Page 70 of Backdraft
He'd sit here until she woke up. Taylor didn't want her to be alone when she opened her eyes for the first time. He wanted to be the first person she saw.
"Okay, babe, it's time to come back to me," he whispered in her ear.
It was incredulous he was here. How could something like this happen? She was always very aware of safety. He'd seen her in his house, always checking and rechecking to make sure there were no potential fire hazards.
She'd told him she wouldn't go into a structure until it was deemed safe. So why this time? What was it about this building that she’d allowed herself to be put in danger?
Taylor closed his eyes and dropped his head. All he heard was the beeps and whirring of the monitors surrounding Drea's bed. They grew louder and louder until the noise consumed him.
The nurse came back, interrupting his thoughts, and Taylor stood.
"We're taking her to CT now," she informed him. "This might be a good time for you to do what you need to do. I have a feeling you'll be settling in here for a while."
She smiled at him, and he nodded.
"You got that right."
A couple of orderlies and another nurse came into the room, and maneuvered around her bed to get her mobile. She still hadn't woken up, and he wondered if she would on her way to the scan, during, or on the way back.
But the nurse was right. He should make some calls to let his team know he'd be taking some time off. She would be in and out of scans, and her injuries would need attending too. So now was an opportunity for him to get some things sorted out before she woke up.
He walked out of the room and was surprised to see a number of people in the hall aside from the nurses. He glanced around, not recognizing any of them. Not that he should recognize people, but he did stumble across familiar faces every now and then from the past. He noticed one man off to the side of the nursing station. The man glanced at him and then back to his phone.
Taylor watched him for a second, thinking he looked a bit familiar, but he couldn't recall from where. He saw so many people in his line of work. The man could be anybody or nobody and right now he was a nobody to Taylor.
Turning, Taylor walked away in the opposite direction to make the necessary calls. He glanced over his shoulder and was relieved to see the man was now gone. Something about him was off.
Chapter Twenty-One
Why couldn't I open my eyes? My mouth felt funny, like it was full of wool, and something pinched my nose. I tried to reach up and move it, but my arm wouldn't move.
I heard strange sounds around me, beeping and whooshing. Distant sounds of voices. It was all so confusing, and I couldn't make any sense of what was happening. I needed to find out, but how?
And then pain swept through me from head to toe. I tried to speak. I heard my voice, and it was gibberish. What was going on? I lifted my left arm to try and feel my head, but the pain ripping through me and almost sent me back into the clouds of sleep. I tried lifting my other arm, but it was so heavy I gave up.
Prickles of panic slid through my veins. I forced my eyelids to open, but I couldn't achieve anything more than a small slit. I was in a room, and there was someone standing at the foot of my bed. I knew him.
"Taylor?" The word came out as a whisper, barely even a sound, but it caught the attention of the man standing at the end of my bed. He moved, stepping away. I couldn't turn my head far enough without searing pain in my neck. He kept looking at me, and then he was out of my line of sight.
"Don't go. T-Taylor, don't go." I was positive I was screaming the words.
He stepped back so he could see me and gave me a grin before turning, and then he was gone.
Tears welled in my eyes. Why would Taylor leave me? I didn't want him to leave me.
I moaned, and the tears of sadness turned to tears of pain. It was excruciating. My left arm and shoulder ached and burned. It was too much to bear.
I was dragged back down into the painless, black void.
The darkness weighed me down. I struggled under it and bolts of pain shot through me. What had happened to me? Where was I? If I could only open my eyes, I’d know what was going on. It hurt if I moved, so I did my best to remain still and open my eyelids.
My brain was muddled and I couldn't think straight. I was confused, but knew something was wrong. So terribly wrong.
I swiveled my eyes and the pain of moving them ripped through my skull. I let out a cry of agony, but couldn’t hear anything. Was I deaf?
I blinked, slowly my vision cleared a bit and I was able to focus enough to see somebody's head on the bed next to me.
I wanted to touch the dark hair but was hesitant. Any time I moved was excruciating. It had to be Taylor next to me and I had to touch him. His head was close to my fingers and I was able to move them enough to touch his head. He was sleeping and snoring softly. So I wasn’t deaf. Thank god.
