23. Leyland

Leyland

The pounding in my head wasn’t just persistent, but consuming. It started as a dull throb this morning, easy enough to ignore, but by the afternoon, it felt like a hammer striking the inside of my skull. Every movement made it worse, and even sitting still left me feeling sluggish and foggy.

I shut all the blinds eventually to eliminate sunlight, grateful for my blackout curtains.

My chest felt heavier than it should when I finally stretched out on the couch and closed my eyes, after cutting every light out in my place.

The idea of going to urgent care crossed my mind more than once, but the thought of dragging myself out the door and sitting in a waiting room for hours felt impossible.

My primary care physician warned me headaches might be a side effect of hitting my head in the accident, but I hadn’t had one like this until now.

I knew I couldn’t ignore it for long, but didn’t have the energy to move.

Just as I began to doze off, my phone buzzed beside me. I stared at the screen for a moment, my vision swimming slightly before I registered the name flashing across it.

A weak smile tugged at my lips as I swiped to answer. “Tiny, baby.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked, making my smile widen. “You sound weird.”

“Just a headache. But I’ll be fine after a couple hours in the dark.”

I could sense her concern, even envisioned the frown she was probably wearing.

“Can I come over and take care of you?”

“You worried about me?” I asked.

She scoffed and answered exactly how I expected her to.

“Yes, because two and a half months ago, you went through a serious brain trauma.”

I hummed and then said, “And because you care about me.”

She chuckled, and I smiled again.

We both knew it was true or else she wouldn’t look at me the way she does. Wouldn’t have let me have my way with her body, either.

But I still wanted… no, craved to hear her say it.

“And because I care for you, yes. Now sit tight. I’ll be there soon.”

She hung up before I could respond, though I had no plans to stop her. Arguing with Clementine when she had her mind set on something was a losing battle, and honestly, I wasn’t sure I had the energy to fight her, even if I wanted to.

It felt like minutes but could have been an hour when I heard the hard knock at my door. Forcing myself to my feet, I shuffled over and opened it to find Clementine standing there, her expression a mix of worry and determination.

She stepped inside without waiting for an invitation, a bag slung over her shoulder that I recognized as her on-call medical kit.

“You look like hell,” she said as she took in my appearance. “Sit…” she pointed to the couch once we made it to the living room. “Let me take a look at you.”

I obeyed without protest, falling back onto the cushions as she set her bag down and pulled out a blood pressure cuff and pulse oximeter. Her movements were efficient but gentle, her brow furrowed in concentration as she wrapped the cuff around my arm.

“You didn’t tell me it was this bad,” she said, tone scolding but still soft, always soft.

I didn’t respond, fascinated by her presence like always.

Clementine glanced at the reading after the machine stopped, before she reached for the pulse oximeter. Slipping it onto my finger, she waited for the reading to stabilize before nodding slightly to herself.

“What’s the verdict, Doc?” I asked, trying to inject some levity into the moment.

“You’re alive,” she said dryly, but the worry in her eyes didn’t fade.

Her hands moved to my forehead, and I forced my smile away. The touch was clinical but still sent a wave of comfort through me.

Fuck. I loved her ass.

“Do you feel any dizziness?

“A little,” I admitted. “It’s mostly just the headache.”

She nodded, her fingers lingering against my temple for a moment before pulling back. “Your vitals look okay for now, but this could be related to your accident. I think you should see someone.”

“Someone like you?”

Her expression softened at my attempt to joke, and she shook her head. “Leyland, I’m serious.”

“I know you are…” I reached for her hand. “And I appreciate you coming over, even if you’re bossing me around.”

She gave me a barely there smile, but I could see she was genuinely worried.

As Clementine packed away her equipment, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. The way she moved, the way she fussed over me—it was impossible not to feel something deeper than gratitude.

“I love you,” I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

Clementine froze, her hand hovering over her bag. Slowly, she turned to face me, eyes wide, even though she knew how I felt already.

“Moments like this remind me why I love you,” I continued, my voice steady despite the pounding in my head. “The way you care, the way you just... show up. You make me fall for you all over again, tiny.”

“I’m so behind,” she said quietly. “Wait for me to catch up.”

I smiled and reached out to pull her closer. “I’ll wait as long as it takes.”

