Page 48 of Don't Regret Me
So, she told him. Every part of it. The confusion. The joy. The pain. She explained how he overcame his fear of the water, how he’d burned the quiche and spent evenings staring up at the stars.
Their time in the hospital was measured in weeks, but they were at the lake house for months, living just for the two of them.
He let her continue weaving her tale, one that sounded like it was straight out of a Sandra Bullock movie. She spoke of UpWords and bonfires, how both of them were connected to the same house.
After a while, Stephanie fell back asleep in her arms, and Liz had no more emotions to pour into what they’d lost. She leaned back into the cushions, letting the baby rest on her chest, their hearts beating against each other, creating a calm inside her.
Still, Nick didn’t speak.
Someone knocked on the front door, and Liz got up before they could knock again and wake the kids. She still had Stephanie in her arms when she let Bentley in. She hadn’t realized how long her story had taken. He carried in bags from the twenty-four-hour grocery, filled with the essentials to help with Stephanie. Setting them on the ground, he reached out eagerly.
Liz set Stephanie in his arms. “She’s asleep.”
“I don’t care,” Bentley whispered. “I just wanted to hold her. This poor kid.”
Liz ran a hand over the top of her head before leading Bentley into the living room. Nick hadn’t moved, hadn’t looked up.
Bentley’s gaze flitted from Liz to Nick and back again. “Why don’t I ready a bottle for when she wakes again and let you two finish whatever is happening here.”
She gave the minister a grateful smile before he disappeared into the hall to grab the bags and headed to the kitchen.
Once he was gone, Liz turned back to Nick. “Are you going to say anything?”
“Processing.”
She nodded. “I get that.”
But she didn’t. The moment she’d come out of her coma, all she wanted was to get to him, to make sure he was okay.
“After I woke, the hospital staff told me there was a woman who broke into my room.”
“That was me.”
He nodded. “I remember you. That day, you were the first person I saw. I hadn’t wanted to question why.” He steepled his fingers, and Liz tried to read his expression, but it was carefully blank.
“I woke before you. The entire time we were there, I wanted to get back to my kids, but the night I left you was the hardest night of my life.”
“At least you think it was.”
“What?” She hugged her arms over her chest.
“You had a dream, and it felt real to you. That’s understandable. My accident was before yours, so you were probably thinking of me not long before. I’m told most of the world was discussing my drug habit. It was trending on Twitter and everything.”
“No, Nick.” She’d prepared for the explanation, to make him believe what they went through. What she hadn’t imagined was that he’d dismiss it outright. “You need to listen to me.”
“I need to?” One eyebrow lifted. “I should have known.” He got to his feet, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans. There was pity in his eyes, but also something else. Resignation.
“Known what?”
“It’s okay. I’ve dealt with fans my entire career. They make up stories about me in their heads, imagine meeting me.”
No. She stepped back, creating more space between them. “You think I’m lying?”
“No, I think you’re looking for meaning in a meaningless accident. You keep saying you put your kids through too much, and you want to believe this time at least had a purpose.”
“Don’t you dare bring my kids into this.” Anger clawed its way into her chest, shredding her from the inside out. This was everything she’d feared. Most of the people in her life didn’t believe her, but Nick wasn’t most people. “And don’t you dare talk down to me. I don’t need to be psychoanalyzed by a movie star.”
Except, she’d started wondering if she did. Maybe she was the wrong one, the person remembering something that hadn’t happened.
