Page 140 of Still Love You

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Willow

I yank my phone out and call 911. The operator tells me the ambulance is on its way, then asks me a series of questions, but none of them explain what's wrong with Silas. As she hangs up, I hear the ambulance sirens in the distance.

I cradle Silas' head in my arms. "Please Silas. Please be okay." I'm so scared I'm shaking. I'm trying to be strong, trying to stay focused, trying not to break down crying, but that's nearly impossible to do when the person you love is lying unresponsive in your arms and you have no idea if he'll wake up.

"Silas, I love you." I'm crying now as I hear the sirens getting louder. "Please be okay."

Finally the ambulance arrives and I frantically wave them over. The paramedics surround Silas. I don't know what they're doing. I ask, but they don't answer. They load Silas on the stretcher, and only after I beg and plead do they agree to let me go with him to the hospital. On the way there, I call Diane and tell her what happened. She's as freaked out as I am and I hear Martin in the background trying to calm her down. I call my mom next and she tells me she'll meet me at the hospital.

When we get there, they take Silas away, leaving me alone in the crowded waiting room. Minutes later, Diane and Martin arrive, along with my parents. Diane finds a nurse who takes her down a hall.

"He'll be okay, honey," my mom says, sitting beside me and rubbing my back.

"We don't know that," I say, my voice cracking. "We don't know what's wrong with him. It could be really bad."

"Or it could be something minor," my dad says, sitting on my other side. "Low blood sugar. Dehydration. You know how Silas never drinks enough water. And when he gets busy in the fields, he forgets to eat."

I nod. "Yeah. He does."

My dad puts his arm around me and I lay my head on his shoulder.

A few minutes later, Diane returns and I race up to her. "Is he okay?"

"Yes. They say he was dehydrated and had heat exhaustion but that it could have quickly turned into heat stroke." She hugs me. "Thank God you got there when you did. His body temperature was rising fast, and if it kept going, his brain and organs could've been damaged."

I pull away from her. "Are you sure he's okay? Did you talk to the doctor? Where's Silas? Can I see him?"

She smiles, knowing my nonstop questions are because I love her son so much.

"They're cooling him down and pumping fluids in him," she says. "They're going to keep him overnight."

"So can I see him?"

"Not yet. They'll let us know when we can go in there."

The wait is excruciating. I need to see for myself that he's okay. Finding him lying there, unconscious, in the fields, I've never been so scared in my entire life. In that moment, I realized that nothing else matters. Where I go to college. What I do for a job. Where I live. None of it matters if Silas isn't there beside me. 

Two hours later, the doctor finally tells us we can see him. Diane and Martin go in first. When they come out of his room, they tell me he's sleeping, but I go in there anyway. I need to see him and be with him and make sure he's okay.

I sit next to him on the bed and kiss his cheek. "I love you, Silas," I tell him even though he's asleep. "I've loved you since we were kids. I loved you even when I broke up with you. I wish I hadn't done that. I was just scared and stupid and thought we'd be better off without each other." I sniffle. "But I was wrong. We're so much better together." I rub his hand. "You need to wake up, Silas, because I need to tell you something. I need to tell you that I want us to get back together. For good this time."

I close my eyes and take a breath, wishing he could hear me because I don't want to wait another second for him to know this.

"You're admitting you were wrong?"

I hear his voice and lift my head to see him smiling at me. That famous Silas smile. I hug him. "You're awake!"

"I was awake since you came in here." 

I pull back. "Why didn't you say something?"

"Because you started talking and I wanted to hear what you had to say."

"So you heard what I said?"

"Every word."

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