Page 56 of Erik's Redemption
His mother nodded. “He fell and hit his head on the concrete. His arm was also at a weird angle. We’re not sure if there are more injuries.”
Andi pulled her mother into another hug. Erik moved back, finally giving Hannah all of his attention.
She stepped straight into him and cupped his cheek. “I’m so sorry.”
Her whispered words slipped inside him, dulling some of the ache. “You’re here. How are you here?”
“I ran into Andi after a yoga class. She got your call while I was with her.”
And she came. Thank God. He needed her. He’d been so close to calling her, begging her to come. But they weren’t together. Technically, they weren’t anything. So he’d stopped himself. Put his phone away, telling himself he needed to be okay without her.
But he wasn’t. He’d never be okay without her.
Her arms slipped around his waist, and she lay her head against his chest. The grays and blacks began to shift back to color. The air settled around him, and the voices in his head quieted. Because Hannah didn’t just make him feel okay…she made him feel strong, like he could handle another blow to his world without shattering.
“Dr. Hunter. Hunter family.”
Erik raised his head to see a doctor entering the waiting area. Hannah stepped back, but her fingers slipped through his, continuing to hold him together.
“Dr. Bode,” Andi said softly, stepping forward. “Is he okay?”
“His heart is fine. He hit his head hard, though, and has quite a significant concussion, which is something we need to keep an eye on for a few days. He also had two breaks in his arm—one in his elbow, and another in his forearm. We’ve had to do some surgery to bring his bones back to where they’re supposed to be.”
The darkness hedged Erik’s vision again. Hannah shifted closer, her fingers tightening around his, her other hand wrapping around his forearm.
“Can we see him?” his mother asked.
“Yes. He’s not awake from the anesthesia yet, but you can go in when you’re ready. I’ll show you to his room.”
The doctor turned and started to walk. Erik began to follow but stopped when Hannah tried to untangle their fingers.
“I’ll wait here,” she said. “It’s probably just family.”
“Youarefamily, dear,” his mother said before he could.
Her lips parted.
“Please,” Erik whispered. “Come.”
She nibbled her bottom lip before nodding quickly. “Okay.”
Every step Erik took toward his father’s room made the ball in his gut feel heavier. Seeing his father bleeding on the groundhad scared the hell out of him. Seeing him in a hospital bed would be even harder.
His mother and sister entered first, but he hesitated outside the room. His legs had just stopped working.
A soft hand touched his chest. Hannah stepped closer. “Seeing the people we love in pain is hard. But Dr. Bode said he’ll be okay,” she reminded him quietly.
“But what ifI’mnot?”
There was no judgment in her eyes. “That’s okay too.”
Was it? Wasn’t he supposed to be strong for his family? If his father was down, he should be the one holding them on his damn shoulders. But the truth was, he didn’t know if he could handle any more loss in his life.
He thought Hannah might push him. Instead, she leaned into his shoulder, looking like she’d wait for him all day. As if standing exactly where they were for as long as he needed was okay. He let her touch soothe him. Speak to him. Tell him without words that his pace was the only pace that mattered.
Finally, he tightened his fingers around hers and stepped into the room. The sight of his strong father, the man who’d raised him, so still in the bed, almost brought him to his knees. But again, he focused on Hannah’s touch. Her warmth. And he pushed himself to move forward. To stand on the side of the bed.
His father had a cast on his arm and a bandage on his head. But he was alive. Andthatwas what Erik needed to focus on.
