Page 17 of Promise Me

SADIE

I hate starting my day with a headache. It hints that the entire day is going to be off-kilter.

This doesn’t bode well for me, considering I’m pretty sure the beating drum inside my head right now is the worst it’s ever been.

People probably won’t want to be around me today. A Sadie headache means a grumpy Sadie.

I flutter my eyes open, and a beep—the kind that reminds me of afternoons in the hospital with my mother—is all I hear.

I must have fallen asleep to anotherGrey’s Anatomyepisode.

The smell hits me before my eyes are fully open.

I didn’t fall asleep to anything. Nope. I’m in an actual hospital.

I try to adjust the way I’m lying—I hate lying on my back—but the movement to my left catches my eye.

I freeze.

What’s Hudson Asher doing here?

Sleeping no less, right next to my hospital bed.

Yep.

Mine.

What the heck happened?

I clear my throat. The dryness causes me to make a rather unnatural noise, which stirs Hudson. When his gaze lands on mine, his shoulders relax, and then he moves to kneel beside me.

“Hey, you’re awake.”

I don’t do anything except nod because, again, what is he doing here? And why is he looking at me with a sleepy smile?

“Do you need anything?” he asks, now standing and looking down at me with … sincerity.

What thehellis happening?

I mean, I know that I planned to make amends with him when he came back to Lovers—if he ever came back to Lovers—but I feel really lost right now.

Shouldn’t he be preparing for his game this weekend?

What would he think if he knew that I enjoy watching his games? He’s a really good hockey player, and watching him is fun.

“Shit, Sadie. Can you even hear me?”

I snap my attention to him.

“Yes, why wouldn’t I?”

“Oh, thank fuck. I thought you couldn’t hear me, so you weren’t speaking.”

I bring my hand to my throat. “Some water would be nice.”

He’s quick, grabbing a cup from the table next to him and handing it to me, holding the straw from it to my mouth like I’m a kid who doesn’t know how to use it.

I let him do it, though, because, I mean, after everything he put me through growing up, damn right he should cater to me, even if I don’t know why he wants to.

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