His startling green eyes are filled with tears as he looks back into mine, unblinking. The tears begin to run down his cheeks as a wide smile breaks across his face. He leans back down to swipe a kiss over my lips and I shake him off with my head. I see him grimace as he steps back. “Um I’m going to get a doctor. I’ll be right back baby, I promise.”
Chase comes back a few minutes later followed by a doctor and Ally and Remy who both push past the doctor to come and give me hugs. “Oh Leah,” Ally cries out. “Don’t ever do that to me again. We were so worried you would never wake up. Chase has been here every minute with you since he rushed back,” she whispers in my ear.
I flick my eyes over and quickly take in Chases appearance. He’s dressed in a pair of black pants and an untucked white dress shirt that looks disheveled and I’m sure it’s the outfit he wore to the wedding they performed at, there’s a thick growth of stubble on his face and he has his black baseball cap pulled on backwards. I notice the dark purple circles under his eyes as he moves closer to stand next to me while the doctor examines me and he keeps his eyes trained on mine through the whole process.
“Well Leah everything checks out good. We were all just waiting for you to wake up from your little nap here,” he says with a wink. “Doesn’t look like there’s any serious damage besides this here,” he points down at the cast. “That’s definitely going to take some getting used to. Now I bet you’re ready to get this out,” he says as he leans down to pull at the end of the plastic tubing. “There will be just a slight pull that you’ll feel. It will be awkward more than anything,” he says gently as he guides the tubing out.
I gasp and lean forward to bark out a cough as he presses a stethoscope to my chest. “Everything sounds good, you’ll probably be set to go home sometime tomorrow. We’ll just want to monitor you for the night.” He picks up a clipboard to write out a few notes and nods to me before leaving the room.
My bed is instantly surrounded by everyone and I notice Skylar had joined the group while the doctor was examining me. “Oh Leah,” Remy says as she leans in for another hug. “I was so scared when I came up to the accident and realized it was Chases jeep. Then they wouldn’t let me be with you,” she broke off into a quiet sob and covered her mouth with a slender hand. “I’m sorry Leah, I don’t want to upset you.”
Ally and Skylar both come over to give me quick pecks on the cheek. “We’re gonna head out sweetie and check on Caleb. He’s doing fine by the way, Marys been helping out with him,” Ally says with a pointed look at Chase. “I think he needs sometime alone with you,” she whispers into my ear. I nod my head and try to steady my heartbeat as I can feel it begin to race. I’m not sure I’m ready to be alone with Chase but by the time I find the voice to tell anyone everyone is being shuffled out the door and Chase closes it quietly behind them.
He scootches a chair closer to my bedside and reaches over to grab my hand which instantly warms mine but I let it hang loosely. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here baby. As soon as Remy called I grabbed Teddys keys. I think I broke every speed limit and traffic law to get here.” I cover my mouth as I feel another cough coming on and Chase leans me forward and brings a cup of water to my lips. I feel the cool liquid trickle down my throat and it soothes some of the rawness.
“Chase,” I croak out at barely a whisper. “Please get out.”
His jaw drops and the hurt look on his face squeezes at my heart. “Baby what’s wrong, do you need me to get the doctor. Are you okay, are you in pain? What…”
I interrupt him holding up a hand, “Just stop, please. I don’t want to fight with you, I don’t have the energy.”
He purses his lips and rubs at the bridge of his nose like he’s trying to erase my words. “No Leah I’m not leaving. I promised I wouldn’t leave you and I’m not letting you push me away.”
“I think you owe it to me, considering.”
“Considering, what?” he says with a puzzled look on his face. I try to contain the tears I feel are on the brink but they begin to slowly stream down my cheeks. Chase tries to rub them away with his thumb but I push his hand away. He slowly drops it back down to his side and clenches it into a fist.
“I was in and out of consciousness for awhile Chase. I heard brief conversations in the small amount of times I was awake,” I narrow my eyes at him. “Is there anything I SHOULDN’T have heard Chase?”