Best Dating Rules (The Best Girls 2)
“Thank you. I’m glad I’m not doing this by myself. I’m glad we have you.” With a weak smile she added, “Welcome to fatherhood.”
He heaved a heavy breath. “I don’t much care for this hospital stuff. Between you and Emily, it’s becoming way too frequent for my taste.”
“Mine, too. When did they say she’d wake up?”
“They can’t be sure. It doesn’t usually progress all the way to cardiac arrest like hers did, so they have a hard time predicting.”
Anne felt fresh tears forming and blinked hard. “But she will wake up, right? And they don’t think her brain went without oxygen?” She saw Spencer raise his head, hanging on Steven’s reply.
He paused, obviously thinking carefully before he spoke. “The doctors refuse to make promises, but it’s very unlikely she’ll have any permanent damage from a single incident. On the other hand, she’ll likely be very confused, and she’ll probably have a really bad headache and nausea. And that can last up to forty-eight hours.”
Anne swallowed hard. She wanted assurances not probabilities.
He said, “Look, I know you don’t like that answer, but it’s the best one I’ve been able to get. At least she’s breathing on her own now. That’s a good sign, and she won’t be terrified, waking up on a ventilator.”
“You’re right. I need to be thankful for every positive thing instead of worrying about the things I can’t change.”
She felt his eyes looking her over. “I know you’re exhausted. We all are. You won’t be able to stay up here all day tomorrow. Not unless you want to end up in the hospital yourself.”
“But I have to be here for her.”
“You can stay until she wakes up. But then I’m sending you home so Connie can take care of you.” Squinting his eyes, he added, “And don’t think I’m unaware you’re already feeling sick. I should probably check you into your own room.”
As Anne was formulating a counterargument in her head, Spencer stood to lean across the bedrail. “She’s moving, and her eyes are blinking. I think she’s waking up.”
*****
Emily had never felt so sick in her life. Her head pounded, and a blinding light assaulted her eyes. She struggled to open them, but it hurt too much. She could hear voices, vaguely familiar. Someone squeezed her hand. A heavy fog dragged her down. She w
illed herself to wake up. Her eyes squinted open slightly. Was that Spencer? Where was she? What was wrong with her? Why didn’t her body work right?
She blinked her eyes open again. Her mother’s face floated into her vision. Why was her mom here? Where was she? Turning her head to the side, millimeter by millimeter, she saw Steven and Spencer. Both wore frowns. Her mother’s voice was in her ear.
“—hurt anywhere? How do you feel?”
She drifted into oblivion.
Prying her eyes open, she felt a hand squeezing hers and gazed up into her mother’s eyes.
“What happened to me?” her voiced croaked. Her mother held a straw to her lips. Cool water soothed her parched throat. “Thanks. My head hurts.”
“You don’t remember anything?”
“No… Wait...” Her mind struggled to retrieve the muddled details. “I’m in the hospital. Was Spencer here?” She gazed around the empty room.
“He was here. Yes, he stayed until you woke up.”
“What happened to me?”
“You remember going to a bar with Asher Denning?”
The painful details of the evening trickled into her head, driving salty tears to pool and drip down her face. “Oh Mom, Spencer was there. It was awful. I knew I shouldn’t have lied to him. I feel terrible.”
Anne’s face was grim. “I wish now I’d tried to talk you out of it.”
“But he was here? Is he mad at me? What am I saying? Of course he’s mad.” She wiped her damp face with the back of her hand.
“He saved your life.”