Page 27 of The Moment You Know

Instead of her spirits being raised, they seemed to have deflated, instead, but before David could say anything else, Dr. Wiseman appeared, interrupting the conversation.

Since Paige didn’t really recall meeting him, there were introductions again and shortly after, David excused himself and left the room. He assumed Paige would want to be alone with her doctor for a few minutes, and decided to use that time to go have another chat with Hale.

Chapter 10

When David got to the waiting room, he found Hale asleep on one of the couches and as David sat down across from the other man, the slight squeak the chair made was enough to awaken him.

“How is she?” Hale asked, blinking against the fluorescent lights as he sat up and stretched.

David gave him a quick update on Paige’s condition and this time when Hale asked about seeing her, David agreed. In silence, they took the elevator up to Paige’s floor and then walked down to her room. Dr. Wiseman was gone, leaving Paige alone and looking resigned, almost like someone who’d been told they might suffer from recurring headaches for months on end.

For a moment, David second-guessed bringing Hale up to her room and essentially springing him on her without any warning. What if she didn’t want to see him just yet?

When Paige saw Hale, however, she gave him a small smile, which was David’s cue to back out of the room and give them some privacy. Not wanting to be hanging out in the hall like a creeper, he decided to go hit the vending machines across from the elevators and get a crappy cup of coffee.

Not even five minutes later, as he was taking his first sip—and almost gagging—he was shocked to see a decidedly unhappy Hale at the elevators, pressing the call button. The doors opened almost immediately and as he stepped inside and turned around, he spotted David. Hale’s expression darkened to outright anger and as he pressed a button on the inside panel, he raised his other hand and extended his middle finger. “Do me a favor and pass this message on to your girlfriend,” he called out, holding David’s gaze until the doors closed.

Wishing for the thousandth time that this night had never happened, David dumped his coffee in the nearest garbage can and went back to Paige’s room.

“Are you okay?” he asked, taking in her state of exhaustion.

She didn’t even try and fake it; she didn’t have the energy. “No.”

“Is it your head?”

“It’s everything. This evening was supposed to be a new beginning for me, but life doesn’t always go according to plan, does it?” she murmured. “Especially not for me.”

“New beginning?”

Paige didn’t answer right away. She was thinking about the decision to meet Hale at Bender’s and how it had significantly impacted her life. If she’d agreed to meet him somewhere else, they simply would’ve eaten dinner and probably had a good time, which likely would’ve led to a second date.

And she’d still be completely ignorant of David and Ashley. And Jacob.

She really wished that was her reality, instead of the one she had, because it really sucked.

She could feel her eyes starting to sting with tears and she grabbed a few tissues from the rolling nightstand/table next to her bed. “Never mind.”

He hated seeing her like this. “Can I do anything to help?”

She sniffed and looked at him. “Yes. You can leave.”

“No,” he immediately said. “I don’t want you to be alone.”

“I won’t be alone for long. After talking with Dr. Burns—er, whatever his name is—I called Jules.”

It was then that David noticed a phone with a totally blinged-out silver case held loosely in her hand.

“She’s coming in the morning when I get released,” Paige continued. “She’s going to take me home and stay the weekend with me.”

Silence descended over them and while he knew he couldn’t be there to take care of her, it also bothered him that he couldn’t. It didn’t seem right to just leave her.

“Please, David. It’s so hard to look at you.”

Her plea almost robbed him of breath and he slowly nodded, giving in, because there was no other way this played out. Going to the side of her bed, he took her hand and gently squeezed. “Okay. I’ll leave.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m truly sorry, Paige,” he said.

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