Fighting for Love (Second Chances #4)(71)
“I didn’t know all of that,” I said, hanging my head. “It appears that there’s a lot I don’t know.”
She nodded. “Exactly, and that’s why I’m only going to say this one time. I’m sorry that she kept the baby a secret from you, and trust me, it breaks my heart that you had to find out this way, but if you think her lying to you was bad, it nowhere near compares to the shit she went through. Even when she saw you with other women, which by the way tore her apart, she still loved you. She’s always loved just you.”
And I always loved just her, I wanted to say.
The door to the waiting room opened, and immediately I got to my feet as in walked Shelby’s mother, Dr. Carol Dawson, who happened to be one of the best doctors at UC Davis. Her hair was the same chestnut brown as Shelby’s, but Shelby got her brown eyes from her father. Carol always had the kindest, pale blue eyes of anyone I’d ever known. However, today they were tired and worn down, her hunter green hospital scrubs wrinkled and loose on her small frame. She’d lost weight over the years, probably from working long hours like she did when I was dating Shelby.
“Carol,” Lexi sobbed, pushing out of her chair. She ran up to Shelby’s mother and flung her arms around her. “What’s going on? How is she?”
Carol squeezed her tight and smiled sadly at me over her shoulder. “She’s going to be fine. We’ve been through this before, remember? She’ll pull through when she’s ready, but last time we didn’t have the head injury to contend with.”
“Did she need a transfusion from all the blood she lost?” Lexi asked.
Carol nodded and hooked a glance toward Hayley. “Did Hayley not tell you? While you were out trying to get a hold of Jace, Hayley heard me talking to the nurse and offered up her blood for the transfusion. Once we confirmed that she was a match it was a go.”
I had to admit it took a lot of guts for Hayley to be around me right now, especially after what she did to Shelby, but in my eyes it was going to take a lot more than donating blood to find redemption.
“When can we see her?” Lexi asked.
Carol let Lexi go and sighed. “You can see her now if you like. She’s not awake, but talking to her will help. I’m sure she’d like to know you’re here.”
Lexi peered at me over her shoulder. “Hayley and I are going in there first,” she snapped. Hayley and Lexi both evacuated the waiting room, leaving me and Carol alone.
As soon as they were gone, she smiled. “Matt, it’s so good to see you again. I must say I hoped it was going to be under better terms. I spoke to Shelby yesterday and she was so excited to have you back. I take it you know everything now?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said, averting my gaze. “Shelby told me yesterday. If I could turn back time I would, but I can’t. She’s not going to forgive me for leaving her when she needed me the most.”
“Not necessarily, Matt. I know you two have a lot to discuss when she comes around, but I have faith that you’ll work it out. You’ve both screwed up and made some bad choices, but you know what? We’re only human. It’ll all work out in the end,” she vowed wholeheartedly.
Turning on her heel, Carol reached for the handle on the door and opened it wide. Before she could walk out, I stopped her by asking, “How do you know it’ll all work out?”
Slowly, she turned around and smiled at me one last time. “I know this because I know my own daughter, Matt. She hasn’t let you go for the past ten years. I know she’s not going to let you go now.”
With those last words, she disappeared down the hall. I was left alone with nothing but silence in the vacant waiting room.
I’m way past ready to see Shelby.
FOR OVER AN HOUR I waited for Hayley and Lexi to get done with their visit so I could go in and see Shelby. During that time both Garrett and Carter called, asking about the fight in Stockton and if I was going. They weren’t happy when I chose to forfeit, but I refused to leave Shelby for even a moment. If she needed me, I wanted to be there.
Lexi opened the waiting room door and poked her head in. “It’s your turn,” she noted dryly. “Hayley and I are going to leave for a while and get some rest, but we’ll be back later.”
“I’ll be here,” I told her as I waltzed past. I didn’t want to waste another moment I could be spending with Shelby.
Her room was right across the hall, so I marched over and opened the door as quietly as I could, letting it shut silently. She lay motionless in the bed except for her chest rising and falling with her breaths. She had a white bandage around her head that almost matched the color of her skin. Never had I seen her so pale and lifeless.
Taking a seat in the chair beside her bed, I gently picked up her hand and held it in mine. When she didn’t hold it back, I finally broke down and cried. “Angel, please wake up. I’m so f*cking sorry for leaving you when you needed me. I promise I’ll do anything to make it up to you if you just come back to me. Please, Shelby. We owe this to ourselves … to our daughter.”
All I got was nothing as I waited for a sign to show that she heard me. The hours crept by and I stayed there; waiting and holding her hand in mine, refusing to let go. I wasn’t going to leave until she woke up, and if it took fifteen days so be it.