Page 79 of The Only Time

“Does anybody have my phone?” I ask.

Gabe pulls it out of his pocket. “Layla called a couple of times today. Alex answered and told her what happened. I hope that’s okay.”

I nod my head as I grab my phone. “That’s fine. What did she say?”

“She freaked out. Insisted on coming up here immediately. Alex convinced her to stay put and let you rest. There’s enough of us here to make sure you’re okay.”

“Thanks,” I reply.

I want to ask if there were any missed calls or texts from anybody else, but I’m too afraid to hear the answer.

The nurse finally comes back with some medicine to ease my pain. As soon as he puts it into my IV, I can feel it take effect. With the pain beginning to subside, my fatigue starts to set in. My eyelids start to feel like they are being pulled down by weights.

“Alright, let’s let Mia get some rest,” Ma interrupts the men as they all continue to talk around me. She kisses me gently on my forehead. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

I want to tell her to go home and get some rest of her own, but everything starts to fade as sleep takes over.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Eric

“What’s up with you lately?” Adam asks across from my desk as I look down at the spreadsheet he brought to me.

“Not a damn thing. Just working like usual,” I bite back, frustrated with his pestering.

He leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. “You are behind on your deadline for this acquisition. You’re never behind. You leave at five every day now. You never left on time before. You have a permanent scowl on your face and snap at anybody who questions you. Something is up.”

“I’ve been busy. And since when is it a crime to work normal hours around here?” I ask defensively.

“Not a crime,” he replies. “But not exactly going to get you in good graces with the higher ups.”

“Maybe I don’t give a fuck about what they think anymore.”

He opens his mouth to reply but my phone rings. I hold up my finger to him and pick up the call.

“Eric Williams.”

“Oh, thank god,” Layla cries on the other end. “I’ve called your cell like twenty times.”

I sit up straight, my nerves on high alert. “Layla. What’s wrong?”

“It’s Mia,” she chokes.

The air feels heavy, pressing down on me like an invisible weight. My hand clutches the receiver as a sinking feeling washes over me. “What about Mia?”

“She’s in the hospital. Her ex, he showed up at her house. I don’t know what happened. They just told me she was unconscious, and they were waiting for the doctor to speak to them.”

As soon as the words leave her mouth, everything around me seems to blur. My heart slams against my chest. Mia, hurt and unconscious. The words feel wrong as if they can’t possibly be real.

My mind scrambles to catch up, to make sense of what she is saying. A wave of nausea hits me as a gnawing feeling of helplessness takes over. I didn’t protect her like I should have. I let her walk away from me and straight into danger.

Every worst-case scenario floods my brain. What if she never wakes up? What if the last time I saw her was the last time forever? The thought grips my chest with an unbearable ache.

“I’ll call you back,” I hear myself choke before I drop the phone to the ground.

“What’s going on? Is everything okay?” Adam asks as he watches me stand slowly.

I look around the room, trying to figure out what I need to grab. Fuck it, nothing. I just need to go to her.

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