Page 130 of Ink and Ashes
My jaw flexes, but I don’t tear my gaze from the hallway as I ask, “Did he make it out?”
I see Dom shake his head in my periphery. “No. He’s gone. It’s over.”
I should feel relieved hearing those words, but the tension in my shoulders doesn’t dissipate.
“It won’t be over until Holland wakes up.”
Beau taps me on the shoulder, and I know this conversation isn’t finished. But he knows better than to try to have it now, so with that, the two of them turn to sit with the rest of the crew.
A few more minutes pass before I catch sight of Dr. Jeffries through the window. He spots me immediately, and I try to read the look on his face. He looks solemn, but he always looks like that, so it’s hard to tell if he’s coming to deliver bad news or not.
That doesn’t stop me from asking, “What’s wrong?” the moment he pushes through the doors.
Jeffries holds up his hands. “Nothing’s wrong. She’s still not awake, but her vitals are improving.”
A collective sigh sounds from behind me.
“Can I see her now?”
Jeffries tilts his head down slowly. “Yes. You can come see her.”
I waste no time following him back through the doors. He leads me down the endless hallway before turning into a room on the right.
I see her, and my heart stops. She looks so fragile laying in the bed, so different from the Holland I’ve come to know andloveso well.
She’s hooked up to the machines with a cannula in her nose, a steady beeping the only sound in the room. But that beeping is what lets me know she’s still here, so I’ll listen to it for as long as it takes for her to come back to me.
“I’ll give you a moment,” Dr. Jeffries says from behind me. “Call if you need anything.”
I jerk my head, then make my way deeper into the room.
I stand at the end of her bed, watching her chest rise softly with each breath. I exhale shakily each time she does, that small movement giving me hope.
There’s a chair sitting in the corner of the room, so I pull it over beside the bed and take a seat. Then I gently place my hand in hers, pressing a soft kiss to the top of it.
“I’m so sorry, Hol,” I say. “This never should’ve happened to you.”
I swallow roughly as I keep my gaze trained on her face.
“Welland is dead. He got trapped in the fire, and he’s gone,” I tell her, hoping like hell she can hear me. “We won, Red. It’s over. You can wake up now.”
I shake my head, trying to hold myself together.
“Ineedyou to wake up, Holland. I’ll never be able to forgive myself if I lose you before telling you that I love you.” I squeeze her hand tighter, my knee bouncing. “And you can’t leave without telling me ‘I told you so’ once more,” I add, hoping maybe a bit of humour will do the trick, but it lacks conviction.
I release another shaky breath, resting my forehead against her hand.
“Please, baby,” I beg, because that’s how far gone I am for her. I don’t know what I’ll do with myself if she doesn’t make it through this. “Please.”
A tear sneaks past my waterline, and at the same time, her finger twitches.
I snap my head up to look at her. “Holland,” I say, rising from my chair.
She doesn’t open her eyes, but her hand twitches again, and she swallows. Then finally, she speaks.
“I told you so,” she rasps, and the moment I hear those words, every ounce of anxiety vanishes.
“Oh, thank God,” I breathe, then I lean down to press my lips to hers. She kisses me softly, and when I pull back, she’s looking up at me through her chocolate brown eyes.
