Week 474 – Sasha woke suddenly in fear and despair

Fear.

Panic.

Despair.

Sasha woke suddenly in fear and despair, something was wrong. That one thought sat so heavily in her mind that she knew there was no possibility she was mistaken.

“Whoa, honey, take it easy, you’re okay.”

The voice was soothing, calming, comforting even, but it didn’t erase either the fear or the despair. Because it wasn’t over.

“Shh, Sasha, you’re fine, you’re in the hospital. You just had surgery to repair the damage the bullet caused. You’re going to have a long road of recovery ahead of you, but you’re going to make it. You’re going to be okay.”

That last part sounded more for his benefit than hers.

“Graham,” she murmured, forcing her eyes to open because she needed him to know that neither of them were going to be okay. For a moment everything was blurry, she couldn’t make out anything other than white with a darker oval in front of her.

Then slowly the details returned, the haggard look on Graham’s face, the shaggy scruff, the red eyes, the fact that he was wearing scrubs instead of the clothing he’d been wearing when he saved her, all told her that he had kept his promise. He hadn’t left his side, and because of his loyalty he might lose his life.

“You’re going to be okay,” he said again, almost like a mantra.

“No,” she croaked through her dry throat.

“Yes.”

“No,” she repeated trying for firmness but unable to find it.

“Everything is going to be okay.”

“He’s here,” she insisted.

“Who is?”

“One of them. Blake. I saw him. Here at the hospital before they knocked me out.”