Chapter 16
Nick tried to sit up but winced in pain and sat back. “Where... What’s going on?” he asked when he saw James. After taking another moment to get his bearings, he glanced down at the side of the bed. “Man, why are you holding my hand?”
James dropped it like he’d been burned. “I wasn’t,” he lied defensively.
The two stared at each other for a moment.
“Do you remember your name?” James asked.
“Yes, James, I do.”
James looked at Abby. “Okay, I don’t think we have to worry about amnesia.”
“You’re in a hospital, sweetheart,” I said.
Finally, James could no longer take the emotion. He abandoned all pretense of machoness entirely and squeezed Nick’s shoulder. “You were in an accident, but you’re all right. Just a concussion and a couple bruised ribs,” he said with a warm smile. “You made it through with just a few scratches.”
“I remember a car hitting me.” Nick glanced around, disoriented. He yanked the oxygen tube away from his face.
It was a rare occasion when I couldn’t determine what was going on behind those blue eyes of his, but I knew something deeper than the cocktail of drugs was blurring the corners of his mind, something I had no possible way of predicting. Does he even remember? Does he even remember what I said?
With his usual catastrophic timing, James leaned forward with a smile. “Abby said you two were fighting before it happened.” He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Want me to kick her ass?”
The tension eased for a moment before Nick looked up into my eyes. “Actually, pal, we, uh... Abby and I need a minute. Would that be okay?”
James’s eyes grew wide as he perched sympathetically on the edge of the bed. “Of course! Shit, with everything that’s happened in the last couple days, you’re going to need more than a minute.” He shook his head like a martyr, and I was seized with the sudden suspicion that James didn’t consider for one second that Nick’s “Abby and I” did not include him. “What do you want me to do? The way I see it, this damn hospital owes me. I can call up the board and have you moved to a private floor, send away the nurses so the three of us can enjoy a little peace and quiet.”
A faint smile flickered across Nick’s face as he gazed up fondly at his friend. By now, he knew better than to try to make the distinction. Instead, he simply made a strategic request. “I’m actually a little cold.” He shivered for dramatic effect, looking tragically helpless as he lay back against the bed. “Do you think you could find me a blanket or something?”
James was on his feet at once, a man on a mission. “Leave it to me,” he said, and the next second, he was pacing out into the hall, loudly shouting demands to the medical staff. “First one to find my friend a clean, warm blanket gets a crisp $100 bill.”
Nick closed his eyes with a painful chuckle as I leaned forward to stroke the side of his face. His eyes opened again the second he felt my touch, and I froze, wondering if it was allowed.
“Do you...” My throat constricted, and I took a deep breath before trying again. “What do you remember?”
The two of us locked eyes.
“I remember every single word you said,” he said simply.
There was a brief pause before I nodded quickly. I was sure it was good that he remembered, because it meant we wouldn’t have to go through it all again and risk him toppling out the tenth-story window or falling somehow into an open elevator shaft.
Then again, if he does remember, why isn’t he saying anything about it? What does he think?
“Abby...”
Two fingers lifted my chin, and I looked up to see him staring at me. I didn’t know when I had looked away, didn’t even know when I had started to cry.
“Nick, I’m so sorry.” The words shot out before I even made the conscious decision to say them. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the first second I found out. I’m sorry I ran away...twice. I have no idea what got into me, but if I had told you, maybe we wouldn’t be in this position. We’d still be back in the Hamptons, where the worst damage you could do to yourself would have been falling into a fountain. You know as well as I do that Harold would have dived in to rescue you before you could drown.” My voice rose in volume the longer I talked, working myself into a full-blown panic. “Still, I can’t be sorry about the baby. I’m sorry if you are, but I can’t be. I didn’t plan it and certainly didn’t expect to, uh...be expecting, but I am. No matter how strange the circumstances or terrible the timing, I already love this baby with all my heart,” I said, patting my belly. “I love him or her, even if our child is only about three months old.”
“Abby...”
Refusing to stop for even a breath, as I feared I couldn’t go on if I did, I ignored him and continued, “Look, I know you think you’ll be a terrible father, but, Nick, that’s just not true. I can’t imagine anyone being a better father! Not that you have to,” I was quick to interject. “I mean, if this isn’t something you want, I completely understand. I’ll move to the West Coast, or something, get a different job. You’ll never hear a word about this again, I swear not a word will be leaked to the press, and I promise that neither I nor the child will ever ask you for anything.” With that, I pushed swiftly to my feet, suddenly sure that was what he wanted to hear. “In fact, now that I think about it, you’re totally right. I’m so sorry. What was I even thinking? I’ll get my stuff and be out of the city by tonight. Let me just get my purse and—”
“Abby!” Nick shook his head with a gentle smile, still trying to finish his original sentence.
“What?” I asked softly.
“I’m so happy.”