The windows had beautiful long teal drapes with a chevron pattern. The teal matched the bedspread precisely. It was weird. She’d known Nicole for a few years and had never seen her interior design side pop out.
She paced the room until she decided maybe she would sit down. Her body melted into the memory foam mattress pad, which felt like a hug. For the first time, Augusta could process what had occurred. The things that had happened, trying to protect him. She had been so close to death, trying to save the man she cared about the most, and now he was on an operating table, fighting for his life, just like she had fought for hers.
Tears filled her eyes as she felt the gashes the noose had left on her neck with her fingers. The drops spilled down her cheeks.
She sat for what seemed like years, though the clock said it had only been hours, crying softly into the bedspread when suddenly the door flew open.
“Augusta,” a raspy voice called from the open door.
She sat up quickly to see who entered.
“Oh, my god. Ray.” She jumped off of the bed and ran to him. She threw her arms around him and squeezing as hard as she could.How could she not have recognized his voice?
“Careful.” He tensed at the pressure of her arms.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I can’t believe you’re standing here, talking to me. I was so scared I had lost you.” Tears flowed down her cheeks even more dramatically as she clung to him. “Where’s Nicole?”
“I’m right here, Augusta. I just thought you might need a minute before I interrupted,” she called from the hallway behind him.
Augusta let her arms fall to her sides so that Ray could step in, letting Nicole join in.
“Thank you so much. How did you do it?” Augusta asked as soon as Nicole had come into view.
“Well, I did some of the work, but his body is intense. It was like I had two sets of hands helping me in there. It was healing just as fast as I was stitching. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“He’s not as strong right now.” Nicole’s eyes cut at Ray. “And he definitely shouldn’t shift for some time because his body is still healing. He really shouldn’t even be awake right now …”
“I couldn’t rest without seeing you. I needed to know you were okay,” Ray murmured.
Nicole looked like she was holding back from rolling her eyes. “Yes, I was unable to get him to stay unconscious between his metabolism and his insistence to be with you. He’s going to be sore for a few days, but he’ll be fine if what I’ve seen so far keeps up.”
Nicole’s eyes darted between them and the way they leaned into each other before adding, “I’ll leave you two to talk. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.” She disappeared and left the two of them alone in her guest room.
They stood there, staring into each other’s eyes. Neither could figure out the right thing to say. Augusta knew he was angry at her for staying with those men, not doing what she could to escape with her life.
She hoped that he would also find her act of sacrifice an act of love.
He finally mustered some courage and said, “I can’t believe you didn’t give me up.”
“What? You really can’t believe it? You know me better than that by now.” She looked at him sadly.
“No, I do. I just have never had anyone care about me that much, to sacrifice themselves, to save me as you did.” He reached out and grabbed her hand. “But it means the absolute world to me. I truly love you, Augusta.”
Those words caused her heart to nearly fall out of her chest. She couldn’t believe someone like him had confessed his love to someone like her.
She pulled his hand and turned to the bed. She sat on the edge and patted the bedspread, gesturing for him to sit with her. As soon as his body touched the mattress, she felt him tense. His expression changed from gratefulness to sadness in an instant.
Augusta watched as he stared at the floor, looking like he was trying to keep from sobbing. She reached over and put an arm around his shoulders, pulling him into her.
They sat in an embrace as she stroked his back.
“It’s going to be okay, Ray,” she whispered.
She wanted nothing more than to trust him, give herself to him completely, but she didn’t know if she could. There had been something holding her back, but right now, at that moment, she couldn’t quite remember what that something had been.
She looked down at his face, and he met her gaze. As soon as their eyes locked, the butterflies in her stomach told her she might be too late to talk herself out of that one. She might already be falling in love.
Chapter23