Page 62 of A Me and You Thing
She pauses, but doesn’t turn around.
“Thank you for taking care of my babies. Have you... have you been...?”
Sawyer answers for her. “Actually, Bree has been here with them almost the whole time. Since about... six weeks after we received the news of the bus crash.”
Oh, wow. I wasn’t expecting that. “Thank you, Bree. Thank you. I can’t thank you enough.”
Oddly, she doesn’t say anything. She simply continues up the stairs. I can hardly believe she has sacrificed her life to take care of my babies.
So many thoughts wander through my mind—how hard the changes will be for all of us, the adjustment to learning to be a family again. I wanted a hearts and roses reunion.
Instead, I feel like I don’t belong here.
I turn and face Sawyer. He’s standing an arm length away from me, much too far away. He’s staring at me as though I’m an apparition. He doesn’t know how to react. He’s uncertain and hesitant, perhaps scared I’ll disappear. His furrowed brow worries me.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “I know that was hard. They’ll warm up to you quickly. Their hearts still know you. Maybe... maybe that wasn’t the best timing. They’re tired and cranky. They had a long day.”
“Stop, it’s okay. I needed to see them right away.” My heart starts to pound again, and my head throbs with familiar pain.
“I can’t stop staring. Tell me I’m not dreaming,” he says softly.
“You’re not.” This is too much. My breathing turns heavy and erratic as my eyes wander my home. Everything is the same.
Everything except me.
My eyes land on Sawyer. He’s fading, blurring, slowly disappearing.
“Quinn?” I hear him say, sounding alarmed. “Quiiiiiinnnnn.” His voice is deep and drawn out, a slow-mo version of my name.
I can’t feel my feet, my legs, my hands. I feel like I’ve turned into a rag doll as someone flicks the lights off and the room goes black.
End scene.
NEXT THING I know, I’m sprawled out on the floor. Sawyer is cradling my upper torso and head in his lap.
He’s on his cell. “Yes, I need an ambulance right away. My wife...” He hesitates, not knowing what to say. I don’t blame him, the details are outlandish. “My wife fainted. Please hurry.”
I don’t want an ambulance or doctors or psychiatrists poking and prodding me. I’m dizzy, exhausted, and overwhelmed, that’s all. “No, Sawyer. I’m fine. I just need you. Please, no doctors.”
“Quinn... no. I’m sorry, no. I need to know that you’re okay, baby. Whatever you’ve been through, I’ll take care of you. You’re safe. I’ll be with you. I won’t leave your side.”
“Promise me.”
His face is close to mine, our lips only an inch apart. “Promise. I love you, baby. I love you. Please be okay. Now that I have you again, I can’t lose you. Don’t leave me, don’t ever leave me again.” His voice is rough as emotion gets the best of him.
“I won’t leave you, not ever again. I’m okay, I am. This is just... a lot.” The fact that I don’t have the strength to stand up makes me a big fat liar. I know I’m verging on extreme exhaustion. The thing is, I’m in Sawyer’s arms and my daughters are nearby. I no longer care about anything else. I have arrived at my destination. I can finally relax.
He presses his lips to my forehead. Then I watch as he looks up at the stairs, his expression filling with anguish.
I follow the path of his gaze to Bree, standing at the bottom of the stairs, watching us.
Her face is utterly blank.
I believe I’ve thrown everyone for a loop. Huh. That’s an understatement.
“She fainted. I’ve called for an ambulance,” Sawyer tells her.
Bree nods her head. “It’s for the best. She needs to see a doctor.”
