“Remington,” he whispered, and my heart fluttered at the sound of his voice. His eyes never left mine as he clasped his hands on either side of my face. “Don’t leave. Stay with me.”
Never before had I felt so wanted. So alive. I wanted to do as he asked and stay there. I wanted to savor every second, but unfortunately, the moment ended as quickly as it began. Doc gave me a gentle nudge as he whispered, “Remington. Hey, Remington.”
“Noah?”
“No, doll. Sorry to disappoint, but it’s just me.”
My eyes fluttered open, and I found Doc standing next to me, holding a plate filled with toast, eggs, and bacon. “Oh, umm…Hey.”
“Brought you some breakfast.”
“Thanks, but I’m not really all that hungry.”
“Maybe not, but the food would do you good.” He placed the plate on the table next to me. “You were having yourself quite a dream there, weren’t ya? Heard you say ‘Noah’ a couple of times.”
“Oh, really? I don’t remember.” Feeling more than a little embarrassed that I’d been caught dreaming about Noah, I looked over to the window and was surprised to see sunlight seeping through the blinds. “What time is it?”
“Almost ten. You’ve been out for a good while.”
“How long?”
“In and out for two days now.”
“Seriously?” I sat up and was surprised that even though I was still a little groggy, I didn’t feel as bad as I had before. I wasn’t as stiff and sore, and I didn’t feel like the room was spinning. I brushed the hair from my face and cringed at how tangled and matted it was. “How is it possible that I’ve been out of it for two days?”
“It’s perfectly normal. Your body needed time to heal.”
“That means it’s been even longer since I’ve had a decent shower. I feel so gross.”
“I tell you what.” He motioned his hand over to the plate of food. “Since your fever’s finally broken, we can get you a shower and a change of clothes, but I’m gonna need you to eat something first.”
A shower sounded marvelous. I’d been wanting one since the night of the attack, and the thought of feeling a little more normal had me reaching for the plate of food. “Well, I’m definitely up for that. So, does this mean the infection is gone?”
“No, you’ll need to stay on the antibiotics for a good bit longer, but the worst is over.”
“Thank goodness.” I took a bite of toast, then said, “Thank you, Doc. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t been here to help me.”
“Glad to do it, doll.” A smile crossed his face. “Now, eat up. You’ve got a big day ahead.”
“Big day ahead?”
“We’ll talk about that later. For now, let’s get you ready to face the day.”
While I was tempted to push him for more, I was too excited about taking a shower to care. I finished my toast, and after I ate a few bites of eggs and bacon, I couldn’t eat another thing. Doc took my plate as he said, “I’ve got a couple of things to tend to. I’ll be back in a bit to see if you’re feeling up to having that shower.”
“Okay, I’ll be here.” I chuckled.
With that, he gave me a big smile, then turned and walked out of the room, leaving me to wait alone. I took the moment to lift my t-shirt and check out the wounds for myself. They were both covered with bandages, but I didn’t let that stop me. Starting with the larger one on my lower abdomen, I slowly peeled back the surgical tape and cringed when I saw the long line of stitches. While I was thankful that they weren’t red and angry, I had no doubt that they’d leave a nasty scar. I replaced the bandage, then quickly checked the second, much smaller one. Similar to the other, I feared that it would also leave a pretty bad scar. I’d just started putting my bandage back in place when the door opened, and Noah stepped into the room. As usual, he looked incredibly hot in his jeans and black leather vest, but there was no missing the fatigue in his eyes. It looked like he hadn’t slept in days as he rushed over to me and asked, “What are you doing? Is something wrong?”
“No.” Realizing that I was fully exposed and he was getting an eyeful, I quickly secured my bandage and pulled down my shirt. Embarrassed, I snapped, “Everything’s fine.”
“Then, what were you doing?”
“Nothing. I was just looking at my injuries.” Having him so close made me think about the dream I’d just had and how real it felt, so much so, I could almost feel the warmth of his touch on my skin. Shaking the thought from my mind, I said, “I think I’m finally getting over all this.”