CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
A while later, the doctors finally came out to give us news. Almost eight hours had passed since Jillian had been attacked, and I was going out of my mind. I needed some news, some update on her condition to wash away the worst-case scenarios.
“She made it through surgery.” The doctor’s words were met with happy tears, hugging, and all around sighs of relief. “But she still has a long road ahead of her. She suffered a compound fracture of her tibia, six cracked ribs, and her clavicle was fractured. We went in and repaired the collapsed lung and had to remove her spleen. The MRI showed some slight swelling on her brain, so we’ll have to monitor her for several more days still.”
“When can I see her?” Mrs. Mayfield asked.
“She’s in recovery, but I’ll have a nurse come and get you as soon as she’s transferred to another room.”
“Thank you, Doctor. Thank you so much.” Her mom and dad hugged each other tightly, and I sank to the floor, unable to hold back the tears.
Most everyone left to get some sleep and some food, preparing for a long day again tomorrow. But I couldn’t leave her. Around three in the morning, a nurse came out and took mercy upon me.
“Do you want to go in to see her? You can only stay for a minute, but I know your type. You won’t leave until you’ve laid eyes on her, held her hand. Am I right?”
I nodded, standing as the nurse led me toward Jillian’s room. “Thanks. I won’t disturb her. I only want to talk to her for a few minutes.”
“She’s a lucky girl to have someone who loves her so much.”
“I—I don’t—” I started to object, but the nurse stopped me.
“Darlin, you’re only foolin’ yourself if you deny it.” She stopped outside of one of the rooms in the CCU. “She’s in there. Go on in now. You’ve got ten minutes.”
Do I? Is this love? Maybe, but I can’t be sure.
I couldn’t even begin to process the nurse’s assessment of our relationship, so I stepped inside the room. The scent of antiseptic and chemicals was overwhelming, drowning out the beautiful coconutty aroma Jillian usually exuded. I walked toward her bed and stood in front of her. She had an IV in her hand, and her arm was in a sling. There was a cast on her foot, and she was covered in bruises.
The sight broke my heart. I sat in the chair next to her bed, taking her hand in my own and kissing it gently.
“I’m so sorry, Jillian. I didn’t protect you. I should have stayed. I promised that you’d be safe with Christian out of your life, and I failed.” I stroked her soft wrist with the pad of my thumb. For a long time I sat silently staring at her, watching her chest rise and fall and listening to the steady cadence of her heart.
The nurse peeked her head in the door. “Time to go.”
I bent and gently kissed her on the head. “I’ll be back in the morning, Cupcake.” I brushed the hair out of her eyes, tucking a loose strand behind her ear. Finally, with a loud sigh, I walked out the door.
When I arrived the next morning, no one was in the waiting room. I diverted and walked down the hall to her room. JT and Trish were standing outside, holding hands.
“Hey,” she greeted me. “Jillian’s awake. She’s been asking for you.”
I swallowed hard as emotion flooded me. I started to walk inside, but JT grabbed my arm to stop me.
“One more thing you should know. The police were here this morning to get her statement. They said her description matches the guy Christian gave them. They were on their way to pick him up. Jillian said she scratched the guy’s arm before she fell, and they were able to collect the skin from under her nails. As long as they find the guy, it should be a no-brainer to nail him.”
“JT, I could kiss you. That’s the best news I’ve heard in a while.”
“Why don’t you go kiss your girl instead?”
“I think I’ll do just that.”
When I went inside, Jillian was wide awake and sitting up in bed. I was surprised to see her looking so alert, but it thrilled me. She was flanked by her parents and drinking juice out of a small container like we used to have in elementary school. I stood by the door, taking in the sight of her smiling and laughing so soon after almost dying. Her resilient spirit never ceased to amaze me.
Jillian paused as she eyed me watching her. “Grant,” she breathed.
I lost all of my tough guy swagger at that one word, rushing to her side. Her mom and dad glanced between us and quietly stepped out of the room.
I bent cupping my hands around her face and kissed her lips gently.