She settled beside me on the couch and tapped her thigh.

“Lay here.”

I did so without question, resting my head in her lap before wrapping my arms around her waist.

Clementine rubbed my temples slowly.

“You make everything better,” I whispered as the exhaustion finally took control.

A faint yet consistent beeping pulled me from my sleep, but the unmistakable scent of antiseptic that hung in the air gave me pause. For a moment, I thought I was dreaming. But as my vision cleared, the reality of my surroundings set in.

I was in the hospital.

Again.

Panic bubbled in my chest as memories from earlier came rushing back—the headache, Clementine, falling asleep on the couch.

What the hell happened?

Turning my head slightly, I caught sight of her. Clementine sat beside the bed, her posture straight, but I could tell how exhausted she was, like she hadn’t slept in weeks. Her hands were clasped in her lap, eyes fixed on the monitor beside me.

“Tiny,” I rasped, my throat dry and scratchy like I hadn’t used it in a while.

Her head snapped in my direction, eyes widened in relief.

“I can’t believe it,” she whispered, her voice shaky before she burst into tears and rushed over.

She climbed into bed with me and I was so confused by her reaction I said nothing, only held her.

I looked around the room, taking note of the flowers—new and old—and Clementine’s favorite crochet blanket folded at the end of my bed. When she gripped my shirt, I glanced down at her. That’s when I spotted it, the ring on her finger—a ring I recognized all too well.

The same ring I’d given her in the life I thought we’d shared.

My chest tightened as confusion and dread flooded through me.

“Clem,” I said again, my voice shaking. “What’s... what’s going on?”

She tipped her head back, eyes full of tears that made little sense, and cupped my face.

“It’s okay,” she said softly. “You’re okay. We’re okay.”

But I wasn’t okay; I was confused.

The edges of reality and my dreams seemed to have blurred again, leaving me grasping for something solid.

Had any of it been real? Was this real?

I closed my eyes, willing the pounding in my head to subside, but it was no use. The only thing grounding me was Clementine’s hand and the sight of that ring.

If this was a dream, I wasn’t ready to wake up.

“Do you remember what happened?” she asked after a long bout of silence.

“I…” she sat up then got out of the bed. “I had a headache, and you came over to check on me. The last thing I remember was you rubbing my temples before falling asleep. How did I end up here?”

The horror in her eyes left me feeling like I’d said something wrong.

“Is that not what happened?”

She shook her head, tears spilling from her eyes again.

I really hated seeing her like that, it was breaking my fucking heart.

“Baby, you’ve been in a coma for two and a half months after falling asleep at the wheel. It was induced, but when they weaned you off the drugs…” she wiped her eyes. “You wouldn’t wake up.”

I bit my lip, trying to make sense of what she was telling me. Had I not woken up the first time like I thought? Had that… alternate life not been real?

Did that mean…

“We’re married, right?” I asked, reaching for her left hand and brushing my thumb over the green moss agate centered on her ring. “I gave you this.”

Clementine sat on the edge of the bed and pushed her fingers through mine.

“We are married, superstar,” she whispered, using the nickname she’d given me when we first met. “It’s been eight and a half months since we said, ‘I do’ and I was worried that’s all we’d get.”

Our eyes met, and I knew… I knew right then that I was back. That we were back.

That what I’d been experiencing before wasn’t reality no matter how real it felt, but what remained the same was this woman looking at me as if I were her world.

Like she was mine.

“You love me?”

“I’m in love with you,” she said without pause, gaze never leaving mine. “There is no Clementine without Leyland.”

My eyes fluttered closed as I let those words settle inside of me.

“What happened in here…” she brushed the fingers of her freehand over my forehead. “while you were away.”

While I was away.

“So much,” I whispered, breathing deeply before opening my eyes. “You’ll never believe me.”

Her lips curved into the most beautiful smile.

“You can tell me all about it after I get your doctor in here.”

She got up and went for the door but stopped short and turned back, her eyes meeting mine like I might disappear—not knowing I felt the same.

“I love you, superstar.”

It felt good to hear that again.

“I love you, too, tiny.”

When she wasn’t in my line of sight anymore, I whispered over and over, “Please let this be real.”

I needed this to be real.