Slade comes back with the thick blanket off the bed. “I couldn’t find your jacket,” he whispers as he spreads the blanket over me, making sure to tuck up the ends so it doesn’t get caught under the wheels. It’s still warm and I instantly pull it up, snuggling into it.
“Because I don’t have a jacket,” I tell him.
“So, why the hell did you send me in there to get your jacket?”
My brows furrow. Hmm… “I guess I didn’t think that one through.”
“I think the lack of oxygen might have killed a few too many brain cells.”
“Ha. Ha,” I say, flipping him the bird as he stands behind me and starts pushing again. He chuckles low and the conversation dies as he pushes me through the hospital, being careful at every turn.
By the time we get off my floor, we can freely walk around without worrying about getting caught. Slade takes me past the hospital food-court and we’re shocked to see it still open. “Do you want anything to eat? I know how you like to shove food down your throat at every chance you get.”
I narrow my eyes on the bastard. “Why don’t you come down here and say that.”
He raises a brow and leans down to my face. “Whatcha gonna do about it?” he challenges with the sexiest sparkle in his eyes that has me desperate to reach out and kiss his face off. “Are you going to chase me in your wheelchair? Kick my ass with your drip?”
My lips pull into a tight line. “You’re an ass.”
He grins wide and leans onto the arms rests of the wheelchair, bringing his face close to mine. “Don’t act as though you didn’t already know that,” he warns. “So, what’s it going to be? The juicy burger you actually want or the salad to pick at and then pretend you’re full halfway through?”
“Burger. Definitely a burger.”
He winks. “That’s what I thought.”
Slade wheels me over and twenty minutes later, the night chef is handing over the goods and Slade gingerly takes it. My stomach growls with the thought of actual food. The nurses have had me eating soft foods to appease my sore throat but if I chew it enough and take small bites then technically a burger could be soft food, right?
Slade takes me outside to where there are a few benches and he wheels me over to one as I breathe in the fresh air. There’s nothing quite like making a daring escape with the man I love in the middle of the night. The burgers are just an added bonus.
Slade parks my wheelchair beside the bench and sits down. He gets my burger ready for me and hands it over before spreading out a napkin on my lap, knowing I’m more than likely to spill at some point.
We eat in silence and by the time we’re done, my mind is back on the dream. I glance over at Slade and catch his eye. “I was dreaming about the accident,” I murmur, my words making his brows shoot up.
He reaches out and takes my hand. “Fuck, babe. I guessed as much but I was kinda hoping it wasn’t.”
“Yeah, I know,” I sigh. “It was the accident, but it wasn’t. It was different.”
“How do you mean?”
“Well, the crash was the same and the windshield breaking with the water coming in, but then I tried to reach for you but every time I tried, it’s like you were getting further and further away. You weren’t moving and I thought you were dead.”
“Babe,” he sighs. “Don’t overthink this. It was just a dream.”
“But it’s fucked-up,” I explain. “I went under and everyone from school was there watching us go down but no one was coming to help. They just stood back with smiles on their faces. And then you finally woke up and just kinda unclipped your seatbelt and left. I screamed for you to help but you said I was on my own now and then you were just…gone.”
“That really is fucked-up,” he says, sounding somewhat offended by the dream version of himself. “You know I’d never leave you like that.”
“I know,” I say, squeezing his hand, “but that’s not even the worst part.”
“Don’t tell me I stood there and watched you go down.”
I shake my head. “No offense, but you made no other appearances in this fuckery.”
“Go on then.”
I press my lips into a tight line, wondering what he’s going to make of all this. “So, I found my knife and started to cut my way out but the knife was blunt and I was struggling. I was running out of time but I had to keep trying. When I finally got free I tried to swim to the surface but something was holding me down. I grabbed at it. At first, I thought it was a rope but it was actually Lucien in the form of a snake and he was trying to keep me from getting free and when I finally started to give up, I could hear my mom calling for me.”