Page 84 of Only Ever Yours

Please let her be okay. She has to be.

She’s my sister's best friend, butfuck, she’s obviously so much more than that to me.

I finally get to the parking garage and throw my truck into park. Not wasting a second, I jump out and start into a full sprint, dodging other pedestrians as I make my way towards the emergency room doors. I need to get to her.

I reach the doors that lead back to triage; dammit, they won't open. Panic floods my body because I need her. I turn to my right to face the front desk. My breathing is still heavy from running as I speak to the lady sitting behind the desk.

“Hello. Can you please open the doors for me to get back?” I ask, leaning over the counter.

“What’s the patient's name?” She asks so calmly.

“Ellieanna Banks. She was brought in by ambulance.” My voice trembles, still trying to catch my breath.

“Are you family, Sir?”

Dammit.They're not gonna let me back.

Then, the thought hits me. Fuck it.

“I’m her fiancé,” I answer, and those words wrap around my racing heart.

“Oh, yes, sir. Head straight back and take a left to triage.” The double doors start to slide open.

“Thank you.” I don’t even know if she hears me, because I'm already making a beeline for her room.

I see her from a distance and immediately know it’s her; even amongst the chaos, I would know that blond hair anywhere. Multiple nurses and paramedics work together, transferring her from the stretcher into the bed. I feel physically ill at seeing her like this. As I get to the door, one of the nurses glances my way.

“I'm sorry, sir, but we need to get her stable,” she says, her tone firm but apologetic.

“I'm her fiancé,” I reply without a second thought, “I'm not leaving...” I will stay out of the way and let them work, but there’s no fucking way I’m walking out of this room. I need to be with her.

“That’s fine, sir. Just please stay to the side while we get her hooked up.”

I nod, knowing not to cause a scene; Ellie needs all the attention on her. And I can’t pull my eyes away from her either. It crushes me inside to see her beautiful blond waves streaked with crimson.

She has nobody else nearby except for Haleigh, and I can't bring myself to call her right now. Not until I know what’s going on and make sure she's going to be okay.

Haleigh is at home with her newborn baby, and she’s gonna freak the hell out when I call her; she’s still expecting us for dinner. She doesn’t need the stress of not knowing her condition on top of everything else.

I will call Ellie's family eventually, but right now, the only person she needs is me… or maybe it’s the other way around.

Because I sure as fuck need her.

The waiting is killing me.

She's stable, but she’s been out for almost two hours, and those hours have been pure torture. I'm not sure why she hasn’t woken up yet. I don’t think the doctors know either, and I’m going out of my fucking mind. They stitched her up, thankfully needing fewer stitches than it appeared; it was hard to tell with all of the blood smeared on her face and hair.

All of her vitals are pretty much normal. It's just a waiting game at this point. She’s fluttered her eyes occasionally, but she's still not waking up. The doctor said this is normal with certain brain injuries, but that does nothing to calm the panic in my chest. As I sit and listen to the beeping of the monitors, Nurses constantly come and go checking her vitals.

My beautiful Peachy just lies there, motionless, and the sounds begin to fuck with my head.

I can't fucking lose her.

I slide my chair closer to her bed, grabbing her hand in mine. I want to crawl in next to her and hold her like I did that one night not long ago. But I’m too fucking scared,scared I will hurt her even further. Her fingers are tiny compared to mine.

I bend down, pulling her cool hand to my lips. Damn, I just need her to wake up. I don’t even care if she yells at me or tells me how much she hates me, I just need her to talk so I can hear her voice.

“Peachy, you have to wake up. You’re fucking scaring me.” My words flow out like a prayer, as my voice trembles, but I’m desperate at this point.

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