39. Isla

39

ISLA

The warmth of the room was the first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes. Then it was the IV attached to my arm and the fact that there was light. I was no longer in the dark, and since I could still feel aches and pains in my body, I could only assume that I was still alive.

But how could that be?

I rolled my head to the side and a nurse smiled down at me. “It’s good to see you awake. How are you feeling?”

My chapped lips cracked as I tried to speak. The nurse was already filling a cup of water for me and moving to hold it to my lips. “There,” she said, giving me small sips of water. “Better?”

I nodded, laying back against the pillow. Something was wrong, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. IKE. He wasn’t here with me. I gasped, sitting upright in the bed despite my exhaustion.

“Where is he?” I croaked out, my voice so hoarse and quiet.

“Just calm down,” the nurse said in a soothing tone. “It’ll be alright.”

“No,” I fought back, pushing her arms away. “Where is he? I need to see him!”

“The man you were brought in with?”

I tore my arm from her grip, heaving from the exertion. “Yes, I need to see him.”

“Okay, just calm down. I’ll take you to see him.”

“He’s alive?” I said, my breath catching in my throat.

A soft smile filled her face. “Yes, he’s alive. A little banged up, but he’ll be okay.”

Relief flooded me and I laid back and let her continue to check me over. How was I here? I didn’t understand it. The last I remembered, IKE was lying next to me and the lights were going out. I really thought when I drifted off to sleep that that would be the end.

Tears filled my eyes as I realized I was going to live. I didn’t know how or why, but I was here and my heart was still beating.

When she was done, she said she’d be right back. I wanted to believe her, but I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that I was alive. When she reappeared, she grinned at the wheelchair. “Your chariot awaits.”

“I would argue that I don’t need that, but I don’t feel like I could take more than two steps.”

“Yes, it would be a liability to the hospital. If it makes you feel better, we’ll go with that excuse.”

“It does,” I sighed as she helped me stand. As expected, my legs wobbled the moment my feet hit the floor. If it weren’t for the fact that she was holding onto me, I might have face-planted. Once I was sitting down, I noted the shaking in my legs and the breathlessness I felt in my chest.

“It’ll take some time to rebuild your strength.”

“How long was I in there?” I asked, not even sure if she knew where I was.

“The police said almost four days. You’re very lucky.”

I didn’t feel lucky. I felt like since I’d moved to Kansas, my whole world had gone to shit. But in reality, it would have happened no matter where I lived. “Where am I?” I suddenly wondered.

She frowned at me. “In the hospital.”

“I know that. I didn’t hit my head,” I chuckled. “I meant, where? I don’t know where they took me.”

“You’re in New Jersey.”

“No offense, but I don’t think I’ll be visiting again,” I grumbled.

She chuckled as she wheeled me toward the door. “I can’t say I blame you after all you’ve been through.”

A few heads popped up to look as we made our way down the hall. Nurses smiled at me as if they knew me, and a few police officers tipped their hats.

“Don’t they want to talk to me?” I whispered to the nurse.

“They do, but you have some very persuasive friends who have convinced them to give you some time before they start interrogating you.”

“Interrogating?” I asked sharply.

“Don’t worry. From what I understand, they already have a confession from the people who took you. Your statement will only close the file.”

I wondered if I should be more concerned about who took me, but at the moment, all I could think about was seeing IKE. The rest could wait until later. Another nurse hurried over to assist with the door, and then I was wheeled inside.

Even though I knew IKE was in here, it still stole the breath from my lungs when I saw him in the bed. Everything about him was always so lifelike, yet he laid in that bed and looked almost depleted. Bandages were wrapped around his hands and something came out from under the blanket near his feet.

“Warming pads,” the nurse whispered. “For his feet.”

His feet. Because he’d taken off his shoes and socks and given them to me. Not that they were especially warm, but it was better than nothing.

“Is he…”

“He’s okay. Just sleeping.”

The nurse wheeled me closer, and as if he knew I was there, his eyes opened and those blue orbs locked on mine with an intensity I hadn’t felt since those moments in the container when he confessed his feelings for me. Pain lanced through my chest as tears welled in my eyes. We were alive.

A sob broke free from my chest, and before the nurse could tell me to sit down, I was pushing out of the wheelchair and stumbling over to the bed. With his bandaged hands, he caught me and pulled me into the bed beside him, holding me tight to his body.

I buried my face against his chest, my fingers digging into the rough cloth of his hospital gown. No matter how hard I pressed my body closer to his, it was never enough. The tears wouldn’t stop coming as the terror of the last few days finally caught up with me.

“It’s okay,” he murmured, pressing kisses to my hair. I felt the bandage scrape against my back as he did his best to console me.

“I never thought I’d see you again,” I whispered, the tears still falling down my face.

“I know.” His voice was rough just like mine, and when he shifted the hair from my face and pressed his lips to my skin, I felt the crack in his lips, just like mine.

How the hell had we survived that? Was he hurt? Why did he have bandages on his hands? A million questions flowed through my brain as I laid next to him, crying against his chest. I felt like nothing would ever be right again, and that so much had changed in the course of four days. I didn’t want to think about what would happen next or how I would move on with life. As long as I was here in IKE’s arms, it felt like everything would be fine.