Page 80 of Just Desserts

"So? What's the news?" Sarah asked. It was hard to take her seriously with that silly mask on.

"He's out of surgery, the knife missed any major arteries but they had to do some repairs to his intestines. He's gonna need to stay in the hospital for a bit so they can monitor hisrecovery." I said, the tears coming back up and clogging my throat.

"He saved me. I didn't even know he was there, I didn't do anything to stop it but he did, he saved me." I broke down crying again and Sarah pulled me into her arms.

"He loves you, you did everything you could. Grams told me how much you did to protect her. It sounds like Wes was just doing the same thing you would. He's going to be okay, and you'll get to see him soon." Sarah decreed.

There was something about her authoritarian tone that made me believe her. We spent the next hour in Grams' room, only to get kicked out when Grams found out one or both of her paramours had heard about the incident and were on their way to visit. Sarah walked me back to the waiting room where Myles sat with my mom asleep against his shoulder.

With a raised eyebrow at the empty seats beside him, Myles raised a finger to his lips warning me not to wake my mom. I rolled my eyes as he took out his phone and started typing. Passing his phone to me, Sarah and I leaned together to read the note.

Wes was just brought into his room. He was still asleep. His parents are with him now, once they leave we can go in, he's only allowed two visitors at a time.

I looked up and nodded, happy to know Wes was settled and I could see him soon. Sarah and I took our seats across from Mom and Myles. I leaned against Sarah's shoulder as we both aimlessly flipped through a magazine. I don't know how much time passed until another commotion had our attention.

Sarah and I sent each other a look as both Oliver and Frederick raced to get to the nursing station. We ducked our heads tohide our giggles as the two men tried to get in to see Grams and Myles just watched it all with a slightly shocked but bemused look. Both men were allowed back and Sarah and I discussed what we thought Grams was doing back there. At some point I drifted off against Sarah and was gently jolted awake when I heard Charlie's voice.

"He's still asleep, I need to get Susie home. We have to make some calls and I know Isla wants to get in there and see him. Why don't I take Suz and Laurel home then I'll come back to sit with Wes until he wakes up?" Uncle Charlie directed his question to Myles. It was a testament to how exhausted my mom and aunt were when they didn't put up an argument.

"You all go home, we'll call you as soon as he wakes up but you need some sleep as well. I promise, he won't be alone when he wakes up." Myles assured them.

Hesitating a moment, Charlie finally shook his head in agreement and started the task of herding my mom and aunt out to the car.

"You two go back, I'm gonna go down to the cafeteria and grab some more coffee then I'll come back up here. Text me if you need anything." Sarah said, shooing us out of the waiting room.

I kept falling asleep on Myles shoulder as we sat next to Wes. He was shockingly pale and I was incredibly unsettled to see him like this. I was used to the larger than life, easy presence that Wes always brought to a room. It felt wrong to see him like this, vulnerable and exposed. A noise had me jerking awake for what felt like the 100th time. I turned to see Myles asleep next to me, Sarah standing over us. She shook him awake gently and we both quietly stood up to head out of the room.

"You both need to go home. You need to shower and sleep,hovering over him isn't going to do anyone good. I promise I will stay until he wakes up. I have everyone's number, I'll call you and his parents right away. I'm already set up to stay the night because of Grams and I took a nap in the waiting room earlier. Please, Myles get her out of here." Sarah implored.

"I can't leave him! I'm okay, I can sleep in the chair." I could hear the whine in my voice but couldn't help it.

"That's not going to do anyone any good, plus it's going to take him a bit to fully become aware of what's going on around him since I think they've got him on the good drugs. Go home, get just a couple hours of sleep. I promise I will call if he so much as twitches his nose."

"She's right." Myles said and I turned to him ready to snap. "Honey, you've been through a lot, you were also injured. The doctor said you need to take it easy. It's almost 4am now, we can go home, shower and sleep for a bit, I'll set an alarm so we're back by 7am. Sarah will call if he wakes up before that."

I hesitated and that was all the two of them needed. Sarah grabbed up my bags and handed them to Myles before turning me around and basically marching me out of the room. We got to the waiting room where she grabbed her bags. She stood there, pointedly waiting to make sure we actually left the building.

"I promise I will call. The longer you keep me here, the longer Wes is alone in his room." With that jab I gave in and let Myles escort me to the car. I was asleep before we even made it out of the parking lot.

Chapter 57

Wes

"You can stop pretending to be asleep, they're gone." A husky voice said from the side of my bed.

I had woken up halfway through the debate regarding how much longer Isla and Myles were going to hover by my bedside and immediately knew I wasn't ready to deal with either of them. I could hear the tears in Isla's voice but if she was up and in my room that meant she was fine. I woke up slowly, taking stock of my injuries and sorting through the hazy memories of earlier events. I managed to open my eyes and turned my head, only to be caught in the jade green stare of an unfamiliar woman. She was sitting in the chair next to my bed, placed there for visitors. She held my gaze unblinking.

"Your sister is a piece of work but you seem okay." She said bluntly, looking down briefly before making eye contact again. This time a flash of vulnerability crossed her face as she said in a softer voice.

"Thank you for saving my friends." She shook her head before reaching for the large bag she had with her. I watched with befuddlement as she pulled out a variety of items and laid them out on my bed.

"Okay let's see, headphones if you want to listen to music or a podcast, a comic book and a tablet with some streaming channels. What are you in the mood for? Wasn't sure if you'reallowed food or not so snacks will have to wait." She asked me, while I was still trying to wrap my mind around everything.

"Sorry, uh, who are you?" I finally managed to croak.

"Sarah. I work at the hotel. I'm also the self appointed BFF to both Isla and Grams. As such, it is my responsibility to make sure they take care of themselves and Isla wasn't gonna do anyone good hovering about looking like a wraith. Myles is utterly useless without her on a good day, there was no reason to try and separate them."

I felt foggy, my brain had a hard time processing all of the different information and I'm sure there were painkillers running heavily through my system. Those green eyes were keeping me awake though, this woman, Sarah, was captivating. She was calm, composed and bossy. It was clear she was used to getting her way but instead of finding that off putting I thought it was adorable. Not to mention I was grateful, she was right to send Isla and Myles home.

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