Staying on Course (Finding our Way 2)

p; I wipe my cheeks and slip the ring on his finger then lift it to my lips.

His chest rises and falls as normal, and I sit down and curl into his side like most nights. My eyes get heavy at the sound of his heart beating. I fall asleep with memories flooding my mind.

The way his lips curl when he gives me a cocky grin.

The heat in his eyes when I walk into a room.

The deep sound of his laugh when I amuse him.

The touch of his lips on my skin when he kisses up my spine.

The warmth of his body wrapped around mine after we make love.

The feeling of his hand running through my hair and massaging my scalp.

I snuggle in closer to him and inhale deeply, remembering his scent. Pressure on my head deepens, and I whimper, wishing it was real.

“Devon?” A raspy voice calls to me in my dream.

“Baby,” I reply, hoping he’ll keep talking.

“Devon, baby, wake up.”

“I don’t want to. You’re talking to me finally. That means you know who I am.”

“Of course I know who you are.”

“No, you don’t. If I wake up, you won’t know me. In my dreams, you always will.”

“Baby, what the fuck are you talking about?”

The heartbeat under my head speeds up, and the hand on my head moves to my neck, rubbing lightly.

It feels so real; my eyes fly open, and I jerk back. Bryce stares at me with complete clarity. He scans my face, and his blood pressure starts to rise. The monitor beeps loudly, and I shout out.

“You’re awake!”

He nods and then winces.

“Do you recognize me?”

“How could I not?”

“Tell me before the nurses bombard us. Who do you think I am? Give my full name.”

“Devon Marie Harris soon to be Randolph.”

Relief washes through me, and my head falls to his side. “Thank you, God!” I exhale as two nurses come in.

The next ten minutes are a blur as Bryce is checked over and the doctor is called. We give him a condensed version of the accident and what his injuries are. His eyes stay locked to mine the entire time. I’m frozen in place, scared to move. Finally, I snap out of my trance and reach for the phone.

Quickly, I call Sheila and then text Nate and Quinn. The nurses finish and leave, saying a doctor is coming. Bryce reaches his good arm to me.

“Come here.” He pats the bed.

I crawl in carefully and attach myself to his side. “Please don’t fall asleep again. Don’t leave me,” I beg.

“I’m not going anywhere.”