The Choice (4 page)

This waiting is unbearable.

I thought when Chase woke up our questions would be answered, but I’m still no closer to understanding anything about last night.

If it’s possible, I’m more confused now than when he woke up. I’ll never complain though. I’m just glad he’s awake now.

As I see Ana and Drake heading up the hall towards me, I can’t help the breath of relief that courses through me.

They’re holding hands.

Finally!

When Ana’s eyes meet mine and she realizes what I was staring at, she’s beaming back at me and I couldn’t be happier for her.

These past few weeks have been torture on both of us and I’m happy they seem to have worked things out. I still am not sure what caused the entire thing, but as long as she’s happy, I don’t care.

“Hey, what’s the word?” Drake says with a smile on his face for the first time in a while.

“They’re not back from tests yet,” I tell him. “They said it may take a couple hours before he’s back in his room. I’ve just been waiting here for him.”

“How was he when he woke up?” Ana asks me.

I give them a recap of him waking up, leaving out the proposal for now. We haven’t had much time to discuss it and I want to keep it between Chase and me until we do.

“Well, I just talked to his parents and they’re on their way now,” Drake says.

“They’re coming now?” I ask astonished.

“Yeah,” he starts. “They’d already planned on it
last night and once I heard from you, they decided to go ahead and take the trip. They’ll be here anytime now. He’ll need a lot of help for now and things with y’all have been kind of up in the air lately so…”

“They’re not anymore,” I offer. “Of course he’ll be happy to have his parents here
, but we’re not up in the air anymore.”

Ana smiles at me, happy to see me happy again and I match her grin.

“I’m glad to see the two of you aren’t up in the air anymore, either,” I say to them both.

“Thanks,” Drake says as his eyes meet Ana’s and he pulls her closer for a kiss. “Me
, too.”

“G
et a room!” I hear my favorite voice, stronger now than when it left me, booming down the hallway and my cells ignite.

His eyes find mine and I’m done
for.

“Hi Baby,” he smiles up at me as Nurse Nancy pushes his bed back through the door of his room.

“Hey you, how are you feeling?”

“Are you staying?” h
e asks and I nod.

“Of course,” I answer immediately.

“Then I feel great, my Sweetheart,” he says with a wink, causing color to sweep through my cheeks. I watch by the door as Nancy and another nurse hook him back up to the monitors surrounding the area where his bed has been replaced.

Standing awkwardly outside the door, I glance over at Ana when she grabs my hand and squeezes it gently. She smiles affectionately at me and I can see the relief in her expression.

“Love you, Soph,” she whispers and I can’t keep from pulling her to my chest.

“I love you, too, Ana. Thank you.”

“For what?” she asks as she pulls away gently, our hands still entwined between us, confusion marring her otherwise gorgeous features.

“For being here for me always,” I tell her quietly. “I couldn’t ask for a better friend, I don’t know what I’d ever do without you.”

“You’ll never have to find out, Honey.”

“Y’all can head on in now if you want to. He needs to rest
, but you’re welcome to stay for a little while,” Nurse Nancy addresses us as she and the other nurse exit Chase’s room. “The doctor will be by as soon as he can, probably in a couple hours.”

“Thank you,” the three of us say in unison as we
walk inside.

I m
ake my way back over to my self-appointed spot to his right. After placing a quick kiss on his lips, watch Drake approach him to his left, wrapping his arms around him carefully.

“You scared the shit out of me!” I hear him say as Chase squeeze
s my hand slightly and let it go to return the hug.

“
Sorry, man,” Chase tells him and I can hear his voice is thick with emotion.

“Don’t be sorry
, just don’t do stupid shit like that again, man. If you weren’t already in the hospital, I’d kick your fucking ass.”

“I know,” Chase says as Drake pulls away and reaches over to ruffle his hair.

“Love you, Loser.”

“I love you, too, man,” Chase chuckles.

“You girls wanna get a room?” We hear from the doorway and when we all look over, we see Chase’s sister, Emily, coming in with a nervous but relieved smile on her face.

She was ta
ll like her brother, about five-nine, with the same bronzed skin and blue eyes. Her hair was a little darker than his, closer to the color of caramel, and hung well past her shoulders in soft waves.

I’ve never met her
, but from talking to her on Facebook about her upcoming wedding, we’d gotten pretty close before Chase and I broke up. I’d know her face anywhere.

“Oh yeah, your parents and Emily are on their way,” Drake tells Chase with an apologetic smile as Emily makes her way to his bedside next to where Drake
and Ana are standing. They step out to let her get closer and she leans over the side to hug Chase.

“Hey
, Bubba,” she says quietly into his hair.

“Hey
, Squirt,” he replies and she lets out a relieved breath.

“You look like ass,” she says pulling away and taking him in for the first time.

“Thanks,” he chuckles.  

“How are you feeling?”

“Like ass,” he laughs again and she settles on the side of the bed gently. “Are you by yourself? Where are mom and dad?”

“Parking the car,” she says. “I ditched them and
came straight up. They’ll be in any time now.”

