Page 97 of Crave Me

“It’s okay, Dallas. Just give us a moment, please?”

He releases a deep breath but stands and kisses my forehead before looking at me, nose to nose.

“I love you. I should have told you sooner. I love you so much, princess, and there is nothing,nothing, that will change that. You aren’t alone anymore; we’ll get through anything. I’m so sorry.”

His words coat me in everything I’ve ever wanted.

Love.

Support.

Safety.

Comfort.

He swipes the tears from my cheeks before kissing me one last time and retreating out of the room.

“He seems like a good man. He hasn’t left your side.”

“How long have I been here?”

“Three days. You came off the ventilator yesterday but we’ve kept you heavily sedated so you could heal. You suffered severe damage to your abdomen from your seatbelt. This can happen sometimes in major accidents. We took you into emergency surgery where you received a laparotomy. While rare, you had internal bleeding that was caused by a vessel injury to your uterus. The trauma was quite extensive.”

“Okay . . .”

“You received a blood transfusion, but we couldn’t fix the lacerations and had to perform a subtotal hysterectomy. Luckily, your colon, liver, and kidneys were spared. Your cervix, ovaries, and both fallopian tubes were left as they were all healthy. But your uterus was surgically removed. You understand what this means?”

I blink back the tears fogging my vision and choke out my next words.

“That I’ll never be able to carry children.”

“That’s correct. I’m so sorry. We have therapists on call that are available to come speak with you when you’re ready.”

“No. Thank you. That won’t be necessary. I have a therapist I’ll reach out to.”

She goes through the list of my lesser injuries, pats my hand sympathetically, and stands to leave. “You’ll be in the hospital for at least a few more days, but your partner is welcome to stay as long as you’re comfortable.”

I don’t bother correcting her. I don’t know what Dallas is to me. And like I needed any more pain, the memory of our last talk with each other hits me like a ton of bricks.

The file on his computer. My background. The photos. Every detail of my childhood wrapped up in a little folder for him to view.

I close my eyes and let myself drift off to a place that isn’t here. For once, I’ll take the chance of my nightmares haunting me rather than be awake any longer in this unfair world.

“Recovery is going to be six to eight weeks. Bed rest for the first two. Do you have anyone at home who can help you?” the nurse asks.

“No. I live alone.”

“You’re not going home to your apartment. You’re coming home with me,” Dallas interjects.

“No, Dallas, no. I’m not.”

“I’ll give you some time to figure things out and come back to go over discharge in the morning,” the doctor says before leaving me alone with Dallas and his mom.

“Dallas, can you give me a minute alone with Blaire?” Dallas’ mom says. He opens his mouth to talk but she holds up her hand, stopping him. “I’m asking you out of politeness, but as your mother, it’s not up for discussion.”

Dallas stares-off with his mom before he leans to kiss my forehead. I turn away, but he kisses my head anyway before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Dallas’ mom sits at the foot of my bed and thinks for a moment. I sit silently, unsure what to say or where to go from here, bracing myself for a discussion as to how I’m freezing out her son and hurting him.

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