When I open my eyes, I’m in a bright room, and a nurse is standing beside my bed taking my blood pressure. So much of me hurts – my hands, my knees, my head, especially my left wrist, which is throbbing. I look around, disoriented, my brain feeling like it’s slogging through quicksand. I hear voices, all urgently talking at once, but nothing makes much sense.

Then one voice cuts through all the others, loud and clear. “Sweetheart? Can you hear me? Look at me, please.”

I turn toward the source of that familiar, comforting voice and look up, struggling to focus on the dark shape looming over me. The shape leans closer, and I can now make out a pair of blue eyes rimmed in red and filled with pain. My gaze travels past a straight nose to a pair of beautifully formed lips which are moving. But I’m having trouble following his words. “Shane?”

“Yes, sweetheart. I’m here.” Relief washes over his face as he touches my cheek lightly. “It’s okay. You’re going to be fine.”

Then it all comes rushing back to me. Sam! Seeing him lifeless, bleeding in the street! “Sam! Where’s Sam? He’s hurt!”

“Honey, please try to relax,” Shane says, brushing his thumb across my cheek.

I reach for Shane and cry out when a shaft of pain streaks up my left arm. “Where’s Sam? Is he all right?”

“Honey, lie still,” Shane says. “Sam’s getting help. You both are. Please, try to relax.”

My eyes fill with tears. “I don’t know what happened,” I tell him, looking into his eyes. “I don’t remember anything, except Sam was hurt. Where is he, Shane?”

He gently strokes my forehead, brushing back my tangled hair. “He’s in the ER. You both are.”

“Is he okay?”

“I’m sure he’s okay. He’s in surgery right now.”

“Surgery? Why?”

I don’t know whether to be scared or relieved. If he’s in surgery, it means he’s still alive. But if he needs surgery, then he’s hurt badly. I remember seeing blood on the lamp post and Sam lying on the ground, not moving. I remember his leg bent the wrong way. “Sam’s hurt.”

“Yes, he’s hurt. But he’ll be okay, I promise you. He’s getting the best of care.”

My head feels heavy, like it weighs a ton, and I have to lie back on the pillow. The room is spinning, and I feel numb. “There was so much blood.”

Shane looks past me to the nurse who’s organizing a tray of sharp implements and bandages. “Please hurry. I want that glass out of her now.”

“Yes, sir,” the nurse says, lifting my right palm.

* * *

My body is sore from head to toe, my wrist hurts, and both my hands are wrapped in gauze. I blink my eyes several times, trying to focus. Shane leans forward in the chair beside my hospital bed.

“What happened?” I say, my voice little more than a croak.

Shane gently strokes my right arm. My left arm is in a brace. “Sam pushed you out of the way of an oncoming car. You fell on gravel and broken glass, which cut up your hands and knees, but that’s all been cleaned out. Your left wrist might be broken.”

I feel a panic attack coming on, and I’m struggling to breathe.

“Shh,” he murmurs, stroking my forehead. “You’re okay, sweetheart. Just breathe. I’ve called Tyler and your mom. They’re both on their way.”

I shake my head. “What happened to Sam?”

Shane frowns. “He was hit. He’s in the intensive care unit, recovering from surgery.”

“How bad is it?”

“His left leg is broken – it’s a compound fracture, and they had to put pins in his leg. But it’s his head we’re most worried about. He hit it hard on a light post and fractured his skull. There’s some bleeding in his brain. He’s in critical, yet stable condition.”

Pain knifes through me at the realization this is all my fault. Sam got hurt trying to protect me. “Is he going to be all right?”

“He’s in the intensive care unit. According to Lia’s police report, as you were crossing the street, a car came barreling around the corner and would have struck you head on if Sam hadn’t pushed you out of the way. Unfortunately, he was hit.”

As reality sinks in, I’m swamped with guilt. “He saved me.”

“Yes, he did.”

And then it dawns on me. “Cooper! Oh, my God, Cooper! Does he know?”

Shane nods. “He’s with Sam now.”

