Chapter 92: Nolan

Everything hurts. My head feels like a team of construction workers is drilling through my skull. My whole body aches and I can’t help the groan that slips out of my mouth when I attempt to move.

“Nolan?” The soft sound of Bryn’s voice makes me push past the heaviness in my eyes.

I push through the weight of the pain in my head and blink through the brightness in the room. When my vision clears, I see an angel.

“Bryn?” I barely recognize my voice and I immediately start coughing.

“Hang on.” She says, rushing over to a small table not far away from her.

She pours some water into a cup and adds a straw before walking back over to me. I want to reach out for the cup, but my arms feel like they weigh a ton, and she’s already moving like she planned on holding the cup for me all along. The coolness of the water eases the soreness in my throat enough that I don’t have the urge to cough anymore, so I nod and she pulls the straw away from my lips. She sets it down again and moves back over to sit with me. Her hand slips into mine and we watch each other for a minute.

Her hair is pulled back from her face, and her eyes are slightly red. Has she been crying?

“What’s wrong?” I ask her.

Whatever pain I was feeling a minute ago is gone at the thought of something being wrong with her.

She lets out a small laugh, and I catch a tear following down her cheek. She quickly wipes it away and smiles at me.

“You’re worried about me? You’re the one sitting in a hospital bed.” She says like I’m crazy for thinking about anything other than my current situation.

“Answer me Bryn.” I say, and her smile falls.

I don’t want to joke about this. Memories of the accident flood into my mind and I need to know she’s okay.

“I’m okay. The baby is fine too. You…you saved us.” She starts to cry again.

A wave of relief runs through me. She’s okay…the baby is okay…

“Thank god.” I say, dropping my head back, feeling exhausted. “Where are the others?”

She wipes her tears away again like she’s ashamed about them and clears her throat. “Jaxon is fine. He hasn’t left since we got here, no matter how much I tell him to go.”

I smirk at that. He’s stubborn like the rest of us, it seems.

“Don’t smile. You all are a pain in my side. Too much testosterone. At least I’ll have someone soon to help deal with all you boys.” She bites her lip and watches me carefully.

“What do you mean?” Did I miss something?

She laughs. “The baby. It’s a girl.”

My heart stops for a second. When it kicks back in, I smile at her and reach out for her. I tug on her hand and she laughs when I wrap my hand around the back of her neck and pull her in for a kiss. I try to push all the emotions I’m feeling into the kiss but a sharp pain focus me to break the kiss.

“Fuck.” I grind out when I let her go.

“I’m sorry!” She says and quickly pulls away from me.

I don’t want her to, but the pain is winning. “What happened to me?” I finally ask.

“You shielded me when we were hit. You have two broken ribs, a broken leg, and a concussion.” She explains.

I look down my body and see a huge cast running from above my knee to my toes. Shit, that’s not good.

“How long have I been here?” I ask next.

“Two days. They had you on some strong pain meds, so you were out of it. It’s been two days since the accident.” She says and I blow out a breath. “Sawyer came to see me on the first day. He has a broken arm and had a concussion from the airbag going off, but he’s doing better.”

“And Maddox?”

Her eyes fall to her hands and her shoulder shakes. Shit.

“Is he?” I can’t say the word, but she knows what I’m asking.

“He hasn’t woken up yet. His side of the car was hit the hardest and he…he had a lot of internal injuries that had to be surgically fixed. They finished the night of the accident, but he hasn’t woken up yet. They said it can take some time since his body is trying to heal, but they also said there’s always a chance he might not wake up. No one knows for sure.” She breaks down into sobs and lets my hand go so she can cover her face.

“Bryn…” I want to say something that will make her feel better, but I know nothing I say will help.

“He’ll pull through. Just tell him about the baby and he’ll be so happy that he’ll wake up instantly.” I say pathetically.

She drops her hands and gives me a weak smile. “Maybe. Oh! Your family is here. I should tell them you’re awake.”

I open my mouth to say something…anything…like to ask her to stay, but she is out of the room before I can stop her. Something tells me it’s because she doesn’t want me to see her crying any more. A few minutes later, my sister and mom push their way into my room.

“Big brother!” My sister shouts tearfully before rushing me and wrapping her arms around me in a hug with no regard to my injuries.

“Stop that! You’re hurting him.” My mom scolds her and my sister cringes.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine. What are you guys doing here?” I ask the best I can with my ribs screaming in pain.

“You were in a car accident, asshole! Of course we’re here.” My sister says, looking offended.

I guess I shouldn’t have asked that question, but they had to come so far and I’m fine. Well, alive anyway.

“You didn’t- “

“Hush. I’m your mother. Of course I would be here. How are you feeling, honey?” My mom brushes some hair away from my face like I’m still a kid.

“Could be worse, but I don’t recommend breaking your ribs anytime soon.” I say as a wave of pain hits me.

Where are those pain medications Bryn had mentioned?

“I’ll keep that in mind.” My mom says with a shake of her head.

We fall into a comfortable silence, but of course my sister hates silence and quickly started running her mouth again.

“So how are things going with the pretty lady we found in your room when we got here? Is this the girl you were telling me about?” My sister asks, batting her lashes at me innocently.

I give her an unimpressed look. “You know it’s her.”

She smiles. “I knew it! Oh, my gosh bro, she’s freaking gorgeous! Nice work.”

I shake my head and glance at my mom. I mentioned to her in passing that I was seeing someone, but I hadn’t gone into detail about it. Now she’s met Bryn. I’m worried she won’t be happy with what I’ve taken on. Not only a girlfriend, but I was moving into a dynamic where I would share her with other guys. It’s not something you tell your mother on the phone.

“Mom?” I try to get her attention and she gives me a tight-lipped smile.

She’s holding back something. “What’s wrong?”

“Is she what you really want, sweetheart? It won’t be easy. I’ve heard of her husband and his future in the NHL. Their relationship was announced recently, so you had to have known the situation there. Why would you choose that than be with a woman who would be loyal to you?” She doesn’t sound angry, but curious.

“I know it isn’t a normal relationship, but it wasn’t that dynamic that drew me in. It was Bryn. She’s an amazing woman, mom, and I was caught the moment I met her. She has this energy…I can’t explain it, but I want to be near it. I’ve never wanted anything complicated before, but she’s worth it.” I say honestly.
My sister coos at my words and I scowl at her.

“Does she make you happy?” My mom asks, ignoring my interaction with my sister.

I nod. “She does. You’ll love her mom, I promise.”

She watches me for a second longer and then nods. “Okay. She’s a sweet girl and by how she looks at you, I can tell she cares about you a lot. But if any of it becomes too much for you or you’re unhappy, don’t let your feelings for her stop you from moving on. Okay?”

I want to tell her I would never leave, but instead I nod and give her hand a squeeze. “Don’t worry, mom, I won’t stay if I’m unhappy.”

She knows all about that, and I know she doesn’t want that for me. Except Bryn would never make me feel out of place or used. She worries too much about what we give up to be with her, so I only worry that she will push me away. If she heard my mom right now, she would try to convince me to move on with my life and forget her, but that won’t happen. Not now, not ever.