Page 20 of Shattered Wings

“Nurse’s station. How can I help you?”

“I think Illiana might be waking up. Could you send a doctor to check on her?”

“Yes Sir. Give me just a few minutes and I’ll send the doctor in.”

About five minutes later, the doctor comes walking in with a smile on his face. Letting her hand go, I stand next to her on the opposite side of the doctor.

“I hear Mrs. McBride is waking up.” Hearing that last name makes me cringe. Her last name was always meant to be Riley.

“It seems so. I was talking to her, and she squeezed my hand. That has to be a good thing, right?”

“That is definitely a great thing. I don’t think it’ll be much longer before she’s awake. Almost all the medication should be out of her system now. Let me listen to her heart real quick.” The doctor pulls off his stethoscope and places the ends in his ears before pressing it to her chest. He listens for a minute before removing it. “Her heart sounds very good and strong. She’s healing better than expected, considering everything she’s been through these past few days.”

“Illiana, can you wake up for me?” He grabs hold of her other hand. “How about squeezing my fingers? There you go. That’s it.” Thank God it wasn’t just in my head. She’s really doing it. “It won’t be much longer now.” Looking up at Ellie’s face, her eyelashes start to flutter. And then in an instant her eyes are open. Those blue eyes are unwaveringly staring at me. And my heart pounds in my chest, my palms sweat excessively. I’ve never been this nervous before. The look that she’s giving me has me ready to drop to my knees.

“Ellie, baby,” I whisper. My eyes burn as I try like hell to hold back the tears. My nose tingles from the sting. There’s a knot the size of Texas in my throat.

“You’re awake. Can you…”

“I remember, Lach.” She remembers. What does she remember? She must be talking about what happened, what she did.

“What do you remember, Ellie?”

“I remember everything, Lach. Oh God, I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Ellie.”

“Oh, but I do. I don’t know how I could have ever forgotten you.” Wh…what? She can’t be talking about what I think she is.

“What are you talking about?” If I thought my heart was about to beat out of my chest before, it’s doing double time now.

“I know everything, Lachlan. I remember it all. The year that we were together, that’s what I remember. And I’m so sorry that I forgot. I don’t know how I could have ever forgotten you. How could you stand to be around me all these years?” Tears trail down her cheeks and she hiccups on a sob.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I think it’s time that I give you two some space.” I forgot that the doctor was still here with us. Giving him a nod, he leaves the room.

“The only thing you have to be sorry for is trying to hurt yourself, Ellie. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you. And what about Blakely? She needs her mama.” She’s shaking now, as her sobs increase. Threading my fingers with hers, I give it a gentle squeeze to calm her down. “We came so close to losing you.”

“I didn’t mean to. At least I don’t think I did. What I found broke me. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d be able to go on. And then I had these dreams while I was sleeping. My whole life flashed before my eyes, Lach. It makes no sense that I literally forgot our entire life together. How is that possible?”

“I don’t know, but what I do know is I’m happy that you remember me, remember us. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I needed you to remember all the times we had together. But I never wanted to interfere with your marriage. Did I want you to be with Jaxon? Of course not. You’re the love of my life. You are the only woman that I’ve ever wanted. I see now that things had to be this way for you to find your way back to me.”

“I have some things that I need to work through, Lach. I hope you can understand that. It’s going to take time. This is all going to take some getting used to.”

“I’ll give you all the time in the world. But while I’m giving you that time, you and Blake are going to be moving in with me.”

“We can’t just move in with you,” she screeches, just about throwing herself off the bed.

“You can and you will. I won’t take no for an answer. You almost died, Ellie! There’s no way in hell I’m going to risk that again. Let’s not forget about Ben. He’s fucking crazy.” She cringes when I mention Ben, but this girl is stubborn as fuck. It will not be easy getting her to agree with me.

“Security can always be upped at my house.”

“Yeah, because security worked well the last time.” Fuck, that wasn’t the right thing to say. “What I’m saying is that I can’t protect you if I can’t see you. I need to be with you, Ellie.” There’s this primal need to make sure she’s safe. She and Blakely are my priority.

“Fine! I see your point. We will move in with you. But I want my own room. Does that work for you?” Yes, I want to scream. I will take her anyway I can get her, and this is just the start.

“I’ll give you whatever you want, Ellie. You already know that. We will start with your own room. Blakely already has a room, too. Once you get out of here, we’ll stop by your house so you can pack a few things. And if you need anything else, we will buy it. We need to keep a low profile until I know you’re safe.”

“I won’t argue with you, Lach. For once in my damn life, I promise I won’t argue. We’ll do whatever you think is best to keep me and Blake safe. Blake, oh my god, is she…is she alright?” Shit, her heart rate is going crazy.

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