LIB

Chapter 28

           As the anesthetic wore off, I slowly became aware of my surroundings again. I blinked blearily a few times and then focused on the people around me. Blake was once again beside me and I could see Jared, Jake and Liam standing near the door.

            I tried to sit up, but I wasn’t able to. Blake heard me moving and immediately straightened up. “Hailey?”

            The other three men in the room turned to look as I stopped struggling to move. “Yeah, I’m awake.”

            Blake searched for my hand and found it, squeezing it gently. “How are you feeling?”

            “Like I got hit by a truck,” I said.

            “Well that can’t be too pleasant,” Blake stated.

            I let out a hoarse chuckle. “No, it really isn’t. How did the surgery go?”

            Jared came up to my other side. “They were able to relieve the pressure on your spine, but they won’t know if any permanent damage was done for a couple of days.”

            “I hate waiting,” I whined.

            “I know, but there’s nothing we can do about it. Can you feel your legs at all?”

            I grimaced. “Yeah, but it’s not a pleasant feeling.” I thought about it for a moment and then brightened. “Hey, at least I can feel them again. That’s probably a good sign, right?”

            “Definitely,” Jared assured me. “That means you’ll likely be able to walk again, although it’ll be a lot of hard work and there’ll be a lot of pain.”

            I let out a defeated sigh. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

            Blake tugged lightly on my hand. “Hey, you have me with you this time.”

            Jake came to my side as well. “And you have me. We’ll all be there for you.”

            “Well, can one of you help me sit up? I don’t like lying flat out like this.”

            Blake stood up and leaned over me, wrapping one of his arms around my shoulders. He helped pull me up into a more comfortable position, then nudged me over until he could sit beside me on the bed.

            I let my head rest on his shoulder, closing my eyes for a moment. When I opened them again, I smiled at the other three men. “Do you think I’m allowed to eat something?”

            “I’ll go find out,” Liam said, and then disappeared out into the hallway. Everyone knew that he was the most likely to get some answers, since he donated so much money to the hospital and was treated like a VIP.

            We chatted quietly for a few minutes while we waited for him to return. Blake told me that Jared had driven Sophie home during my surgery. She was planning on coming back to see me tomorrow.

            Liam came back in and informed me that my dinner would be here shortly. He also assured me that I wouldn’t be eating regular hospital food; he’d arranged to have a local restaurant deliver to me while I was here.

            I rolled my eyes a little at that. “It’s amazing what a bunch of money will do for you,” I said dryly.

            “Hey, don’t mock me because I’m rich,” Liam protested. “It’s because of my money that Blake gets to stay the nights with you here.”