Page 90 of Together

“She’s going to be fine,” I tell myself then repeat it three more times for good measure.

Just as I’m saying it for the fourth time, the doors to the ER open and Lucy comes charging in with Grace hot on her heels.

“No,” I tell Grace. “Not a fucking chance. Get out of here.”

Lucy places a hand on my arm. “Nik, calm down.”

“You were there while she spewed that fucking garbage. If she hadn’t, then Ashley would have been sitting at the restaurant with you two rather than on the road so some out of control maniac could almost fucking kill her!” I shout, my chest rising and falling. If it were possible, fire would be shooting out of my eyes right now.

Grace, for the first time since I’ve met her, is quiet, not arguing, not defending herself. But she’s also not apologizing or saying it isn’t true.

“Nik,” Lucy pleads. “Let’s focus on Ashley.”

“What do you think I’m doing?” I ask her, redirecting my rage. “Where was your focus on Ashley when this piece of work was telling her she wasn’t fit to be a mother and telling her she wanted to adoptmybaby?”

“That’s not…” Grace says, interrupting me.

“That’s not, what? Accurate? Because unless my girl is a liar, which I know for a fact that she is not, that’s exactly what happened. I don’t give a shit what your misguided intentions were, that shit will not happen again.”

“Nik?” Mia calls my name.

I spin around, completely forgetting about the wicked sister and her little shadow who can’t stand up for the good sister.

“What’s the word?”

“She’s going to be completely fine.”

“Oh, thank God,” I blow out a breath. “And the baby?”

Mia smiles. “Perfectly healthy. No signs of distress.” She clamps both her hands around mine. “It’s nothing short of miraculous, Nik. When we heard about the accident we prepared for the worst.”

Swallowing hard, I choose not to respond to that comment. I can’t let my mind go there. “Can I come back and see her?”

“Yeah. She’s asked to see you, too. The doctor is with her now and can give you a full update.” She looks beyond me and I know that Grace and Lucy have been hanging on her every word. Being the seasoned nurse that she is, she recognizes loved ones waiting for information when she sees them. “I’m sorry, but we can only allow one person to see her at this point and Nik is her emergency contact.”

I want to smirk at them and be smug about the fact that she has me set as her go-to person, but it’s not the time. I have my woman to go see and that takes precedence.

I don’t turn around to see if her sisters are waiting for an invitation to join me, I just follow Mia through the double doors of the emergency room.

Mia directs me through what looks like a war zone, doctors and nurses still hustling around in the wake of a major accident. I was so focused on Ashley and the baby that I hadn’t even thought of the other victims of the accident. I have no idea if the others were injured or even alive. Heartless as it may be, right now I just want to see Ashley and worry about the others later.

“Right through here,” Mia says, pulling aside a curtain just a crack. “Cole was the doctor who treated her,” she explains and the relief I feel knowing that her husband, and my longtime friend, has been caring for Ashley is intense.

“That’s a relief. Thanks, Mia,” I tell her, giving her shoulder a gentle touch. “I know it’s your job and Cole’s, too, but having you both here tonight is a godsend. For real.”

“Of course. We’re glad we could be here, too. And now that we know you’re going to become a father, I’d say we’re long overdue for a night out.”

“You got it. As soon as she’s up to it.” I promise something that is easy to fulfill.

Walking past the curtain, I keep my face neutral, not wanting to show my anxiety to Ashley.

“Hey,” I say quietly.

She looks up and the smile she gives me breaks my heart. It’s fake. I know it.

“How are you?”

As soon as I’m sitting in the chair next to her, nodding to Cole who’s typing something into the laptop he’s holding, tears pour out of her eyes and she begins to sob, leaning over a little bit to rest her head against my chest.

---