kissed his forehead instead. They huddled around him, tears flowing as they hugged one another. “You have no idea how worried we were.”
“Mom?” Reid’s brow furrowed as he looked between his parents. “Dad? You look…different.” He squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again. “Am I dreaming?”
“No, baby. You’re awake now. You’re gonna be just fine.”
“I don’t understand.” Reid’s gaze shifted to his sister and he frowned. “Do I know you?”