“Ms. Belmont?”

A hand lands on my shoulder and my name is repeated. I slowly sit up, back aching. I fell asleep sitting in the chair next to the Chase, bent forward with my head and arms resting on the edge of the bed.

After breakfast, Chase got sick from one of his meds. Throwing up caused him pain, so he was given more medicine to combat the nausea along with the pain. He’s been passed out for the last few hours.

“Yeah?” I ask, rubbing my eyes. Dried mascara crumbles off my lashes. A shower sounds nice right now.

“There’s someone in the waiting room for you,” the nurse tells me. My eyes slowly start to focus and I get a flash of the nurse’s face. She was the same nurse who put her arm around my shoulder and consoled me after Jake’s heart stopped beating. I wonder if she remembers me. It was almost two years ago, and I’m sure she sees a lot of people and a lot of tragedy.

“Thanks,” I say and stand. My legs are cramping and my right foot is asleep. I shake feeling back into it and limp my way out to the waiting room. My mom and Lisa are standing there, and Mom throws her arms around me right away.

“Oh, sweetheart,” she says, voice heavy with emotion. “Are you all right?”

“I’m tired, but I’m fine. Chase is going to be okay.”

She gives me one more squeeze. “I packed your bag. If you need anything else, let me know.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Do you want coffee or anything to eat? I tried calling before we got here but your phone must be dead.”

“It is, and coffee would be great. The coffee here isn’t that good.”

“There’s a Starbucks around the corner. I can get you something. Do you still like their caramel frappuccinos?”

“I do.”

“I’ll go get it. It shouldn’t take me long.” Mom blinks away her tears and pulls me in for one more hug. “Love you, baby,” she whispers and goes, leaving me alone with Lisa.

“How are you holding up?” she asks.

“Okay. I think. Chase was awake this morning and acting normal. It’s easy to think he’ll be better soon, then I remember they wouldn’t have put him in the ICU if it weren’t serious. He had a bad reaction to his medication this morning, which was scary. He’s sleeping now.”

Lisa grinds her jaw and looks at the floor. “I’m so sorry, Sierra. I mean, I still feel like you should be careful, but for right now, I’m sorry. I made Chase out to be the bad guy and didn’t think anything like this would happen to him. I know he needs you, and you need him. I won’t press the issue anymore.”

“Thanks, Lisa.” I pull my arms in around myself. “I’m glad you came.”

“I would have come with you last night too,” she tells me. “If you called.”

“I know.”

Lisa shuffles her feet and takes a Harry Potter backpack off her shoulder. “Your mom was pretty much horrified to see this was your luggage.”

I take the bag and chuckle. “She’d be even more horrified to see my real suitcase.”

“It’s the Star Wars one, right?”

“Yeah. It’s in the creepy basement.”

“Right. I didn’t think about that. Though I suppose you don’t need a full suitcase now.”

“Yeah.” I unzip the bag and pull out my phone charger. “I’m gonna go charge my phone and let the nurse know I’ll be out here. Just in case.” Twisting the charger around in my hands, I go back into the ICU. Chase is still sleeping under the watchful eye of the nurses. I plug in my phone, let his nurse know I’m going to be right outside, and go back into the waiting room.

“Are you mad at me?” Lisa asks timidly.

“I’m too exhausted to be mad,” I tell her and sit down next to her. “I don’t want to fight.”

“I don’t either. And remember when we were eight and promised we’d never fight over a boy? I guess this is a little different, but it’s still a boy causing us to not get along.” She loops her arm through mine. “So Chase is doing okay?”

“Yeah. The doctor said if he got here any later it would have been a different story.” Tears fill my eyes and all the emotion that’s been stirring inside of me bubbles up. Lisa wraps her arms around me. “It’s like I’m cursed,” I say through my tears. “People I love get hurt. They end up here.”

“Shhh,” she soothes. “You are not cursed. You are not causing this. Chase is going to be okay. If anything about his track record is true, it’s that he’s resilient. Nothing seems to stop the guy,” she tries to joke.

“It keeps playing out in my mind,” I confess. “I’ve been through it once. I know how it is and I can’t keep it away.”

“Keep what away?”

“Seeing Chase die. Remembering how it feels to watch the casket get lowered into the ground. Waking up alone and feeling like all the happiness inside of me turned to ash. I don’t think I can survive it again. I don’t want to survive it again.”

The depth of my words hits Lisa and a tear rolls down her face. “Don’t ever say that, Si. You can survive anything and I won’t let you not get through it.” She takes my hands. “And Chase is going to be okay. He’s a fighter, and he’s got you to fight for.”

“I hope it’s enough.”

“Are you kidding me? It’s more than enough. You are enough.” She lets go of my hands and brushes away her tears. “You said you love him.”

“I do.” I grab a tissue from the box on the side table and mop up my eyes. “And yes, before you ask, he told me he loves me too.”

