Page 166 of Consume Me

Another medic approaches me, but I push him away. I see the syringe, but with both Kaden and Hunter holding me, the needle pricks my neck and everything goes black.

***

When I wake up, an IV is connected to my vein, dripping steadily. My chest is bandaged in white tape, and an oximeter takes my pulse, the steady beat informing me that I am alive.

The girls are all sitting next to me. Bailey is the first to notice that I am awake and starts crying. There’s a haze in my brain until I remember, and then the machine monitoring my heart picks up, beeping like crazy.

“Where is he?” I ask, scooting up.

Bailey’s eyes are red-rimmed, and Abi wipes at her tears, saying, “In surgery.”

“So he’s alive?”

Celine’s chin dips into a small nod. “He flatlined twice. The doctor wouldn’t say more, just that he has internal bleeding from a ruptured spleen, and they’re trying to save it.”

All I hear is that he’s alive. “Take me to where he is.”

“Mia… you lost a lot of blood too,” Celine tries.

“I’m not the one fighting for their life, am I?”

Celine sighs, and Abi arranges for a wheelchair. Bailey pushes me down the hallway until we reach the guys.

“What are you doing here?” my brother asks.

“This is where I am supposed to be,” I say, and then a heavy silence descends.

Cassandra arrives along with Sebastian, my father, and Kaden’s mother. I hear myself telling my father that I’m fine, but I am not here. I am there with Blake.

One hour chases another, like my desperation chasing my hopes away. I’ve lost track of how long ago the nurse removed the IV from my arm and I’ve moved to an uncomfortable chair.

I stare at the doors that lead to the operating rooms.

“Please, baby. I need you. Come back to me. You said you’d always come back to me,” I whisper, hoping Blake could hear me.

The doors suddenly open, and the doctor shuffles toward us with bowed shoulders.

Inhaling deeply, she says, “We saved half of his spleen, but because of the internal blood loss and severe damage to his spleen, the next twenty-four hours is critical.”

I could lose him even though he survived the surgery.

“Can I see him?”

“Are you a relative?”

“Yes.” In my heart, I am his wife because he has a family with me.

The doctor escorts me to his private room. Blake is hooked up to various machines and I place my hand on his, refusing to let go. Not now, not ever.

It’s a damn struggle to peel my eyes open. When I finally manage it, my vision slowly turns from blurry to clear, but the light blinds me, and I shut them again.

Mia.Her name tears through my hazy mind and my eyes snap open. A machine beeps next to me. I am in a hospital room, hooked to an IV and a heart monitor. Warmth seeps into my left hand, and I redirect my attention there, my universe realigning.

Mia’s here, holding my hand. She survived and by some miracle, I did too. Happiness floods me, and life flows through my veins. The danger has passed, and I am free to love her. I vow to do that for the rest of my life and beyond.

I see her chest bandaged. Even though Caleb’s dead, the image of her injury puts me in a murderous mood. I can’t believe she killed for me. My love and awe for her, my woman, my life, my reasons are limitless.

A nurse steps inside, and when she sees me, she rushes tomy side, making a ruckus.

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