Page 101 of Meet Me in the Vines
I pull down on the handle and a whoosh of cold hospital air blows in my face. Donovan turns his head toward me as I walk in, flashing me his best dimpled grin. His eyes shine the deepest of blue, making me weak in the knees. My lip trembles and thestinging comes full force, just one blink away from the tears escaping.
“Hey, Mouse. Did you miss me?”
The wave of tears is here, flowing out of me unrestrained. He’s right in front of me. Breathing. But I’d watched him die. I blink again, praying this isn’t a dream.
Donovan is here.
Only Donovan King would smile after getting shot. His grin stays plastered on his beautiful face as he tilts his head slightly, leaning his head back on the pillow.
“Come here, baby,” he says, with a low, coarse voice. He pats the open space beside him, beckoning me to come sit. A sob escapes me as I run to his side, gently sitting beside him. He takes my hands in his, pulling them to his lips as he kisses my knuckles. He squeezes my hands and I’m fully revived. The second his lips touch my skin, I let go of my inhibitions. He tugs me closer. I hesitate and stiffen my body for a moment, not wanting to hurt him. He tugs me again.
“Kiss me, Audrey. I need your kiss.”
I lean in, pressing the most tender of kisses on his lips. My cries come out harder as he takes his hand and cups my cheek, threading his fingers through my hair. I dot kisses over the entirety of his face. I taste the salt of his tears as I kiss his eyes, wiping them away with my thumb. Our eyes glued to each other. Forest on ocean. The most beautiful pairing.
“I thought I lost you,” I croak. The pad of his thumb strokes my cheekbone as I lean into his palm, melting into his touch.
“You could never lose me, Mouse. I promised you—I’m not going anywhere,” he murmurs, pressing his forehead into mine.
“I watched you die, Donovan. Your heart stopped.” I sigh, shaking my head. The image of the paramedics shocking his body, then hovering over him, pumping into his chest over andover, is a stain behind my eyes. The beep of the flatline plays like a haunting song I can’t shake out of my head.
“Shh. Hey, now,” he whispers. “I’m alright, baby. I’m here.”
“Donovan, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry about everything. I should never have left the cabin that morning.” The words slip out of me like an avalanche, big and frantic. “I should’ve listened to you. I know that now. But goddamn it, Donovan, I love you so much. I love you so much it fucking hurts,” I sob. His hands stay steady on my face, holding me in place as I fall apart.
He sighs, kissing me hard. “I love you, Audrey. So much. Don’t apologize, it’s behind us now.”
“You saved me. Again. You…you came back to me,” I choke. Donovan pulls his face back from mine, taking me in. His touch is electric, sending shockwaves through my veins. He winces as he leans back, my hands immediately gripping his shoulders to ease him onto his pillow. His hospital gown slightly opens near his chest area, exposing his surgical dressing. He takes my hand and carefully places it over his chest where the bullet pierced through.
“You feel this, Mouse? This scar will forever be a reminder that no matter what, I’ll always protect you. I’ll take twenty more bullets to the heart if it means saving you. And I’d come back to you. Every. Time.”
The overwhelming swell in my heart overtakes me. Our journey together hasn’t been easy, but I don’t see it happening any other way. We are tethered to each other, forever connected. I no longer have doubts. As for my fears? They’ll come back. But they won’t control me anymore. Donovan’s love heals me from the innermost part of my soul. His love is so big, it’s worked its magic on me, shooting its light through my fingertips.
I feel the steady thud of his heart under my hand, the best feeling in the world. So alive and beating strong. For me. For us. Donovan seems so at peace despite the trauma he’s just endured.No lines between his brow, no tension in his face. Maybe it’s the pain medication he’s on. The oceans in his eyes are calm, not even a hint of a wave. He holds my gaze so intimately, and maybe it’s from everything that’s happened, but I still have to ask.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I whisper, gently stroking my thumb against his chest. He smiles at me softly, keeping his hand over mine that rests on his heart.
“Your mom called you her honey tulip, you know?” he murmurs. My breath hitches, bewildered that Donovan knows the name my mother called me while in the womb. Gran had been the one who shared that detail with me when I was a little girl, and from that day on, tulips were my favorite flower.
“How do you know that? Did Pop tell you?” I’m not even sure if Pop knew that was what my mother called me. Gran told me she’d watched my mother sit in a rocking chair, whisperinghoney tulipinto her belly, prodding for me to kick her hand.
“Wren told me. And she’s amazing, Mouse. She’s so beautiful, just like you,” he whispers groggily, his eyes slowly drooping.
Wren? My mother told him?
My mind races, trying to piece together what Donovan just said. It must be the pain medication. He’s drugged up from surgery and doesn’t know what he’s saying.
“I promise you, Mouse. She told me…” he drawls, as if to reassure me. Even on medication, this man still reads my mind better than anyone else.
I open my mouth to say something, but stop when I see Donovan drifting off to sleep as the steady beep of the heart monitor lulls him. I push his hair back gently away from his face.
I carefully lay myself down next to him, curling up in a tiny sliver of space. I don’t mind the discomfort, because as I drift offwith my hand pressed to Donovan’s beating heart, it’s my mom’s beautiful face I see before sleep takes me.
Chapter Thirty-Five
DONOVAN
THREE MONTHS LATER…