“I can’t deny that it’s obvious he cares a lot about you. Maybe he has redeemed himself from his past. The first time you guys ever met, he saved you from that drunk. And the next time, you were the drunk you needed saving from. I’m going to try to be more like you and let his actions speak for themselves.”

“You’re totally judging him on his past.”

“Oh, completely,” she says and we both laugh. “But I’m going to try. For you.”

“Thanks, Lisa.”

With a smile, she nods. “He’s going to be okay.”

I nod and wipe my eyes again, and then lean back in the chair.

“Do either of you need anything? We packed what I would bring for myself. Except for the sex toys.”

I smile and unzip the bag, pulling out face wash and a change of clothes. I go down the hall to change, and Mom is in the waiting room with coffee in hand when I get back. She and Lisa stay a while to keep me company for a while, then offer to get pick up lunch for me while I sit in the room with Chase.

He’s getting his blood drawn again, and is sitting up looking much better this time. The color is back in his face, and he’s joking around with the guy taking his blood.

“He doesn’t believe that I don’t like needles,” Chase tells me.

I smile. “I don’t believe you either.”

“There’s a difference between getting tattoos and this,” Chase continues.

“Yeah, this is over already,” the guy says, pulling the needle out of Chase’s arm. “That’s hours and hours of work, right?”

Chase nods. “That one,” he points to a detailed star on the inside of his arm, over the vein the blood was drawn from, “took three hours.”

“I couldn’t sit still for that long,” I say.

“It gets broken up,” Chase explains. “The writing on my chest was done over several weeks.” I sit on the edge of the bed and kiss Chase once we’re alone. “Are your mom and Lisa still here?”

“Yeah. They’re going to get lunch and bring something back for me.”

“Go with them.”

“I don’t want to leave you.”

“I’m fine, Sierra. I promise. I feel a hell of a lot better now that I’m on a medication that doesn’t make me throw up. And if this blood work comes back showing improvement, the nurse told me I’ll go to the regular floor. Even I don’t think I need to be here,” he says, rolling his eyes. “Then I’ll be home in a day or two after.”

“You sound so sure.”

He brings his hand to my face, cupping my cheek. “I am sure. Go get something to eat. It’ll be nice to get out of here.”

“I’m pretty sure they already left.”

“Things between you and Lisa seemed pretty tense last time you saw each other.”

“They were.”

“How are they now?”

“Better. We had a bit of a heart-to-heart out in the waiting room.”

Chase gives me a cheeky grin. “I guess getting sick was good for something, right?”

Feeling like he knows more about the situation than he’s letting on, I smile back, not getting into it. “Yeah. I guess it was.”

* * *

“I have good news,” the nurse tells us the next day. “I just got orders from the doctor to have you moved to the non-critical floor.”

“Don’t look too sad to get rid of me,” Chase jokes. What a difference a good night’s sleep did for him. He’s been up and moving around today and looks almost back to normal. He’s been removed from all the tubes and wires except for one IV line, which is currently disconnected with the port on his arm covered with gauze.

“This is the one time saying ‘I hope I never see you again’ is a good thing,” the nurse jokes back. “Your blood work is showing great improvement. We’ll run some again in the morning and as long as your counts are good, you can go home.”

“Thank fucking God,” Chase mutters under his breath. Another hour later, and he’s moved into his new room. Jax had come for a visit that morning, bringing Chase his phone and wallet. I left for breakfast while he was there, returning not long later to find the men talking in hushed voices. They immediately stopped when I walked into the room.

I can’t think about it. I don’t want to start suspecting Chase of anything. Not right now. Not ever. Lisa finally agreed to let the issue go. Now’s not the time to see merit in her argument.

There’s a recliner chair in the new room, and Chase sits in it to watch TV, telling me to lay down in the bed and take a nap. I’ve never been much of a napper, but I fall asleep almost instantly. I haven’t gotten much sleep the last few days, and none of it has been quality sleep.

When I wake up, a little kid is staring at me.

“Hi,” she whispers and moves closer. Her hazel eyes are familiar, peering at me through slats in the bedrail.

“Koty,” a man says. “Let her sleep.”

“She’s been sleeping for hours, and I’m bored.”

“Leave her alone.”

“Daddy, she’s awake. Her eyes are open.”

I blink, mind slowly waking up, and realize that the little girl is Chase’s niece.

“Sierra?” Chase calls softly.

“I’m awake,” I say, though I wish I had pretended to be asleep. Now I feel awkward. I do my best to smooth out my hair and say hi to Josh and Dakota. They’ve been here a while already and are getting ready to go.

“Thanks for looking after my brother,” Josh tells me. “I have a feeling he wouldn’t have taken himself to the hospital.”

“He wouldn’t have. How are the twins?”

“Exhausting,” he says with a laugh. “But great. They’re good sleepers, thankfully.”

“That’s good to hear. I know Chase wants to go see them again. We’ll come by once he’s feeling better.”

“I am feeling better,” Chase says. “I get to leave tomorrow. I’ll be back to normal and at work the next day.”

