Page 50 of Back In the Shadows

“Ryan?” I tried to sit up, but the doctor firmly pinned my shoulders to the bed. “You can see him, but you have to promise me that you won’t try to sit or get up. We need to make sure you’re stable. You’ve been in and out for the last hour, and we can’t have you dying on us again.” She squeezed my fingers.

“I promise.” At that point, I would tell her anything to see a friend.

“Let him in,” Dr. Neely said. She stepped away from my bed and patted my foot.

“Ella? Jesus, Ella?” Ryan’s eyes were rimmed with red as he rushed over to me. He grabbed my hand and knelt next to the bed. “We thought we’d lost you. How are you here?”

“It’s good to see you too.” I gave him an exhausted smile. “Sebastian? The kids?” I choked on my words, overwhelmed with the idea that I would be able to see them again — touch and kiss them.

“Bass and … he’s a mess. I need to call him and let him know. Hell, Kip and Dope are on the way too. Cami is with the kids.”

Ryan stood and placed a sweet kiss to my forehead. “He’s going to want answers, but we’ll get to that in a bit.” He leaned down and whispered, “Death made a huge scene in the emergency room when the doctor told us you’d died. He was almost arrested, and now he can’t come see you.”

The news jolted me upright. “Keep him safe, Ryan. Please.”

“Ella, lay back down or Ryan will have to leave,” the resident said.

“He’s okay. I just had to handcuff them to the bed in the motel room,” he said so quietly I strained to hear.

“Them?” My hand flew to my mouth. “Are they aware of each other?”

Ryan nodded. “More later, though.” He removed his cell from his back pocket and gave it to me. “I don’t think anyone else but you should make the call.”

My heart lodged in my throat as I held out my shaky hand. “Can you dial for me?”

“Yeah.” Ryan tapped a few buttons, then gave me the phone.

“Tell me you know why she died.” Sebastian’s voice cracked, and my stomach sank like a stone with the pain in his voice.

The line crackled with static, drowning out my cries as I desperately tried to hold on to the connection. “I-I didn't die, baby,” I gasped into the phone, tears streaming down my face.“I'm here.” The sound of rustling filled the line, and I glanced up at Ryan, my pulse pounding in my chest.

“I think he dropped the phone.”

“Ella? Oh my god, is it really you?” His voice was tortured, desperate. “Or have I finally lost my fucking mind and I'm hallucinating.”

“It's me, baby,” I choked out, trying to control my trembling voice. “I've missed you so much.”

“I need to see you,” he pleaded, his words laced with panic. “I have to make sure that he isn't playing a sick joke on me.”

Sebastian didn’t need to explain to me whohewas talking about, I knew what he was saying.

“I understand, but he would never do that. He loves me as much as you do.” I bit my lip, reminding myself to be careful what I was saying. I wasn’t alone. “Ryan told me you had to leave the hospital, so you’ll have to wait to see me in person, but hang up, and I’ll have Ryan Facetime you as soon as we have the room cleared out.”

“Yeah, that would help, baby. I’m terrified to think this isn’t real, that I’m asleep and dreaming.”

“I’ll call you back in a few minutes. They want to monitor me some more, and I need to know what happened.”

“Can you ask them now and put me on speaker? My mind needs to make sense of it all,” he pleaded.

“Hang on.” I held the phone to Ryan and glanced at the doctor. “We’re going to put my husband on speaker. He’s much calmer now, but it will be best if you explain what happened and how I’m here now.”

Dr. Neely walked toward me. “Sure, then I can help with any questions too.”

Ryan tapped the screen and held the phone to where Sebastian would be able to hear everyone.

“Go ahead, doctor.” I closed my eyes, overcome with exhaustion.

“It’s rare, but it’s called advanced shock state where extreme shock triggers a protective response in the body. The metabolic process slows, and the cardiovascular system enters a near-complete shutdown. Cellular preservation mechanisms activate as a last-resort survival tactic. Your vital signs were undetectable, and your blood pressure approached zero. We announced the time of death after we tried to bring you back without any success. But by the time I talked with your brother and husband, you were with us again.” Dr. Neely motioned the resident forward. “Dr. Thompson is the one responsible for taking a chance and administering a high dose of epinephrine to you through your IV. It worked. If I’d been in the room, I would have never allowed it, but I wasn’t. Lucky you, huh?”

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