I also didn’t think I would ever forget how I felt when Lauren called me hours before. She had been upset, worried about Deacon but also worried about how I would react. She was trying to be a good friend and called me as she was already on the road, offering to come pick me up so I didn’t have to drive. But she was far enough away from me that I knew driving myself would be faster. I just told her to meet me there, and she did, bringing with her a carafe of coffee in a cardboard box from the local gas chain and some snacks. She knew it would be a while.
Considering things were where they were with him, it sent me in an absolute tailspin of emotions. Frankly, I should have waited for Lauren to pick me up, but I didn’t, couldn’t wait. When the words hit me, they punched me in the gut so hard that things became crystal clear. Every bit of worry, of uncertainty I had about our relationship was gone. I knew exactly what I needed to do.
I needed to tell him.
It was all I could think about while I gripped the steering wheel and swerved between cars on the unusually busy main road leading across town to the hospital. I got there in record time, probably leaving a wave of angry drivers in my wake and rushed inside. I had to see him, had to talk to him. I had to tell him how much I cared for him and how I couldn’t lose him.
For hours that seemed like days, I stayed by his bed and told him all of that while he lay there unconscious. I hadn’t processed any of it yet. As I stood there in the living room, watching the recliner go up and Deacon lean back just like he had reclined in the hospital, it all hit me with a stunning thump of emotion.
“Hey,” Everett said, touching my shoulder gently. “Hey, you look like you could use a break. Let me make some coffee, and then I’ll sit with him for a bit. Go grab a nap or something. Then we can switch.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t leave him.”
“I know,” he said, “but you aren’t leaving him. You’re going in another room while he has someone to watch him. I got this. Go take a minute.”
Leaning over, I pressed a soft kiss to Deacon’s head as he drifted off to sleep. The doctor had said he would drift in and out of sleep now that he was medicated. During the immediate time after he woke up, they’d kept him awake, just to monitor the damage. When he passed their tests, they released him, letting us know he would occasionally nod off and to let him.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m fine. I’ll take that coffee, though.”
“On it. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll bring some blankets in.”
I curled onto the couch, and Deacon stirred, opening his eyes, and they swam over to me. A slight smile stretched across his lips, and I returned it, a tear welling up in my eyes. His left arm, in the cast, rested on a pillow against the arm of the couch. Gently, he held out his other arm, and I snuggled into him. A soft sound like a coo of happiness came from his chest, and his eyes closed again. By the time Everett returned with the coffee, his breathing was soft and slow as he dozed.
“Thank you,” I said, taking the mug carefully and getting a sip in.
“No problem,” Everett said, sitting on a rocking chair across from us. “Is he sleeping?”
“Yeah. In and out.”
“What did the doctor say about him sleeping again? I thought you weren’t supposed to sleep after a concussion.”
“That’s why they kept him up once he came to. Dr. Tennant said that they had to keep him awake for a few hours and after that to let him sleep if he wants to. The painkillers will likely put him loopy anyway,” I said, regurgitating the information I had burned into my mind.
“Oh, good,” Everett said. “If you want help moving him to the bed, let me know.”
“I will. I think we’ll just stay here tonight, though. He seems comfortable.”
“Yeah, he dozes there all the time,” Everett said, grinning. “I call it his old man sleep.”
I laughed softly. Even though the slight about his age was something that had bothered me before, it didn’t now. Especially coming from Everett, who was older than him. It was endearing instead.
I laced my fingers into his hand where it rested on my shoulders, and he clenched them. I turned to him and saw his eyes flutter open. Gently, his head lowered just a bit, and he moved his eyes to Everett.