Josh just shakes his head and looks at me. “Have fun with him.”

“Wish me luck.”

Josh laughs. “You’ll need it.”

* * *

“You’re on strict orders to rest, mister,” I tell Chase, pulling down the comforter on my bed. “Starting now.”

“You know,” he begins and gets into bed, “I’m more likely to listen to you if you’re wearing a sexy nurse costume. I’ll take you seriously when you’re dressed as a healthcare professional.”

“Nice try. The doctor said no sex for two weeks.”

“Like I’m going to listen to that. And are you going to be able to hold out that long?”

“Yes,” I say, trying to hold onto my resolve. It’s a losing battle, but for Chase’s own good I have to resist. “You don’t want to pop a stitch out having sex. Then it’ll be even longer. It’s almost been a week already, which is kinda crazy to think about. Time went by in a blur.” I pull the blankets over his legs and hand him the TV remote. Tinkerbell jumps up on the bed, purring instantly. Even asshole Dolly was happy to see me when Chase and I got home from the hospital minutes ago.

“I’m going to drop off your prescriptions and go grocery shopping. You need to sleep, and when I get back, we can talk about possibly a blow job.”

“You can’t tease me like that, Sierra.”

I lean in, lips brushing against his. “Who says I’m teasing?”

Chase grabs me and gives me a kiss so good I want to say fuck being careful so I can fuck him. I leave before I crumble, shaking myself as I walk out the door. I go to the pharmacy first, which is located downtown on the same street The Book Bag is on. I park in between, planning on going in and saying hi to Mrs. Williams and thanking her a million more times for giving me almost a whole week off so I could be with Chase.

With fewer than three thousand people in Summer Hill, it’s expected to run into someone you know no matter where you go.

I smile at Mrs. Matthews, my fifth-grade schoolteacher.

“Oh, Sierra,” she starts, looking startled. “Hello, dear. How are you?”

“I’m pretty good,” I reply, happy that I can say that now and be totally honest.

“Are you sure?” She looks around then leans in. “Judy’s very concerned about you.”

Judy? I blink, mind racing as I try to process what the hell Mrs. Matthews is talking about. Son of a bitch. Judy Henson is Josh’s mother, and she works at the school with Mrs. Matthews.

“Yes, I’m sure. And you can tell Judy she has nothing to worry about. Chase and I are happy together.”

“She says he’s nothing but trouble. And after what he did to Josh—” Mrs. Matthews cuts off with a huff. Her blonde hair is curled and teased several inches above her head.

“What did he supposedly do to Josh?” I cross my arms, feeling the angry Southern woman in me start to come out.

“He up and left him to work the bar after his twins were born.”

I imagine myself stomping my foot and yelling about what a fucking liar Judy is. Instead, I keep my cool, narrowing my eyes every so slightly. “Chase has been in the hospital the last week. He had surgery, and we just got back today. I’m here to drop off prescriptions for him. He actually wants to get back to the bar tomorrow but Josh won’t let him.” I shake my head, fighting the urge to break things.

“You can’t believe everything you read on the internet, and you can’t take all gossip as the truth,” I say and storm away. I’m never catty, but right now, I’m pissed. I pull Chase’s insurance card and prescriptions from my purse and give them to the pharmacist, more thankful than ever for HIPPA. At least she won’t get into personal details with anyone else.

Still seething, I head for my car instead of The Book Bag. Mrs. Williams is going into the store just as I cross the street, and she catches my eye and waves. Now I have to go in, and I internally grumble the entire way. As soon as I step foot inside, all my negative emotions melt away. The scent of ink and paper, the familiar rows of books…even the creaking of the floorboards beneath my feet is comforting. I pause in the threshold and inhale, feeling loads better in just seconds.

“Sierra, dear,” Mrs. Williams says warmly. “How are you, darling?”

“I’m good,” I tell her. “Tired, that’s for sure, but glad to be home. How are you? And the store.”

“We’re both the same: old but still standing.”

“I’ll be in tomorrow morning.”

Mrs. Williams waves her hand in the air. “Take another day. Spend time taking care of that handsome man of yours.”

“You know you’re probably the only person in the town besides Josh Henson who hasn’t told me to stay away from Chase.”

“Why would I?”

“You haven’t heard the rumors about him?”

“Oh, I have. Let me ask you this: do you feel you should stay away?”

“No,” I say with no hesitation. “And if people got to know him, they’d know he’s one of the good guys, which are hard to find nowadays, I hear.” I sigh. “Chase might be a bit complicated, but he’s not dangerous. He loves me. He’d never hurt me.”

“There’s a thrill to loving a complicated man. Thrill…and danger. And that danger can be just as addictive.” Mrs. Williams smiles. “I know because I loved one too. The world has a never-ending supply of opinions and advice on what you should do. Don’t listen to them. We’re all complicated in the end.”

“We are.”

“Now, go on and get out of here,” she orders, eyes twinkling. “That handsome man is waiting for you.”