Still the One (Book 2 in the Four of Us Trilogy)

41 | Back Together

The best me has his arms around you

You make me better than I was before

Thank God I'm Yours.

-Russell Dickerson, "Yours"

Miles

"Ow," I groaned, lifting my hand to touch my aching head. I winced and blinked my eyes open.

"Oh my God," Rachel gasped, and I turned my face to look at her. "You're awake." She put her hands on my cheeks and leaned forward to kiss me gently.

I looked around, taking in my surroundings – steel cabinets with glass doors, metal drawers, medical supplies – an ambulance.

"What happened? Why are we in an ambulance?" I asked, trying to push through the incredible pain in my head.

"You don't remember?" she asked, then shook her head. "No... how could you?"

"Rachel, what happened? The last thing I remember was telling you that I loved you and would die for you," I said, searching her grey eyes.

She swallowed. "And then I thought you had.... Iris came up behind you and knocked you out with a metal baseball bat," she said in a small voice.

"Oh God," I murmured. "Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"

She laughed through the tears that had started falling down her cheeks. "You're the one in the ambulance with a head wound and you're asking me if I'm okay. Classic Miles," she said, kissing my cheek.

"You didn't answer my question," I said.

She sighed. "I'm fine. I was just so worried about you."

"Well, I'm good," I said, wincing. "I just have a hell of a headache."

"We're at the hospital now," one of the paramedics spoke up. "We'll get you in the ER, the doctor will examine you, but I'm confident you'll be released quickly."

"Okay, thank you," Rachel said, and I nodded my thanks to him.

They pulled the stretcher I was on out of the ambulance and into the ER, and within ten minutes, I was getting a CT scan and an MRI.

"Ugh, my head hurts," I moaned, and Rachel squeezed my hand.

"That pain med should kick in soon," she soothed, tracing circles on my palm with her fingernails.

I closed my eyes, focusing on her touch instead of the incredible throbbing pain in my head.

A few minutes later, the doctor came in with some images in his hand.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Salazar; I'm Dr. Crawford," the older man greeted us, holding his hand out for us to shake. We did, and he smiled. "I have the results of your CT and MRI here," he said, holding them up to a light panel across from Miles' bed.

"Am I okay?" Miles asked in a small voice.

"Yes, Mr. Salazar. You're fine. We were looking for a brain bleed, but there is no evidence of one. You have a pretty severe concussion, but that's not going to be fatal or leave any lasting injury. You just need to take it easy for a few days," he said.

Rachel sighed in relief and I exhaled. "Thank God," I said. "Thank you, Doc."

"You're welcome. Who's this young lady?" he asked, gesturing toward Rachel.

"This is my girlfriend, Rachel," I answered, a note of pride in my voice.

"Do y'all live together?" he asked.