Lady Illea (Lady Illea #1)

Chapter Thirty Nine

    I paced back and forth in the hospital waiting room, biting on my nails. I was wearing the jeans and shirt Emilie loan me and the shoes Leslie gave me. I was exhausted and my eyes were swollen with tears from the long night. At 4am I still refused to sleep and the sun had not even begun to rise.

      Emilie and Leslie were sitting on the plastic hospital chairs, ready to collapse from exhaustion, leaning on each other's shoulders. Emilie and Leslie were here long before me. I appreciated them so much. They were like my sisters. When I arrived they were crying just as hysterical, Emilie's curls bouncing everywhere and Leslie's braid falling apart.

        They told me when they went to give daddy his medicine for the day he was on the couch and wouldn't respond to them. He was undergoing surgery for hours now and the anxiety was making my stomach flip.

     There were still roses stuck in my hair I couldn't get out, my dress thrown over one of the chairs and my heels on the floor. The make up, I probably cried off my face and looked like a mess.

    What shocked me most when I landed in Carolina was that my father was in St. Matthew's. The best hospital in all of Carolina. And when I asked why he was here and how on earth I was supposed to pay the hospital bill the lady at the front desk said "Courtesy of the royal family"

     I didn't know how I felt about that. I was angry with his royal highness of Illea and I didn't feel like thinking of how I felt about him. I almost kissed him. I almost let him kiss me and my God I felt so incredibly stupid.

"Allie!"

    I spun around and immediately I felt something stir inside my heart. I was breathless, my knees were giving out, I was surprised by how relieved I was to see someone familiar.

"Thomas"

   Thomas and his shaggy brown blonde hair ran down the halls of the hospital. His usually kind eyes looked concerned and I ran to meet him half way. I opened my mouth to speak but before I could say anything Thomas wrapped his arms around me and crushed me against his chest.

     I never felt so relieved before.

"I came as soon as I heard" he said. "I'm so sorry. The flight was delayed I was coming from all the way across the country"

     Thomas smelled the same, like clean linen and fresh air. I felt safe and comfortable wrapped in my arms and I didn't realize I was crying until Thomas held my face in his arms.

"He's in surgery" I whispered. "He's been there for hours. I don't know what's wrong they haven't told me anything."

   Thomas just held my close and I buried my fave in his shoulder. I was reliving the past two years of my life. All the time I've been with Thomas, the daisies, the visits, the letters. I missed him dearly, truly. I guess being away put my life into perspective.

     I didn't belong in a palace fighting for a Prince, despite however I felt. I belonged in Carolina with my best friends taking care of my dad and having an annoyingly complicated yet stable relationship with Illea's most prominent celebrity.

"I'm so sorry Allie"

  I sniffled pulling away to look at him, but not too far that I felt his embrace. "I don't know what to do"

Thomas held my face in his hands carefully wiping away my tears in the most thoughtful and romantic way possible. "Don't cry" he tucked my hair behind my ear. "I'm here now"