Sea Breeze 01 - Breathe

familiar way. I knew the hand must belong to Jax.
    “Sadie, please, if you can hear me, show me. I saw you move. You can do it again.”
    It
was
Jax. His voice sounded worried and anxious. I moved my hand in his and tried to open my eyes. The light hurt and I stopped trying.
    “You can hear me. Okay, baby, listen. I’m going to get the nurse.”
    The nurse? What nurse? I didn’t want him to go. I squeezed my hand tightly, trying to hold on to him, and then I heard him chuckle, and suddenly the heaviness faded away and I inhaled. My lips formed a smile this time, and his warm breath tickled my ear.
    “I’m not going to leave you. I swear it. But please let me get the nurse,” he whispered, and goose bumps rose on my arms. He laughed softly, and his hand left mine.
    The room became silent, and the darkness started coming back. I wanted to fight it. I wanted to see Jax. I needed to see his face. But the darkness came anyway, and once again I floated into it, unable to control its force.
    A soft sound warmed my ears, and I fought to get to it. The closer I got, the clearer the words seemed. They were familiar, but I couldn’t seem to get close enough to understand. I fought the darkness and strained to hear the soft words that seemed to send warmth through my cold body. I squeezed my hand again to make sure I could still control it, and it was no longer empty. The words stopped, and I wanted to hear them again. I tried to speak, but nothing seemed to come out. I squeezed again and the warmth in my hand reminded me I wasn’t alone.
    “Sadie? Can you hear me?”
    I wanted to say yes, but instead I only managed to move my head.
    “I’m not leaving this time, baby. I’m staying right here. Can you open your eyes for me?”
    His voice sounded so anxious and worried. I wanted to reassure him. But the light seemed too bright. I needed to tell him. I focused hard on the words, and then I remembered how to speak. “The lights,” I heard myself say in a raspy voice.
    “I’ll turn them off. Hold on one second.” His hand left mine, and then I could see the darkness on the other side of my eyelids. His hand slipped back into mine, and he squeezed it.
    “Please open your eyes for me,” he begged, and I slowly opened them.
    Everything blurred together in the darkness. I blinked slowly, and things began to come into view. I searched for Jax first and quickly found him right beside me. He looked exhausted. His eyes had black circles under them, and he needed to shave badly.
    “Ah, there are my beautiful blue eyes,” he murmured with relief on his face.
    “Hi.” I struggled to get the word out of my parched throat.
    He grinned, and my heart fluttered as usual. “Hello,” he said softly.
    “Why’re you here?” I asked, but I slipped my free hand up to my throat, and that’s when I noticed I had tubes in my hand. I stared at him, confused, because now the fact that he had wanted to get the nurse made sense. I was in a hospital.
    “I’m here because the reason I get up each morning needs me as much as I need her, obviously.”
    I closed my eyes, trying to understand what he meant. “Please don’t close your eyes again,” he begged softly. I opened them immediately. I didn’t understand his urgency and worry. And why he appeared so tired.
    “Why’m I here?” I asked, despite my mouth and throat being as dry as a desert.
    He sighed and kissed the hand he held. “You exhausted yourself and passed out while riding your bike. You hit your head so hard it cracked your skull. You were not found right away.” He stopped and seemed to be struggling with his words. “By the time they got you here, you were unconscious, and they couldn’t tell me if you would ever come back to me.”
    He struggled with the last part, and I squeezed his hand as tightly as I could. “I did.”
    He smiled and laid his head against our joined hands for a moment. “I know you did, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t died a thousand times since Ms. Mary called me a week ago.”
    A week ago? I had been unconscious a week. And then I remembered Sam. I started to sit up. Jessica couldn’t take care of Sam for a week. He might be . . . I didn’t want to think about it. I just needed up.
    “Whoa, what’re you doing? You can’t get up. I still have to get the nurse in here.”
    I shook my head, and it began to pound. “Sam,” I spit out through my panic. Jax held me firmly in the bed.
    “Sam is with Ms. Mary and is just fine.