Now or Never

grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “He needs to do this alone,” he said in a low voice. Grayson nodded she knew he was right. It was not her place to be by his side.
    Her eyes were glued to him as he was pushed to the front. A beautiful woman stood up and walked over to him. She was tall, slim with long dark hair, and was holding a baby.
    “Andrews’s wife,” Marcus whispered.
    Grayson felt like she was prying seeing the exchange. The woman leaned down to hug Derrick, and stood up and wiped her eyes. Grayson was moved by the woman’s strength. It couldn’t be easy seeing Derrick knowing he was alive, and her husband was gone. The same thing was probably running through Derrick’s mind. Her heart ached for him.
    She took the wheel chair from the nurse and pushed him to the front beside her. It was a touching moment, and Grayson realized her cheeks were wet.
    ***
    The next-day Grace was antsy sitting around the empty hotel room. She decided to go back to the hospital before she drove home. As much as she wanted to be there she knew she was not welcome, and it was rude of her to have intruded on Derrick out of her own selfish need to see him. She didn’t approach him at the funeral or even later that day. She knew he needed to be with his family and friends. Sadly, she didn’t seem to fit into either category.
    She pushed through the door and was relieved to see that he was alone. She didn’t think she could handle another run-in with Megan, and it would be strange to meet his parents. She stared at him for a minute her throat tightening with affection.
    “Hey,” Derrick said. He looked up and clicked the remote and turned off the TV.
    She walked over and stood next to his bed. “How are you doing?”
    He shrugged. “Not so great. Yesterday was rough.”
    She sat down in a chair next to him and pulled it closer to the bed. “I could tell his wife appreciated you showing up.”
    “You were there? I didn’t see you.”
    “I didn’t think it was right to approach you.”
    He just nodded.
    Grayson sat in silence not sure what to say. The only noise was the steady hum of the fluorescent lights, and an occasional beep of the machines attached to him.
    “Thanks for coming. I know I told you not to, but I’m glad you did.”
    “Really? I thought you were still mad at me.”
    “I am, but not for coming here. I would have done the same thing if the situation had been reversed.”
    That brought a smile to her face. “How long are you going to be here?”
    “A couple of months at least; I have a lot of rehab to get through.”
    “Do you want me to stay? I haven’t started school yet.”
    He shook his head no. “I need to be alone. I have a lot of stuff going on in my head; I need to get it all sorted out. When I get back we’ll sit down and talk.”
    She could feel tears starting to form so she tried to blink them back. She didn’t want him to see her cry. “I understand. I’m going to drive back today.”
    “Gray. How did you know I was hurt? I’ve heard some stuff, but I’m not sure if the guys were pulling my leg or not.”
    She shifted on the seat uncomfortably as she watched a play of emotions cross his face. “I just knew.”
    “What do you mean you just knew?”
    “I don’t know it’s weird. My mother says everyone has the ability, but they don’t listen to the vibrations from the earth. Kind of like when someone walks into a bad situation and the hair on the back of their neck stands up. Or for some reason, a person decides to take the back way home instead of their normal path and misses being in an accident. I just sometimes know things like that. I never tell anyone because it makes me sound like a freak.”
    He gave her a half smile that melted her heart and said, “It is kind of freaky. You’ve never told anyone?”
    “Well, my family obviously knows. It’s been happening since I was a child.”
    “What about your ex?”
    Grayson shook her head no. “He thinks anything that is not explainable is stupid.”
    “He’s an idiot. So tell me exactly what happened.”
    “Well, I was just going about my day as normal and suddenly your name screamed through my head, and I felt like crying. My stomach dropped causing my heart to race rapidly. I started calling around trying to find out what happened, but at first no one would tell me anything. It’s happened to me before, but only with people I’m close to. I thought you were dead.”
    “I guess I was, briefly