Page 81 of The Only Time

I thank her and run towards the elevators. On my way up, I try to think about what I want to say to her. My brain is fried from all of the traveling and has decided to stop functioning. Fuck it, I’ll think of it on the spot. I just need to know she’s okay.

What if she’s not okay?

The doors open and I take off walking as fast as I can. The sound of beeping all around me from all the machines just adds to the growing fear taking up residence in my stomach.

I find the room and enter without knocking or checking to see if anyone else is in there. The sterile scent of disinfectant floods my senses and fills me with dread. Then I see her lying in the hospital bed with her eyes closed. The sight of her hit s me like a punch to the gut. She looks so fragile lying there in the blue hospital gown surrounded by machines.

My chest tightens with an overwhelming mix of relief and heartbreak. Relief that she is alive, that I can see it with my own eyes, but the sight of her hooked up to all of these machines is almost too much to take.

My legs feel shaky as they take me to her bedside. I swallow hard. This isn’t my Mia. I want her to open her eyes, to smile at me, to laugh. I fall into the seat beside her and gently reach for her hand. I don’t want to hurt her, but I need to feel her skin against mine.

I close my eyes and press my lips to her hand. Is she in a coma? I couldn’t bear it. It feels like I hold my lips to her hand for an eternity, too afraid to back away.

“Eric?” a whisper pulls me from my thoughts.

I open my eyes, and her perfect green eyes are staring back at me. “Mia. Thank God. You’re awake.”

“What are you doing here?” she asks softly.

I stand up, keeping her hand in mine as I sit at the edge of her bed. “Layla told me you were hurt. I came right away. I’m so sorry.”

Her head turns to the side as she looks up at me. “Why are you sorry?”

“Because this is all my fault. If I hadn’t been so stupid and pushed you away,” I say as my voice wavers with emotion.

“Your decision has nothing to do with what happened,” she replies coldly.

The warm Mia that I fell in love with is not the one lying in front of me. I broke her trust. I can feel it, and it may be the worst feeling I’ve ever experienced.

“When I get my hands on that motherfucker,” I say through clenched teeth.

I can’t believe he thought he could lay a finger on her without any repercussions. Just thinking about him has me seething. I should’ve found him first and beat him to a pulp.

“He didn’t hurt me,” she replies.

“How can you say that? You’re lying in a hospital bed.”

“I mean…yes, he broke into my house and scared me,” she says and every muscle in my body tenses. “But he didn’t lay a finger on me. I tried to back away when he stepped closer to me and lost my footing and fell down the stairs.”

I should feel better that he didn’t do this on purpose, but there is no relief. He still scared her enough to back away which led to this.

“Mia. He did this. Don’t make excuses for him.”

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. I don’t want to stress her out, so I don’t press her on it. But this conversation is not over.

“Why did you come here?” she whispers, eyes still closed.

“I didn’t even think about it. The second Layla told me, it was the only decision that I could’ve made. It made me see things clearly for the first time. It’s like everything fell into place.”

It’s the truth. I just went on instinct without my head getting in the way. I don’t usually believe in fate, but something about this feels like it happened for a reason. I hate that I needed such a kick in the ass to wake up. To think all of this is my fault makes my stomach churn.

“So, you felt guilty like it was your fault, so you came,” she says as her eyes open and meet mine.

“What? No,” I reply defensively. “That’s not the reason.”

“You said it yourself. You feel like it’s your fault. So, you came here out of guilt.”

“Mia, I did not come here out of guilt. I came here because…because I love you.”

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