“There has never been a more beautiful sight than your bright green eyes looking back at me. I was so afraid, Jillian. So afraid I’d never seen you again.”
She cleared her throat. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I sat in the chair next to her, and for several long minutes I leaned my forehead against hers. My hands fingered through her soft hair. I kissed every inch of her I could reach: her fingers, her nose, her ear, the inside of her elbow.
“The whole time I lay there after I fell out of the window, it was your face I saw. I couldn’t die, because we were supposed to have a date.”
I laughed. “Oh, Cupcake, we’ll have that date. I promise you.” I brushed the tiny hairs from her forehead, watching her eyes fight to stay open. “Sleep now. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Promise?” she mumbled.
“Je te promets.”
My phone rang just after lunch. When I saw the 650 area code, my heart sank. I’d totally forgotten about the Google interview with everything that happened.
“Who is it?” Jillian asked.
I kissed her forehead and stood up. “I’ve got to take this. I’ll be right back.”
“Grant, what’s going on?”
“It’s nothing you need to worry about. I’ll tell you about it after I get off the phone.” I stepped out in the hall, and Ava and Trish (sans JT) took my place.
I slid the phone to answer. “Hello, this is Grant.”
“Mr. Hardwick? This is Nicki with Google, Inc. Your interview was to start a half hour ago, but our records show you never even made your flight.”
I ran a frustrated hand through my hair and banged my head against the wall lightly. When I turned back around, JT was in front of me, eyes squinted in question. I ignored him and answered her. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Beck. I’m not going to be able to make the interview. Something came up and I’m unable to leave right now.”
“Mr. Hardwick, you do understand this is the only opportunity we can give you? We will have to make a hiring decision by the weekend, and this was the only opening in the interview process we had.”
“Yes, I understand. And I’m so sorry. Thank you for considering me.”
“We’ll note on your application that you declined the interview. I hope whatever issue that came up gets resolved.”
I glanced through the window at Jillian. Her eyes were closed, and Ava and Trish stepped away from her, talking in the corner while she rested. “Me too, Ms. Beck. Goodbye.”
I hung up, slipping my phone back in my pocket. JT stared at me, waiting for me to explain. “C’mon. I only want to explain this once.”
We walked back into Jillian’s room. Ava went to the other side of the bed, and I sat in the seat closest to Jillian, taking her hand in my own. She stirred, yawning as she pushed the button on her bed to help her sit up.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to doze off. Have you been waiting long?”
I kissed her palm. “Nonsense. You sleep whenever you need for as long as you need.”
“So what was the mysterious phone call about? You seemed upset.”
I knew this was going to make her feel guilty, and I didn’t know how to prevent that. “I was supposed to have an interview today, and I was letting the girl on the phone know I’d need to cancel.” Jillian’s face fell. “Do not blame yourself, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
“But you can reschedule, right?”
I squeezed my eyes shut. F*ck, this was going to devastate her. “Jillian, you need to understand. It wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t worth not being here right now.” I bent and kissed her lips. “There will be other internships.”
Her bottom lip quivered. “It was Google, wasn’t it?”
My lack of response told her everything she needed to know, and she burst into tears.
“Guys, can you give us a minute?”
“Yeah, of course,” Ava said, standing and following Trish and JT out of the room. When we were alone, I pulled the seat as close as I could get and cupped her face in my hands.
“Do not feel guilty about this. You are what’s important. You. Not a job.”
She sniffed. “But how can I not? It was everything you’d always wanted.”
I was quiet for a moment, rubbing the pad of my thumb over her cheek.
“When I was a kid and my mom was still alive, my dad use to say to me, ‘Son, when you find something worth holdin’ on for, your grip will become more solid than cement.’ For years, I thought his love for my mom was what crippled him. That it was a hindrance and made him less of a person. But I’m starting to see now just how wrong I was. His love for her didn’t make him less, it made him more.”
I brushed Jillian’s tears away and kissed the trail they left behind.
“And my grip is cemented in.”