Page 140 of Falling Too Late

“I’ll be right here when you wake up, sweetheart. You just take your time. I’ve got you.”

CHAPTER 51

WREN

The sun danceson the surface of the water above my head. I keep swimming, kicking my legs harder, but I can’t come up for air. My lungs burn as if they are on fire. I fear I might burn from the inside out.

The edge of my vision blackens, I kick harder but I can’t hold it anymore.

I can’t keep swimming. I’m so tired.

Breathe, the voice tells me.

I can’t!

You have to.

Pain. That's all I could feel. My chest felt like I had a cinder block dropped on it. My limbs were heavy and everything ached.

Faintly, I could hear machines whooshing, beeping and. . . was that. . .snoring?

Slowly, I opened my eyes. I had to blink a few times to focus on my surroundings. It was dark with only a faint light coming from around a curtain.

I’m in a hospital.

I turned my head and had to fight the groan. Pain exploded in my head and blurred my vision again.

“Shh. . . Wren, hold still.” I felt Alex next to me. His face was pale, tired. Dark circles were under his eyes and even his cheekslooked thinner than I remembered. “Do you know where you are?”

“Hospital.” My throat was hoarse. I tried to bring my hand up, but it pinched and I realized an IV was in it. “What happened to you?”

“You,” he breathed, brushing my face.

“I’m the best thing that ever happened to you,” I responded cheekily, managing to pull some humor through. I felt like I had been thrown into a trash compactor.

Alex smiled, I leaned into his touch. He dropped his head to my shoulder, his chuckle turning into a silent, body-shaking cry.

“Oh, my love.” I buried my nose in his hair, inhaling his scent. I kissed his head and tried to comfort him the best I could. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

His head jerked up, fire eyes on me. “No, Wren, I’m sorry. Once again I left you and you got hurt. I almost. . . You were. . .”

I understood his implications then.

“You weren’t breathing. . . You were d?—”

“Shh. I’m here, Alex. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.” He dipped his head down, his lips ghosting over mine.

“Mr. Harper, what did I tell you about being in the bed with Ms. Jacobson?” The curtain opened and a nurse came in. I winced at the bright light that flooded in, burying my face into his chest.

“And I told you, Ms. Connie, that you would have to pry my cold dead body out of this bed.” He tightened his hold on me, he sounded serious and a smile broke across my lips.

God I loved him.

“Sir, that is my patient and?—”

“This is mywife.I will not be getting out of this bed.”

I jerked at his words, staring up at him. His eyes flicked down to me, giving me a look that saidnot now.

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