Page 18 of Someone to Watch Over Me

Those words are on repeat in my mind. He came close to dying. He survived. This time. What if there’s a next time?

I force myself to focus on the here and now, to give him a fraction of what he’s given me. “You… you mean a lot to me, too. It’s just that… last night was a lot…” I hate the way I sound like a stammering idiot as my emotions make a complete mess of me.

“I’m so sorry I put you through that.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Whose fault is it?” he asks, smiling.

“It’s no one’s fault. It happened, and we dealt with it, and thank God, you’re going to be okay.”

“Thank you for dealing with it, for calling for help, for coming with me to the hospital.”

“Oh, you heard about that, huh?”

“I heard, and I appreciate everything you did. I owe you my life.”

“No, you owe that to the EMTs and the doctors and nurses. I made a phone call while trying not to lose my shit.”

He winces. “I’d give anything for this to have happened anywhere but at home where you had to be the one to find me. All morning, I’ve been thinking that you’ll run as far from me as you can get after this, and I wouldn’t blame you.”

“I won’t do that, and not just because I have nowhere else to go. Please don’t think that.”

“If you want to be somewhere else, Lexi, I’ll help make that happen if it’s what you feel is best for you. I’d totally understand.”

“You would?”

“I would.” He closes his eyes. “I’d hate it, but I’d understand.”

“We don’t need to talk about any of this today. The most important thing is for you to rest and recover.”

He keeps his eyes closed when he says, “It’s not the only important thing. You’re important, too.”

“Get some rest and try not to worry about anything but getting better.”

“I’m worried about a lot of things.”

“Don’t be. I’m fine. I swear.”

He opens his eyes to gaze at me with more affection than I’ve seen from him before. “You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”

“No, I wouldn’t lie to you.”

“Good.” His eyes closed again. “That’s good.”

Cora comes into the room about ten minutes after Tom dozed off while still holding my hand.

“How is he?”

“He seems good. We were talking for a while before he fell asleep.”

“I’m glad you’re here. He was asking for you earlier.”

“Oh, he was?”

She glances at me. “Why do you sound surprised? You have to know how much he cares for you by now.”

Does she sound a bit testy, or am I imagining that?

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