11. Mercy

I triedmy best to hold back the tears as Chase left my room. I wasn't normally a crier, but I'd been through a lot over the last two weeks, and Chase had been the bright spot in my day. There was something about Chase that made me feel alive again. He wasn't like anyone else I'd ever met. It wasn't just his ruggedly handsome good looks that had me swooning, though. He was kind, but fierce, knowing just when I needed a little laughter in my life.

"I will not cry over a man," I chastised myself. "It wasn't like he promised to stay with you, or even have a relationship with you."

Besides, I'd practically thrown myself at him. What was I expecting? At the time, all I could think about was how much I wanted him. I never considered how much it would hurt when he walked out the door.

I quickly swiped the moisture from my face and refused to cry another drop. Whether he was here or not really didn't matter in the scheme of things. He had a life completely different from mine. What were the chances it would work between us anyway?

I barely pulled myself together as the door swung open and Elijah marched through with two paper cups, both of them steaming.

"Hey, I talked to the nurse and she said some hot tea would be fine. There's no honey in it, but I figured it was better than nothing."

I smiled gratefully as I took the cup from him, but inside I was disgusted. I hated tea, and it was even worse when there was nothing to sweeten it with. But as a child, my parents insisted that herbal tea was good for me, so I ingested it every day even though it made me want to puke.

"Thank you."

He made a point of looking around the room. "So, the bodyguard is gone?"

I hated when Elijah acted like this. "You know he's gone."

"Good. He wasn't good?—"

"Elijah, can we not do this right now? I know how you feel about him, but the man saved my life. He's gone, so let's drop it."

"Fine. Your parents should be here any minute. I've already talked with the doctors about your discharge papers. I know you'll want to be out of here as soon as possible."

"They only just started me on my meds," I said incredulously.

"Don't worry. Your parents have taken care of everything. Now, when we get home, you'll go immediately to your cardiologist. I already called him and made sure he prioritized you."

"Elijah, there are actual sick people that need to see him more than I do," I chastised.

"Mercy, you were running through a jungle for weeks. Don't argue with me on this."

I sighed and closed my eyes, pretending to be tired so I could get some relief from Elijah's ramblings, but that didn't stop him. I nodded along as he told me all the plans he made while I was unconscious. If it were up to him, I would be sleeping for the next two weeks while I recovered from my ordeal. But there was no way I was staying in bed, especially not if he thought he'd be staying by my side.

After being with Chase, there was no way I could sleep with Elijah. Not just because it would be wrong, but because there was a level of passion I experienced with Chase that I knew I would never feel with another man as long as I lived. He brought out something in me that had been hidden all these years. With Elijah, everything was just bland in comparison.

"Mercy, are you listening to me?"

"Sorry," I murmured, glancing over at Elijah. "I guess I'm just tired."

With a worried frown, he pressed his hand to my forehead. "Your fever is almost gone. I'll get the doctor and have him check you over."

I would have argued with him, but the fact that he was leaving was a relief. I closed my eyes again and tried not to think about Chase, but his face invaded my thoughts no matter how much I tried to push him away.

"Mercy!"

I groaned internally hearing my mother's voice. It was bad enough that I had Elijah hovering over me, but now my parents were here. I tried to prepare myself mentally for their arrival, but nothing could truly set my mind at ease knowing Art and Jennifer Monroe would be invading my space.

"My God, you look terrible," my father said, hurrying to my side.

"Art, don't say that. No woman wants to hear they look terrible."

"But she does. What were you thinking? You know you can't take risks like that!"

"She can't refuse to live life either," my mother argued on my behalf.

"And look where that got her. She's in the hospital. She could have died."

"Do you think I don't know that? I was there every step of the way while you were working. I know what this could have cost her!"

"Then you should have stopped her from going!" my father shouted.

"Enough!" I yelled. I could feel my blood pressure rising every minute they were in the room. They could never agree on anything, not even when it came to me. They might be the best doctors I knew, but they were gigantic pains in the ass.

"It was my choice to go," I said calmly, drawing their attention to me instead of on each other. "I knew what the risks were when I decided to go."

"And you didn't think of us," my father grumbled. "I was against this from the start."

"I know you were, but this is about me. I can't hide from life. It's been years since the transplant."

"And that heart will only last as long as you take care of it," my father chastised.

My mother shot him a quelling look, moving to my side and picking up my hand. "You have to let her live her life. What's the point in the heart transplant if she goes through the rest of her life walking on eggshells?"

My mother was a romantic at heart like me. When I was sick, she would take me out to do things my father never would, though she put up a good front for him. That didn't mean she didn't worry about me. She just understood where I was coming from.

"Besides, once we get home, she'll stay with us until she gets the all clear from the doctor."

I groaned internally at the thought of spending a week with my parents. Hovering was a skill they perfected a long time ago, and since I moved out and went to college, I'd been blessed with peace in my life. That was all about to change.

"Fine," my father relented, shoving his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Just promise me, no more adventures. My heart can't take it."

My mind immediately drifted to Chase and how he walked out of my life. Grudgingly, I admitted to myself and my parents that there would be no more adventures.