Chapter 44 - Zach

My body is screaming as I lift myself off the bed. Pain is radiating from my chest through my side and down my arm. Mitch holds me steady and guides me to the wheelchair.

“This is stupid, Zach. I can go get her! You should be in bed.”

“I need to see her.”

There’s no hesitation in my voice, and it leaves no room for argument. Mitch sighs audibly but helps me up. I blow the air out of my nostrils as soon as I’m settled in the chair. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath as the pain in my chest dulls slightly.

“You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I respond with a grimace. I’m not fine, but I have to see her. The police told me that Harper was ok, she was here with Rosie. I didn’t understand anything they said after that, something about surgery, critical condition, arrests. All I know is that Harper is in this hospital, waiting on Rosie to get out of surgery and I need to be with her.

I already messed up once by not being with her when she needed me, I’m not going to let that happen again. Mitch throws a blanket over my legs and tucks it in beside me.

“You’re going to make a great mother someday, you know that Mitch?”

“Shut up, Zach,” he replies with a grin. “You ready?”

“Let’s go.”

Mitch moves behind me and starts pushing the wheelchair. A second later, the front wheel crashes into the corner of he bed and my body lunches forward. I grunt as the impact sends another wave of nauseating pain through my chest.

“Fuck!”

“Oops! Sorry buddy!”

“Be careful! I just got stabbed for fuck’s sake.” I glance behind me and Mitch is looking at the doorway. I hear her before I see her.

“You two are like the Stooges,” she says. I can hear the smile in her voice. “Where are you going in your state anyways?”

She’s gorgeous. Harper is standing in the doorway looking radiant. Her hair is pulled back in a low bun and her eyes look tired and drawn but they’re shining bright, just like I’ve been imagining this whole time.

“Harper,” I breathe. The seconds tick by until Mitch clears his throat.

“I’ll be just outside if you need me.” He squeezes my shoulder as he walks by and we exchange a glance. I dip my chin down and he does the same. Thanks, I tell him with my eyes. The door closes softly behind him and then Harper and I are alone.

“I was just coming to find you,” I say to fill the silence.

“In your state?! You fool.” She’s smiling and I feel the corners of my lips curl upwards.

“Maybe I am a fool. I had to see you, to make sure you were OK. Harper, I…” my voice catches in my throat. “I just want to say I’m so-“

“Stop.” She holds up a hand and comes closer. Taking a seat in the chair next to the bed, she reaches forward and places her hand over mine. The second her skin touches mine, a healing warmth fills me. My throat feels like it’s completely closed up. “How’s your chest? They told me you were stabbed.”

“It’s fine,” I lie. “How about you, are you OK? How’s the baby?”

Harper’s eyes shine bright for a second before she answers. “I’m fine. The baby is fine as well, they gave me a full checkup when I came in. I was lucky. Rosie is in bad shape. She’s stable now, they’re saying she’ll make a full recovery. It’s all my fault, for both of you! You never would have gotten hurt if you hadn’t been seeing me. Greg attacked her with a knife and -“

Her voice catches and the tears fall down her cheeks. I grab her hand in mine and give it a squeeze. I notice the red marks on her wrists and brush them lightly.

“What’s this?” I whisper. Harper pulls her hand away and pulls her sleeve down before brushing her tears away.

“Nothing.”

“Harper..”

We stare at each other in silence until I clear my throat. “None of this is your fault, you hear me? No one could have predicted it.”

I don’t know what to say. I don’t know where to start or how to explain how I feel. How can I put it into words? How can I tell her that she means the world to me and that I’d let myself get stabbed a million times if it meant she and our baby were safe and healthy. How can I tell her that the past couple days have been torture, not only because of Greg Chesney but because I wasn’t with her, because I let her down?

I turn the wheelchair towards her and put both my hands on her knees. Finally I build up the courage to say the only thing that even comes close to describing how I feel. It comes out as a barely audible whisper as I force myself to look into her shining eyes.

“I love you.”

Harper says nothing, but the tears start streaming down her cheeks again. My heart starts thumping and I reach up to brush them away.

“It’s true, Harper. I love you. I’m sorry I was an ass. I want to be with you and I want to have this baby.”

I can’t say anything else because Harper’s lips are on mine. She flies into my arms and my chest explodes, but the pain is like background noise. The only thing that matters is Harper’s kiss, her touch, her body. I tangle my fingers into her hair and pull her in. This kiss is more than just a kiss. It’s the end of everything that’s been going on between us since that doctor’s appointment. It’s everything I’ve been too scared to say, everything I’ve been too scared to feel.

Harper wraps her arms around my neck and sits down on my lap. I wrap my arms around her and pull her in closer, breathing in deeply to inhale her scent. I pull my head back.

“I was so worried about you. It was killing me to be stuck here.”

“I didn’t think of you at all,” she replies with a grin before leaning over and kissing me softly. She pulls her lips away and rests her forehead against mine. “I thought of you constantly ever since you dropped me off. Zach,” she hesitates and then takes a deep breath. “I love you too.”

It might have taken a few minutes for her to say it back to me but it doesn’t matter. As soon as the words leave my lips I feel like I’m floating. The pain leaves my body and I run my fingers along her jaw to pull her in for another kiss.

Nothing else matters. Nothing matters except Harper and our child. I slide my hand down and place it over her stomach. She interlaces her fingers over mine and pulls her head back, smiling at me. We both look down at our hands and then back at each other’s eyes. Her green eyes look like the emeralds I’ve been picturing all day. There’s nothing in them except relief, happiness, and love.