“I’ll go meet them and bring them up,” Drake offers and leans over to hug Emily and quickly introduces her to Ana before they leave the room.

“And you must be Sophie,” Emily says, facing me for the first time since her arrival.

“Yep, this is Sophie,” Chase says with pride as he affectionately takes my hand in his. “Sophie, this is my sister, Emily.”

“I recognize her,” Emily says quietly. “Hello, Sophie.”

“Hi Emily, it’s nice to officially meet you.”

The meeting is a little awkward since last she’d heard, Chase and I were on the outs. I hadn’t spoken to her much since I’d left him and I’m sure I wasn’t her favorite person in the world right now.

Gesturing down toward where our hands lay entwined on the hospital bed, Emily’s gaze went back and forth between Chase and me.

“Did you two get your shit straightened out?” she asks bluntly.

“Yeah,” we answer simultaneously and Chase squeezes my hand sweetly.

“Good. I’m happy for you both then,” she says as she stands to come around the side of the bed to me and pulls me into her arms for a hug. “Sophie, don’t
ever
do that to my brother again.”

“I won’t,” I promise.

“Em …” Chase starts, but she quickly cuts him off.

“Shut up. You’re on my shit list too, but I promised Mom she could get the first lashing once we knew you were awake,”
Emily grins mischievously at him.

“Oh my God,” Chase groans as he looks up toward the ceiling and Emily chuckles.

“Yep, and now that she knows you’re okay, she’s
pissed
!”

“Why is she pissed?” he asks in shock.

“You shouldn’t have been driving!” Emily and I both say in unison.

As Chase is about to speak to his own defense, we hear the rapid clicking of heels on the tile on the hallway leading to his door. I glance over to find him taking a deep breath and his eyes find mine as he lets out the air.

“Alright Baby,” he says quietly, grabbing my hand and smiling nervously. “You ready to meet my parents?”

“
Chase Benjamin Mitchell!”

We hear her before we see her
, but it’s not for long. Within seconds of her middle naming Chase in the hallway, his mother is glaring at him furiously from the door frame of his room.

She’s
surprisingly petite, about five-four with delicate features and wavy, light auburn hair that falls just below her shoulders. Looking at her face, I can see the resemblance there between her and her children immediately. Her tanned skin is crinkled with worry as she scans the room looking for her son and when her eyes finally set on his, her anger quickly makes way for relief.

She carries her small frame over the threshold of the door, haphazardly throwing her bag into the chair closest to her and making her way across the room in just a few strides.

“You scared me half to death, you little shit!” she wails as she pulls him to her chest. Not letting go for a few moments, she cries lightly into his shoulder as he squeezes her back as best he can.

“I’m sorry, Ma
ma. I’m okay,” he whispers, making my heart melt and she manages to cry even harder. 

“Why in the hell would you ever get behind the wheel when you’ve been drinking
Son? We taught you better than that!” She pulls away slightly for a moment before hugging him back to her chest again.

“You did teach me better. It was stupid, I know that now.”

“You know that
now
?” She pulls away with a look of astonishment before facing Emily and I. “He knows that now, he says. Can you believe that?” She turns to face him again. “You knew that before, Chase Benjamin! We’ve told you that for years! And Drake told us he was supposed to be picking you up and you went and did it anyway! What the hell were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t,” Chase starts before he’s cut off again.

“That’s right you weren’t thinking! Do you have any idea what the hell could have happened to you? Thank God you’re in the hospital! Do you know where you could have ended up?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Do you know what that would have done to me and your father? Do you?”

“I’m sorry. I swear I’ll never do it again.”

“That’s right you’ll never do it again. I’ll tell you one thing, if I still could I’d ground your little ass for the rest of your life!”

“I know you would and I’d deserve it,” he chuckles at her and although she scolds him, I can see her features beginning to soften.

“Don’t laugh at me when I’m telling you what’s what, Chase Benjamin!”

“I’m sorry,” he says
, looking at her and tries his best at being serious. She starts to wipe the tears from below her eyes, sniffling quietly. I reach for the small box of tissues that I’d sat next to his bed earlier this morning during one of my crying spells to hand to her. After grabbing one for herself, Chase’s mom looks up to me and offers me a warm smile that I recognize as the one her son so often wears.

“You must be Sophie,” she says across the bed.

“Yes ma’am. It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Mitchell,” I say nervously and she immediately waves off my formality and rises from the bed to come to my side. I put out my hand to shake hers, but she immediately pulls me in for a hug and laughs.

“A family of huggers, we are,” she says. “And none of that Mrs. Mitchell nonsense. You
call me Renee or Mama. I won’t answer to anything else, you hear me?” I nod in agreement as she steps back and gives me a look over. “Well, aren’t you a pretty little thing. It’s nice not being the only short on in the room, too, I might add,” she winks. “Did you kids get everything worked out?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Chase and I answer in unison and she smiles at us approvingly.

