“You are?” She clasps her free hand to her mouth. “I have been so worried about you. I wanted to call you so many times but I wasn’t allowed. I have been thinking about you all the time though. Every single day when you were not there.”
“I’ve been thinking about you as well.” I squeeze her hand. “All the time. I have wanted you with me every single day, and now… well now, maybe you can be. If you want? It might be nice to give you a break.”
She doesn’t get a chance to give me an answer because someone must have alerted the police to my mother being awake. They want to get a fresh statement from her as soon as she comes back to life and now they have a chance. I stare at Mom, wondering if this is what she wants to do right now, but she nods and indicates for me to leave.
“I just need to think this through,” she tells me quietly. “I need no distractions so I can get it all out.”
I have a feeling that she actually wants me gone because she’s finally going to be honest with everything and she doesn’t want me to hear how bad it is. I’m trusting her now, believing that she isn’t going to turn her back on me and let David run free because she has finally opened up to me and let me see the truth of her. Well, a bit of it anyway.
“I will just be outside,” I inform her, reassuringly and a little bit as a warning as well. “Call me when you are done.”
It almost kills me to slide out of the room, but I do it because I know that it’s what my mother wants. I stand close to the door to see what I can hear, but unfortunately the doors are too thick. I suppose it is to keep patients’ lives private, so I can’t get anything. Instead, I will just have to hope and pray that finally my mother has come to her senses.
“Hey.” A soft voice makes me jump. A chocolaty smooth voice that lures me in. I’m shocked to turn and see Will sitting in the hallway just waiting for me. I thought that he had gone back home. “How are things?”
His soft smile is so sweet, I can really feel how much he cares about me here. It’s almost overwhelming. As I look at him right now, I can’t help but wonder why the hell I ever turned my back on him. How could I put my career over love? Especially with a man as incredible as Will. A man who offered me his everything.
“Erm, Mom is good,” I reply quietly. “She’s awake now and talking to the police. I think that this time she is telling the truth. I’m hoping that it will be enough for him to be locked away behind bars for long.”
His eyes widen in surprise. He’s shocked and he’s only been in this mess for a few hours. He hasn’t experienced all the back and forth for years. Will seems to get it far more than I thought he ever could, having not been through it himself. “Wow, that’s really good news. I hope she does because with our statements and what the police saw, there is plenty of evidence to get him locked away. You might never have to see him again.”
That sounds too good for words. I love the idea. I want David out of my existence forever. Life without David isn’t something that I have ever been through before, that I can remember anyway, but it’s something that I look forward to. But it all hinges on my mother’s strength and I really hope that it’s there.
“We can only hope.” I move and sit beside Will because I don’t know what else to do while I wait. “Anyway, why are you still here? You don’t need to be here now. You have done more than enough for my family.”
“I am not leaving you, Serena. I don’t think you understand how much I care for you.” He throws his arm causally around my shoulder. It isn’t a romantic gesture, more just a sweet friendly one, but my heart races like crazy. “I will be there with you no matter what. You might not need me anymore, but you may want me.”
I do kinda want him here actually, this is really nice of him, and it’s also pretty crazy that none of this has scared him away. Without putting too much thought into how it might be perceived because I don’t think that Will is too focused on that either, I rest my head on his shoulder and lean on him for just a moment. He is always there for me, isn’t he? When I need him the most, Will Brent never lets me down. There has to be something in that, it makes him even more important to me… but now isn’t the time or place to get myself all worked up in knots about it. There will be plenty of time for that.