Page 75 of Off Balance

How did she know my name?

Once she leaves and it's just the three of us alone again, I can't meet either of their eyes. I keep my gaze focused on the gap in the blinds, watching the nurses move around his bed.

"I'm not leaving," I tell them. "I understand if you'd rather I stay out here so you can be by his side, but I'm not leaving his line of sight until he's awake and coherent enough to tell me he doesn't want me here." I'll fight them to open the blinds so I can watch him, and he can see me if he wakes up, but I'll give them their space aside from that.

"I promised him," I say again.

CHAPTER 21

CAMERON

My throat feels like I've chugged acid, and my mouth tastes like it, too. Damnit, my head and back hurt. Where did I fall asleep? The fuck is that beeping sound?

Once I manage to pry my eyes open, the beeping sound gets faster. I try to say something, but all that comes out is a croaking sound. I'm in a dimly lit hospital room, with wires and tubes all over the place. The beeping gets louder and faster. My hands fly up to my chest, then my face. I accidentally dislodge the tube blowing air up my nose. Before I can attempt to sit up, a large body runs into the room and is at my side like a blur.

Dom.

"Hey," he says. "It's okay. You're okay. You're, uh, in the hospital."

"Duh," I croak out, because "obviously" seems too much to get out right away.

Dom chuckles and kisses my hand, then my forehead and my cheek, then my hand again. Someone clears their throat in the doorway. A heavyset woman with her hair pulled back ina severe bun crosses her arms and looks pointedly at Dom, pursing her lips.

"His mom went to get coffee. There's only one person in here right now."

"Mmhmm." The nurse rolls her eyes and looks at me. "Like he hasn't run in here every time you twitched in the past four hours."

I feel my lips quirk up on one side, which keeps them from wobbling for a moment, but then the tears spill over.

"Oh, baby. I'm so sorry," Dom murmurs. "What do you remember?"

The nurse comes to my other side, fixing the nasal canula and taking note of my vitals. She nods to Dom when he asks if I can have water, and I sip it gratefully. She's either waiting for me to answer, or Dom isn't allowed to be in here alone for some reason.

"I was in my dressing room. I wasn't feeling well. Emile was calling for my understudy. I panicked, and then, nothing." I look at Dom, tears and snot clogging my already hoarse voice. "What happened? The show, I?—"

"Fuck the show and fuck that massive?—"

"Dom!" My mother's sharp voice cuts through whatever he was about to say next. "You're going to upset him."

"He's already upset. I thought he might like to know—" Dom stops, and I fall a little more in love with him when he looks back down at me, realizing that they're talking over me when I'm awake and right here. "This wasn't your fault."

"Mr. Connor—" the nurse starts.

"I know, I know," he says, and squeezes my hand gently before passing the water cup to my mom. "I'm just outside, okay?" My eyes dart around the room, confused as to why he has to leave. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Why isn't he allowed to stay?" I ask, looking from the nurse to my mother and back.

"Just one family member at a time," the nurse says. "Anyway… Welcome back, Mr. Stevens. I'm Irene. I'm going to ask you a few questions, and then we'll get the doctor in here to talk to you."

Irene has me squeeze her hands, follow her penlight all around, and asks me easy things like my name, date of birth, whether I know where I am, and what year it is. Once she seems satisfied, she says she'll be back with the doctor as soon as possible. There's a trauma in the emergency room that might take some time. She instructs me to drink water slowly and not try to get up until the doctor clears me, then leaves me alone in the room with my mom. I can't help sending glances to where Dom is standing outside the window like my own personal guard. He's a bit menacing, actually. I don't hate it, but I wish he'd come back in and hold my hand.

When I glance back at my mother, she's watching me carefully, her expression sad and regretful.

"Is anyone going to tell me what happened?"

"We were hoping you'd have some answers for us, sweetie. But we'll get to the bottom of this."

"But Dom said?—"

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