“Good, I bet y’all make a cute couple when my sons not all banged up from showing his ass,” she says with a little giggle and wraps her arm around my shoulder. “He probably towers over you, doesn’t he?”

“Yes ma’am,” I admit with a smile and she snickers.

“That’s how Benny and I are,” she smiles at me before gesturing between Chase and Emily. “We had a hell of a time making these two.”

“Oh my God!” Chase and Emily both let out so
unds of equal disgust while Renee and I share a laugh.

“Serv
es you right for being a shit, Son,” she says to Chase before meeting Emily’s shocked expression. “And I told you not to ditch me at the car, Emily Suzanne. I apologize for nothing. Where is your father?”

“He was with you!” Emily replies
.

“I thought he was
right behind me,” Renee starts and walks towards the door, tapping her foot and throwing her arms up in frustration. “Benny, what the hell are you doing?”

His muffled response is drowned out by Chase and Emily’s laughter.

“Geez woman, calm the hell down, will you?” A booming voice similar to my favorite one calls out down the hallway and stops in the doorway next to her planting a kiss on her temple. “I was talking to the nurse. She said the doctor is making rounds now and will be stopping in anytime now.”

Chase’s dad, Ben, makes his way into the room and after mussing Emily’s hair, heads straight to Chase’s side.

“You alright, Kiddo?” he asks Chase.

“Yes
sir, I’m okay,” he answers. Ben leans down and says something low to him that causes Chase to nod. As he pulls away, he kisses Chase on the side of the head and pats his uninjured shoulder gently.

“I love you, S
on,” Ben says quietly.

“Love you
, too, Pops.”

“Stop doing stupid shit.”

“Yes sir,” Chase answers as his father turns to walk in my direction with a smile. As he goes to greet me, Renee interrupts him.

“That’s all you’re gonna say to him, Ben?”

“What do you want me do, Renee? Spank him? I mean, hell Honey, look at the kid! He looks like shit, he knows he messed up and I’m sure you already called him a dumbass. What else do I need to say?” Renee shakes her head and waves him off, excusing herself to the bathroom. Ben faces me again with a wide smile and hugs me tightly enough to lift me off the ground a little. “Nice to meet you, Sophie!”

“Hello,” I chuckle as he sets me back on my feet. “
Nice to meet you, Mr. Mitchell.”

“Ben or Pops,” he scolds
me playfully and leans against the wall next to Emily.

“Hey, any word from the doctor yet?” Drake says as he and Ana enter the now crowded room and we all shake our heads.

“Anytime now according to the nurse,” Ben tells him as they make their way to my side of the room. After affectionately squeezing my shoulder, Ana tucks herself under Drake’s arm.

“Sit down, Baby,” Chase says quietly as he gently tugs on my hand and begins to shift to make room for me, wincing slightly.

“Stop moving! I’m fine in the chair!” I tell him, but the man I love is stubborn and moves anyway.

“Screw that chair,” he says, tugging my arm agai
n. “Sit with me.”

His bed is inclined now so I manage to sit up comfortably next to him. Offering me his extra pillow, I decline but laugh when he forces his blanket over the bare skin my shorts leave exposed.

“I don’t need covers, Chase, the heater is on!” I argue.

He looks at my legs and back at me again.

“You need covers. My family is a bunch of perv’s,” he jokes playfully.

“At least you got it honestly,” I tease under my breath as h
e continues to hold onto my hand as I roll my eyes and position the unneeded blanket over my legs.

“Thanks
, Baby,” he whispers and leans over to kiss me sweetly on the top of the head once we’re settled. When we turn our eyes away from each other, we see the five sets that have settled on us, each of them wearing amused looks at our exchange.

After a few minutes of Chase and his family catching up, the doctor came in to speak to us. While the odds didn’t look good when he was brought in, he was very lucky.
The surgery he’d had on his punctured lung was healing as they’d hoped it would and between that and the other injuries he’d sustained, they thought he’d be back to normal in six to eight weeks. He’d have to stay to be monitored for the next day or two, but once they’d ruled out any threat of infection, he would be released. As for now, he was being transferred to a private room and out of intensive care.

After playfully scolding us about having too many visitors, the doctor left us. Shortly after, a very pretty and petite nurse came in with an ice pack for Chase’
s shoulder. I quickly dismissed her overly friendly offer for assistance to everyone else’s amusement.

“
Soph, we’re going back to the house to grab a couple things. Do you want to come with us and take a nap or clean up or anything? I’ve got some clothes there for you, too.” Ana asks.

“Sure, thanks,” I start before Chase interrupts me.

“I thought you were going to stay up here?”

“
I am, I just want to take a shower and change,” I tell him.

“
Isn’t that bag over there yours?”

“Yeah,” I say.

“Well, what’s in it?”

“Clothes,” I say.

“I have a shower in here, you don’t have to leave.”

“I’m coming right back
, Baby. You need to rest and visit with your family.”

“Can we talk when you come back?”

“Of course,” I promise and notice as the tension leaves his shoulders.

“Okay,” he concedes. “Hurry back to me. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Snickerdoodle.”

***