Page 84 of A Lot Like Love
Chapter 22
The disinfectant smell in the hospital was making Chloe nauseas. She sat with her elbows resting on her knees, head hanging as she waited for news. Before she’d had Nate and Chase to sit with, but now they were gone, in with the specialist and then being ushered into Ryder’s room, but because she wasn’t family she was stuck in the waiting room. Alone.
She’d thought about calling Shelly, but all she’d end up doing was bursting into tears when she was better sitting alone, staying strong. Waiting to hear something.
“Chloe?”
She jumped and turned around, locking eyes with Chase. He crossed the room and held out a hand, helping her to her feet and putting his arm around her shoulders once she was standing. His hug was warm and friendly as she leaned into him. She might have only met Ryder’s brothers a couple of times, but they’d treated her like a member of the family all afternoon.
“He’s not out of the woods yet, but it looks like he’s starting to come around,” Chase told her. “Nate would rather punish him, but I thought you’d like to be there when he woke.”
Chloe glanced at Chase. “Are you sure? The doctor said they had a strict family-only policy.”
He laughed. “Are you kidding me? If Ryder woke up and found out we’d left you in the waiting room alone, he’d kill us. He’d rather your face be the first he sees than one of our ugly mugs.”
She took a big breath, then blew it out. “Thanks, Chase. You guys have been so nice to me and I don’t even deserve it.”
Chase kept his arm around her as they walked through a set of double doors, then down a corridor, before he stopped outside a room that hadKingdisplayed in the small window, blocking the view inside.
“You know, we’ve all been douchebags in the past, the three of us I mean,” Chase told her. “Ryder has broken his fair share of hearts over the last decade, so you not being in touch for a month isn’t the worst you could have done.”
She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have left him like that. We had a deal but…”
He held up one finger and touched it to her lips. “Stop talking. Just go in there and let him see your beautiful face when he comes around. He’s already forgiven you, so stop beating yourself up and forget it.”
The smile that hit her lips was impossible to stifle. “He told you that?”
“It wouldn’t matter if he hadn’t,” Chase said with a laugh. “One look at you when he comes around and he’d forgive you all over again.”
Chloe squared her shoulders and walked in ahead of Chase, smiling over at Nate stationed on the other side of the bed before dropping her gaze to the man on the hospital bed. She gasped, clamping her hand over her mouth at the shock of seeing him lying there like that. Ryder’s chest was bare, the rest of him covered with a sheet and blanket. An IV line was hooked to his arm, a tube in his nose for oxygen, his big body looking so fragile when she was used to it being so strong and tough. His hands were by his side, hands that she so desperately wanted on her again, his touch what she’d fantasized about every night since she’d left him.
“Can I hold his hand?” she asked, looking up at Nate.
He nodded and she watched as Chase moved around to join his brother, sitting on the other side of the bed. Chloe pulled a chair closer and carefully took Ryder’s hand, picking it up like it was a baby bird’s, wrapping her palm around his and dropping her lips to his skin.
Then she reached out with her other hand to stroke his forehead, keeping her touch light as she stared at his handsome face.
“I don’t want to hurt him,” she whispered.
“You’re not,” came a deep voice from behind her. She turned and saw the doctor standing by the door. “Your touch and voice will do more good than harm.”
Chloe gazed down at Ryder again, running her fingers down the side of his face this time, watching his eyes for any sign of life. Her heart pounded when she noticed a flicker of one eyelid, then another.
“Did you see that?” she asked, glancing at Nate and Chase.
They nodded and she leaned in closer, tears of joy falling down her cheeks when his eyes opened for the briefest of seconds, shut, then slowly opened again.
“Ryder, can you hear me?”
The doctor stepped in, watching Ryder’s progress as his eyes flickered then stayed open for longer, groaning when a bright light was shone directly into his pupils. He tried to move and was told to stay still, and Chloe sat watching, silent, biting down hard on her lip. Surely this was all a good sign.
“What the hell happened,” Ryder muttered, his words barely discernable. “Where am I?”
“You’re at Mountain View Hospital,” the doctor said, checking the numbers on the machine beside him and jotting down some notes before sitting on the edge of the bed. “You suffered a serious concussion, and we’re still concerned that you could have some bleeding on the brain.”
Ryder shut his eyes, either from pain or from the news he’d just received. When he opened them he sat up slightly, cursing and touching his forehead. “I feel like I’ve been slammed into a concrete wall.”
“May as well have been,” Nate muttered, moving closer to the bed.
