Page 113 of Surprised By Love

Vicki’s hand on my arm jolts me out of my head. “Come on,” she says. “The doc will be here in a few minutes. I’ll wait until we hear what he has to say, then I’ll make a few calls and you can stay with her?”

I nod. “Of course. I’m not going anywhere.”

Vicki takes a seat on one side of Sam’s bed, and I take the other. I bring her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles as Vicki brushes a strand of hair off Sam’s face. I look up to see a tear glide down Vicki’s face.

It’s time for me to pull my shit together. I can’t let my fears make things worse for Vicki. They have lost so much; I need to be strong. I can deal with my own issues when I’m alone.

“She’s going to be alright,” I say, hoping I can believe my own words.

She nods. “Sam’s tougher than she looks.” Vicki sniffs and wipes a tear from her cheek. “She’s been through a lot. She’ll get through this too.”

I’m about to say something when a man clears his throat in the doorway. “I’m Doctor Richards.” He walks in and we stand, taking turns shaking his hand and introducing ourselves.

“So, what’s going on? Why isn’t she awake?” Vicki asks before I have a chance.

“We were hoping she’d be awake by now, so we’re running some tests to find out,” he says. “All her vitals and the baby’s are fine. Sometimes the body needs some more time to recoup after an accident. We hope it’s the case here. You’re more than welcome to stay for a while if you like.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Vicki says.

“If you have no more questions, I’ll go check on those results.”

I couldn’t ask him anything even If I wanted to. It’s like I’m in a trance. I’m standing in a room, and I can hear beeping and I know Vicki is here, but all I see is Sam.

“Hey.” Vicki grabs me by the shoulders and turns me to her. “Don’t go there. She’s going to be fine. Are you going to be okay here with her so I can go make a few calls?”

“Yeah. I’ll be okay. You go make your calls and can you please call my mom? I don’t want to leave Sam.”

She pats me on the shoulder. “I will.”

“Thanks,” I say as Vicki heads out of the room. I take my seat beside Sam and take her hand in mine. “Come on, baby. You need to wake up.” I kiss her knuckles again.

“I’m so sorry for being such a jerk for the past two weeks. You have every right to give me the silent treatment, but this isn’t the way to go about it. If it’s something you need to do, I will give you that, but please wake up first, so I know you’re okay.”

I take in the bandage on her forehead and lower my eyes to see a bruise on her left cheek and wonder if her face hit the window in the crash. Mac had said her airbags went off. Thank fuck. I wonder if she has bruises anywhere else.

The need to be close to her is overwhelming, so I bring her hand to my lips again. If I could crawl into the bed and hold her close, I would.

But before I do, Vicki enters the room to tell me she called Becca and my mom and told them everything.

She takes the seat on the other side of Sam, and I’m not sure how long we sit in silence before the doctor shows up. He tells us there is nothing in her scans or the tests, and we need to wait and see. He strongly believes it’s her body’s way of healing.

“I’m going to go grab a coffee and update Becca and your mom. Do you want a coffee?” Vicki says, standing.

I look up at her and nod. “Sure, thank you.” She gives me a tentative smile and exits the room.

I pull my chair closer to Sam’s bed and clasp her hand in both of mine, bringing them up to my lips. Even if she can’t hear me, I have to tell her everything I planned on telling her when I got to her place today.

Lowering my head, I say the words I’ve been too afraid to say. “Sam. I’m so sorry for everything, sweetheart. Truth be told, I got scared. I was so scared history would repeat itself I freaked out. To tell you the truth, I’m still scared, but I’m more scared of not having you in my life. I love you, Sam. I love you so damn much and I hate that I’m telling you this for the first time while you are unconscious.”

Her finger twitches in my hand, and I hear a soft sound coming from her lips. I jolt up and look at her beautiful face.

“J… Josh?” she whispers.

I’m up out of the chair and cupping her face in my hands. “Oh my God, baby. There you are. Are you okay?”

“Josh,” she croaks out.

“Yeah baby, it’s me. I’m here.”

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