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“Thank you,” the mother said, still in surprise. “She likes to explore,” she explained.
“It was my pleasure,” Taylor said and waved as they walked away.
Delia, Taylor thought looking up to the ceiling. “Please let that be your way of saying it will be okay,” she muttered.
Three
Derrick’s eyelidswere weighted down with bricks and his body felt like a limp noodle. He was trying to wake up but he just couldn’t. And damn, did his chest hurt. There were voices all around him. He heard a lot of murmur and chatter but none of it was familiar, none of the voices was the one he wanted to hear. None of them was Taylor’s.
He went to take a deep breath but something was in the way, and then a loud horn went off, and he was coughing trying to clear away the blockage.
“Try to relax, Mr. Fletcher,” someone said, wiping at his brow. It was a kind voice, a feminine voice.
But it was not Taylor’s voice.
Derrick fought harder against the weight on his eyelids and opened his eyes, pushing to try and get up. He was in a brightly lit room and there were people dressed in scrubs all around him. He was easily pushed back down.
“It’s okay, Mr. Fletcher—you’re safe,” the female voice said to him a little firmer and louder this time. “You’re in the hospital. I’m your nurse.”
A hospital? Derrick was so confused. Where was Taylor? He tried to ask but something gagged him, making him cough.
“You have a tube in helping you to breathe,” the woman said. “We are going to give you medicine to help you relax.”
Derrick shook his head in defiance and someone came in and pushed his head down. What the hell had happened? Where was Taylor? Had it all been a dream? Had she never come back? Or maybe she never left?
Panic seized Derrick as he realized he must have OD’d after the tattoo parlor. That must be why his chest hurt, from that stupid tattoo. And Taylor didn’t know he loved her.
He had to find her.
Hands clamped on Derrick’s limbs as he attempted to get up again. “Give him something,” someone ordered.
“Derrick?” a voice came from the distance and he stopped. It was Taylor. Derrick turned his head and saw a foggy shape across the room.
“Mrs. Fletcher, I don’t think—”
“Let her in,” the woman who said she was his nurse ordered. “He calmed down, so let her see him.”
The figure came closer and Taylor filled Derrick’s gaze. Derrick felt relief flow through him, and as Taylor took his hand and touched his cheek he relaxed back onto the bed.
“It’s okay, baby,” she said, tears filling her eyes, “it’s okay. You’re gonna be okay,” she said nodding, her voice thickening with emotion.
The hands of all the nurses and techs who had been trying to hold him down left Derrick’s limbs. Once he was free he reached up and wiped away a tear from Taylor’s cheek.
“I love you,” she whispered and turned her head and kissed his hand. “I love you,” she repeated, looking at him.
Derrick felt his eyes fill with tears, and Taylor shook her head. “Are you in pain?” she asked in a sudden panic. Derrick shook his head, only to wince as he shifted to try and get closer to Taylor.
“Mrs. Fletcher, he needs to rest,” the nurse explained gently.
Derrick gripped her arm and his eyes went wide. She couldn’t leave—they couldn't take her away.
“It’s okay, Mr. Fletcher,” the woman assured him, “she is going to stay, but we need you to rest. You have been through a lot tonight and we need you to heal.”
“I’m not leaving, Derrick,” Taylor promised him. “I’m staying right here, okay?”
Derrick nodded and grabbed Taylor’s hand, bringing it to his face and rubbing it on his cheek. Something on her hand hit his face and he moved her hand to his view to look at it. His eyes went wide when he looked at her rings on her finger.
Taylor laughed. “Did you forget?” she asked as he started to blink more, his eyelids becoming weighted down like before. “Just go to sleep, we’ll talk about it when you wake up. I’ll be right here,” she assured him. Then Taylor looked intently into his eyes and said, “I love you, Derrick Fletcher.” Slowly, Derrick’s eyes drifted closed, even as he tried to fight it, and he was pushed back into sleep.