There’s a knock on my door.

“Come in,” Shane says, looking back to see who’s there.

The door opens quietly, and Cooper walks in. He looks haggard, his eyes bloodshot and his expression strained. “How is she?” he says to Shane. But his eyes are on me.

“Better,” Shane says. “They’re sending her for an X-ray soon. Her wrist might be broken.”

“How’s Sam?” I ask Cooper.

“He’s stable. Lia and Jonah are with him. I wanted to check on you, kiddo.”

“He saved my life, Cooper. He pushed me out of the way.”

A nurse comes into the room holding a clipboard. She introduces herself to me – her nametag says Tiffany. “I’m glad to see you’re awake,” she says, giving me a gentle smile. “You’ve been in and out of it most of the afternoon. How are you feeling?”

“Everything is sore,” I say. And it’s true. But what hurts most is my heart as I can’t stop thinking about Sam.

Tiffany looks at Shane. “We’re going to take her to X-ray soon, to get a look at her wrist bones.” Then she looks at me. “Honey, is there any chance you could be pregnant?”

I shake my head. “No. I’m on the pill.”

Cooper clears his throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “Actually, I think you’d better make sure,” he says to the nurse.

I shake my head vehemently. “I’m not pregnant. I’m on the pill, and I’m very careful to take it right on time.”

“Birth control isn’t one hundred percent foolproof, kiddo,” Cooper says. Then he gives Shane a telling look. “She needs to take a pregnancy test.”

“Let’s be sure,” Shane says, nodding to the nurse.

Cooper bends down to kiss the top of my head. “I’ve got to get back to Sam. I want to be there when he wakes up. I’ll check in with you again, as soon as I can.”

“Thanks,” Shane says, closing the door after Cooper’s gone. Then he returns to his chair at the side of my bed. Before either of us can speak, the nurse returns with a sterile plastic cup.

“Can you pee in a cup for me, sweetie?” she says. “I’ll help you walk to the bathroom.”

Shane stands. “I’ll help her.”

He comes to my side and helps me sit up, then I slide my legs over the side of the bed so I can stand. I’m wearing a hospital gown, open in the back, and I feel a definite draft. I reach behind me to close the gown, and Shane has his hands at my waist, supporting me as I shuffle to the bathroom. Once inside, he helps me sit down and hands me the sterile cup.

I look up at him, feeling numb. “I’m on the pill. I can’t be pregnant.”

Shane shrugs. “As Cooper said, it’s not one hundred percent foolproof.”

Shane steps out of the room to give me some privacy, and I sit there for several minutes, feeling both anxious and embarrassed. I can’t be pregnant. It’s impossible. I’ve never missed a pill. But Cooper seemed so adamant.

Finally, I’m able to relax enough to accomplish the task at hand. I screw the lid securely onto the cup and set it on the counter. After washing my hands, I shuffle to the door and find Shane waiting for me on the other side. He scoops me up into his arms and carries me back to bed.

I nestle into the pillows as Shane covers me up. Then he sits on the side of my bed and holds my good hand.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” he says, kissing the back of my hand. “Sam’s going to be fine. You’re fine.”

I laugh, because he’s overlooking the elephant in the room. “And apparently Cooper thinks I might be pregnant.” I glance up at Shane. “What if I am?”

His expression remains neutral, and I have no idea what he’s thinking. Is he going to be mad at me if I am? Will he blame me?

I lean my head back on my pillows and close my eyes. “This can’t be happening.”

“Just close your eyes and rest,” he says, his tone gentle. “There’s nothing to worry about. We’ve talked about having children – we both want them. If the test comes back positive, it’ll just happen a little sooner than we expected, that’s all.”

“But we’re not even married yet,” I say.

He kisses me gently. “That doesn’t matter, sweetheart. Now, please don’t worry. Everything’s going to fine, I promise.”

The nurse comes back into the room to collect the cup, promising to return in about fifteen minutes with the results.

I give her a weak smile. “Thank you.”

I’m pretty sure this will be the longest fifteen minutes of my life.