I’m ravaged by guilt. My mind is going to every dark place it can. All the terrible things that could happen to her fuck with me as the minutes go by. Then it’s an hour. Then it’s two. I just want to know if she’s okay.
I should call someone, but I don’t know her mom’s number. Hell, I don’t even know her mom’s name. Andrews. Cedar Grove. There are probably a few of them even in a small town, and who has a land line these days anyway. I shouldn’t be the one who delivers this news, but I’ll do it if I have to.
A doctor walks out. He doesn’t even get a chance to say her name, but I run to him.
“How is she?” My heart slams into my chest.
“Are you family?” He raises an eyebrow.
“I’m the only one here, Doc. How is she?” I exhale sharply.
“She has a concussion, but she seems to be okay other than that. We’re going to keep her overnight for observation.” He glances at his chart.
“When can I see her?” I’m relieved, but not enough to sit back down.
“Give me a few minutes. I’ll see what I can do.” He pats me on the shoulder and walks back into the ER.
She’s not okay, but she isn’t in serious danger. That’s good news for the moment. There are still a million things I need to say. She may not even want to hear them.
The doctor finally returns and leads me to a room. Ainsley has her eyes closed. That makes me nervous.
“Should she be sleeping if she has a concussion?” I give him a worried glance.
“We’ve already done a CT Scan, so it’s fine. She may need the rest.” He motions for me to enter the room.
My heart finally starts to beat somewhat normal again when I get to her bedside. I pull a chair over, sit, and reach for her hand. The doctors have done a good job of cleaning up her cuts and tending to her wounds. I only see one stitch along the bottom of her chin. She’s still beautiful. So fucking beautiful.
“Ainsley, I’m so sorry.” I squeeze her hand. “I know you can’t hear me, but I’m a fucking idiot. I shouldn’t have said all of that. Please forgive me.”
She can’t hear me. I’m rambling. I’ll have to say all of this again when she finally does wake up, but I’m just overcome with emotions right now.
“I never thought I’d meet someone like you. I never thought I’d feel this way again.” I lower my head and sigh. “I think I’m in love with you. As crazy as that sounds. Screw it, I know I am. I don’t care how crazy it is.”
“I think I’m in love with you too.” A weak, but absolutely adorable voice responds to me.
“You’re awake?” I lift my head in shock.
“I closed my eyes for a minute.” She tries to smile. “The light is kind of bright in here.”
“You heard everything.” I lift her hand to my lips. “I don’t care, I meant it.”
“I was on my way back to your apartment when the accident happened.” She blinks a couple of times. “You pretty much said everything I wanted to say to you.”
“I’m going to make this up to you; I promise.” I kiss her hand again.
“How did you even find out I was in the hospital anyway?” She grimaces from the pain.
“I tried to chase you down.” I sigh. “Then I saw you being pulled out of your car.”
I have so many emotions hitting me at the same time. Have I fallen in love with a girl I met last weekend? Absolutely, I have. We’re going to have problems. We’re going to have fights. This may not even be the worst one we have, but hopefully none of the others lead to something like this. We walked a twisted path to get to where we are, and now we’re going to walk it together. Hand-in-hand. I’ll never take what we have for granted again, whether it’s one of her fantasies or the two of us laying together skin-on-skin. She can call me Daddy all that she wants. I’d rather be her daddy than watch her walk away from me again.
“They called my mom.” She looks over at me. “She’s on the way here now.”
“I don’t want to leave you.” I squeeze her hand. “But I will if you think it’s best. I’ll just be a stranger in the waiting room.”
“No.” She shakes her head and grimaces. “You’re going to have to meet her eventually, right?”
“Not exactly the best circumstances.” I stifle a chuckle.