Page 74 of After We Fall

I wanted to snatch the phone from her hands. She was nodding along. “Yes, we're on our way. Yeah? Okay.” A moment that felt like forever stretched before she hung up. “He doesn't know what caused the accident. He got more information from the hospital. She was knocked out, but she's conscious now, and it doesn't appear anything's broken. She has a cut on her shoulder from broken glass.”

I leaned my elbows on my knees, trying to take slow breaths.

“You okay back there?” Flynn called over his shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m all right,” I lied.

The rest of the ride was quiet. For every minute of it, I regretted that I hadn't told Harley I loved her yet. I’d been stupid and childish after she got upset with me for talking to Diego. It had been petty to just take off on this trip. One of the other guys would have done it. Maybe she wouldn't have had this accident if I'd been here. Maybe, maybe, maybe. All I knew was I needed to see her. The urge was so powerful I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin.

It felt like forever before we got to the hospital. Daphne and I raced inside while Flynn parked.

“We're here for Harley Jackson. We’re family,” Daphne said as soon as we got to the reception desk.

The woman there glanced down, tapping on her keyboard. “She's just been brought in. She's in an examination room right now. I'll tell the doctor you’re here. As soon as they have an update, someone will come out to speak with you.”

“Can you tell me how she is now?” I burst out.

The woman looked up, her gaze calm. “She was stable when she arrived.”

“Is that all they can tell us?” I muttered a few minutes later as we sat in the waiting area.

“That's probably all she knows,” Daphne said, patting my arm.

I was determined to tell Harley how I felt. It didn't matter anymore if she wasn't ready yet. I had faith she would be.

ChapterThirty-Four

HARLEY

My shoulder throbbed.

“How are you feeling?” the nurse asked.

My eyes dipped down to her name tag, which said Helen. She had a very practical air to her. Her hair was twisted into a braid, and her blue eyes were kind.

“I'm confused,” I finally said.

She smiled softly. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I think I fell asleep or fainted.”

She nodded. “Your records indicate a history of SVT, and your blood sugar is really low based on your blood sample. Your pulse was out of whack when the EMTs first checked it.”

“Fuck.” I rolled my head to the side. “I've been trying to go slow with this medication. I wanted to take the lowest dose possible, but I guess I’ll have to adjust it.”

“Maybe talk to your doctor. You're lucky.”

“How am I lucky?”

“Well, it could have been a lot worse. Nobody else was on the road nearby when it happened. You’re lucky someone drove by right afterward. It looks like you ran into the guardrail, and your car bounced to the other side and then rolled down an embankment.”

Having it spelled out like that made my stomach drop. “Lucky, I guess so.”

“We’re going to do a scan to rule out internal bleeding. Then stitch this up.” She gestured toward my shoulder, which was throbbing like hell. “One of the EMTs spoke to your brother and someone else out at the place where you live, someone named Daphne,” she said, looking down at a computer screen. “Apparently, you already have people waiting to see you.”

“Oh wow,” I murmured.

“It's good to have people who care,” she offered with a quick smile.

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