Page 96 of Scoring Grey

“You sure?”He grabs my shoulders, and his eyes flick between mine.

“Yes. Where’s Adler?”

“I had Dad take him when I noticed you weren’t behind us anymore. They’re taking Cal to St. Catherine’s. Dad is pulling the car around.”

“Is he stable? Did you see them load him into the ambulance?”

His eyes soften. “All I know is his heart is still beating, but, Eloise. Hear me when I say this. His heart is still beating. He’s a fighterandI know he’s fighting his way back to you.”

27

CALLUM

“Remind me again… how sure are you that he doesn’t have brain damage?” I hear Eloise ask somewhere in the recesses of my mind.

“There’s no way to be one hundred percent sure until he wakes up, but we’ve reviewed the footage from the game, Ms. Grey, and his helmet didn’t come off until he was already down. We’ve X-rayed his spinal cord, his brain, and his neck. He doesn’t have any new injuries. The blow he took was nasty. Whatever caused him to pass out was most likely shock from the hit. Our bodies will shut down to protect themselves.”

There’s a softness, a tingling in my fingertips, and then a gentle squeeze. It’s her. She’s proof there is a God. She’s my lifeline, always has been. Her thumb runs over the back of my hand, and I try hard to respond, to find my way back to her.

“Cal,” she whispers my name with hope. That must mean the twitch I thought I felt was real, and I am regaining control of my body. “I think he’s waking up.”

“That’s good. The sedatives we used for surgery should be out of his system. It’s been twenty-four hours.”

Surgery? Twenty-four hours? I’ve been out for twenty-four hours. My eyelids flutter as I try to open them. The more consciousness ebbs its way back in, the more sensations appear. The tingling I felt in my hands now feels heavy, as does the rest of my body. The parts of my body that were dormant are now beginning to ache. I groan in pain, and I feel Eloise’s hand run through my hair, the sensation of her fingertips pulling at the strands easing some of the agony.

“Is he in pain? Can we give him more medicine?” she asks.

“Whatever pain he feels is most likely more discomfort than anything. He’s not a stranger to taking hard hits. I can make him comfortable when he wakes, but I’d like him to wake before I give him more. I will step out of the room and alert one of the nurses. Keep talking to him. Hearing the voice of loved ones is proven to help wake patients from comas.”

“Cal, I’d like you to wake up now,” she says in a mocking tone that seems unfitting of the woman who seemed concerned moments ago, then adds, “So I can kick your ass.” On the inside, I’m smirking. “You’re an ass, you know. You promised to always give me an O and broke your promise.” There’s a pause, and I wish like hell that I could see her pretty face. If I had to guess, she’s pursing her pink lips, her gaze intently fixed on my face, waiting for a sign that I can hear the lashing she’s dealing me now. I’m sure a tiny piece of her believes I’m pulling a stunt, waiting for the exact right moment to respond with a one-liner that says I heard everything. Then I feel her fix my blanket, a fidget I’m confident she’s done countless times waiting for me to wake up. “And you owe me a scar. The side of my face doesn’t count. Your dad gave me that one.”

There’s another pause, but this time, she takes my hand. Holding it between hers, I feel her hair drape over my arm as she kisses my hand. “Callum, if you can hear me, please wake up. I know they said you should make a full recovery, but I can’t believe it, not until you wake up. Maybe I’m being overly emotional, but it can’t be helped. Watching you take that hit was hard. There’s never a good hit to be had, but this one was different.” She grips my hand tighter. “I had to watch the horror on our son’s face.” Her voice cracks, and so does my heart. Fuck. “When he didn’t see his dad get back up and, Cal, it nearly broke me. I’ve always had you. Even when we weren’t together, I knew you’d be there for me and Adler if we needed you. The thought of you not being here is unbearable. It’s a pain I never want to feel again. I don’t want to know what it’s like not to have you.” She brings my hand to her lips again, and in their tremble, I find my strength to return to her. “So, you see, I need you to wake up?—”

“If I wake up, will you take my last name?” I croak as my eyes slowly flutter open, and hers dart up to mine. I witness the relief that floods her expression as her sad mouth curves into the start of a smile.

“Are you asking me to be your wife?”

“If that’s what it takes to make you mine so that you never have to go another day not having me in every way.” My thumb runs over hers. “I’m sure they have a chaplain on staff. We can get married right now.”

She’s out of her chair, her head snuggling into the side of my neck as she breathes deeply, the same way I do every time I hold her in my arms. Her scent is home. Releasing me sooner than I’m ready, her hands cradle my face as her ocean eyes land on mine. “I can’t marry you.”

My eyes narrow, and I know I have it wrong. She can’t possibly mean those words literally.

“I want a wedding.”

There it is. Wait, what did she just say? “You do?” I question, a little surprised.

“Yes, a big one,” she confirms, turning my surprise into shock.

“Really? I wouldn’t have thought that, considering you don’t like the spotlight.”

This time, her smile almost reaches her eyes. “Why wouldn’t I want a big wedding where I get to announce to the world that you are mine?” She releases my hand and swats my chest. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again.”

“Hmph,” I grunt as I catch her hand. “I had to wake up. I didn’t want to miss one second of watching you grow, my little girl.”

“Cal, I just stopped taking the pill. We aren’t pregnant yet.”

“Are you sure about that?”

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