Page 59 of The Billionaire Benefactor

An hour and an Uber ride later, Jenny sat nervously in a waiting room at Methodist Hospital in the Medical Center. Of course when she’d asked about Roman, the woman at the front desk wouldn’t release any information to her, not even to confirm that he had come there from the game. Jenny checked some of the fan boards and even Twitter, desperate for information, but there was nothing other than chatter about Roman leaving the game unconscious after a head injury. She sent a quick text to Blake, glad she’d put his number in her phone.

Jenny:I’m at Methodist in the ER waiting area. They won’t tell me anything or let me back there. I’ll be here until I can find something out or see him.

The room was freezing and soon Jenny had curled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them in an effort to stay warm. She sat near the automatic sliding doors so at least every time someone came in or out, a blast of August Houston heat wafted in. She debated pacing outside, but she didn’t want to leave the waiting room. Her parents texted just once, asking if Roman was okay and letting her know the Roughnecks won. They offered to stay overnight with the kids so she could keep vigil.

The hours dragged on. There were sick babies crying and a man who came in covered in a bloody shirt, but no obvious injuries. Jenny watched and waited. If the game was over, shouldn’t Blake be here? He was her only connection to Roman and the only possibility of seeing him.

But would Roman even want to see her? How did he feel about her? That shouldn’t matter now. All that really mattered was that Roman was okay. Even if he sent her away or Blake told her to go home—she could take it as long as he was okay. She tossed up little prayers in between checking her phone and dozing off.

A hand touched her shoulder and she jumped, having drifted off into a shallow sleep. She wiped a little drool from the corner of her mouth. Blake smiled down at her. His hair was wet and he was wearing normal clothes, not his jersey. Jenny jumped to her feet.

“How is he? Is he awake?”

Blake gave her a quick hug. “Hey, gorgeous. I think he’s going to be okay. Want to see him?”

Jenny’s eyes teared. “Can I? Does he want to see me?”

Blake gave her a kind smile and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to come with him. His touch didn’t do for her what Roman’s did, but it was comforting, and she leaned into him. “He’s not awake, but he’s been calling your name in his sleep. So, yeah, I think he’d prefer your company to mine right now.”

Jenny’s heart was racing. “He was saying my name?”

“Yep. I was a little hurt, but I got over it.” Blake nodded to someone behind the desk and they opened the automatic doors leading deep into the hospital.

“But is he…okay?”

“He’s stable. It’s a TBI—traumatic brain injury, but they’re not sure yet if it’s moderate or severe. He was unconscious for a few minutes. They’ve run a bunch of tests, but they didn’t let me know anything yet, other than that. I’m sure in the morning, we’ll know more. He’s asleep.”

“I thought you weren’t supposed to sleep after a concussion?”

“I’m not sure if it was a concussion or some other brain thing. All I know is that they think he’s stable enough. The brain needs to rest, apparently. Not sure if he’ll wake up again tonight.”

Blake knew just where to go without asking and she wondered how long he’d been there. She had so many more questions, but didn’t want to drive Blake crazy. She felt raw with emotion and didn’t want to do something stupid like start crying.

Of course, the moment she stood in the doorway and saw Roman in a hospital bed, eyes closed and hooked up to several different monitors, she started crying anyway. She turned into Blake’s chest, hiding her face. He squeezed her gently, his arms warm around her back.

“Hey, now. None of that. That big guy in there is totally a drama king. He’s going to be just fine and happens to be taking a nice nap in a very expensive hospital bed while they go overboard making sure he’s okay.”

She pulled away and wiped her eyes. “You think he’ll be fine?”

“Yes. The fact that he’s sleeping and not in surgery or the ICU tells us that. They need to monitor him for a bit. He’s had other TBIs, so I’m not sure what this means long-term. But he’ll be okay.”

Thank you, Lord.

“Can we go in? I don’t want to wake him or bother him. Is anyone else here with him?”

“His mom is on the way, but was in Dallas, so we’ve got a little time.”

He gave her a gentle nudge inside the doorway. Jenny stepped close to the bedside, looking down at his handsome face. She wanted to reach out and touch his cheek or hold his hand, but hesitated. Blake touched her hand.

“Jenny? Are you okay?”

She clutched the bed rail. “I shouldn’t be here.”

“You’re the most important person who should be here,” Blake said. “He asked for you by name, in his sleep. That means you’re on his mind even when he’s not awake.”

She looked at him, feeling agonized. “Why? I told him to wait for some indefinite period, which was bad enough, and then I told him not to wait because I was angry. I hurt him and told him to go when all he did was help me. I made a mess of everything. He won’t want me here.”

She started to turn away from the bed but Blake took her by the shoulders and turned her back. “He needs you. Not someone else. You. Listen, I feel like it’s probably not my place to tell you this, but I’m telling you anyway. He’s been writing letters to you.”

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