“I thought I lost you again.”
His breath fans my face, lending itself to the vivid memories that are now crashing into me. I’m recalling the past events, from being in that grimy basement to the chase before that to leaving Adrian behind in the cabin.
Noah senses the shift in my body and leans back, his eyes tracing my face and then down my shoulder. I realize I’ve been holding it stiff.
I dip my chin and scan the rest of my body. My left arm is resting in a sling while my right is covered with bruises. I adjust myself on the bed and I know the rest of my body must be covered with them as well. I shut my eyes once again as tremors of pain shoot up and down my side.
My husband makes a tsk-ing sound before pressing the button to call a nurse for pain meds.
He gently eases me back to rest on the bed, dropping another kiss on my forehead. His fingers brush tendrils off my face just as the nurse comes in, attempting to ask me a few questions while she checks my vitals.
I fight against the gravel in my throat and muster up a few one-word responses. She gets me to drink a few more sips of water before adjusting the flow of the pain meds through my IV. She tells me to rest and lets us know the doctor will be in as soon as possible.
Noah’s foot taps impatiently as he waits for her to exit, before focusing those blues on me.
“Let’s call our son.”
His hand digs into his pocket and he pulls out his phone. He swipes on it, tapping on something before the unmistakable sound of a video call fills the room.
He smiles affectionately at me when I attempt to rise from the bed. Settling himself on the bed next to me, he slings an arm around my waist, carefully avoiding my injured shoulder so I can be more comfortable as I rest on his arm.
A shrill ringing sound echoes in the room followed by Mina’s face on the phone screen. She’s all smiles when she sees me.
“Hey! Nice to see you back with us, Ria. You had us spooked there for awhile.”
I grimace, resting my cheek on Noah’s chest and sliding a glance up at him.
“H-h-how long wa-was I out for?”
“A few days.”
His lips graze my temple before tipping his chin down at the phone, urging me to take a look.
I gasp, tears forming in my eyes at the sight of my son. It feels like so long since I last saw him and held him.
My chin trembles as the tears stream down my cheeks.
Beside me, I feel Noah’s chest heave under my cheek and I know he’s feeling our son’s absence as much as I am. His grip tightens on my waist and his fingers start to caress my side in support.
Adrian’s sitting on a carpeted floor playing with some blocks, but he starts flailing his arms when he sees me, his pacifier dropping from his mouth. “Ma-maaaa-maa.”
Sniffing, I force my voice to remain steady. “He-hey baby, Mama misses you so so so much. I’ll see you soon, okay?”
Mina smiles at us from beside Adrian, whose cute hands start covering the camera. “I’ll bring him by tomorrow, I promise. Ben might stop by tonight though--he mentioned something earlier when he called.”
That has Noah’s back stiffening next to me and he fumbles with the phone like he wants to walk out with it, so I don’t hear the rest. My hand covers his on my waist in a silent demand to include me.
No matter my physical or emotional state, I deserve to be included in this conversation.
My husband huffs out a breath, but relaxes next to me and directs his attention back to Mina.
“Any new developments?”
Mina comes back into view, and we see her setting Adrian in a jumperoo before she turns to answer the question.
She looks back at us, a thoughtful look crossing her features.
“I’ll let Ben fill you in on the details, but I think you should get ready. Now that Ria is awake, they’re going to want to talk to her. It’s the only way.”