Page 141 of Time To Learn

Lise tilts her head at me, laughter dancing in hereyes.

“He’s been asking after you every five minutes, so there’s definitely nothing wrong with his memory, either.”

Tears prickle my eyes as relief fills my aching heart, and my body begins to tremble.

“But he’ll be fine? Really, he’ll be okay?” I sniffle.

Her eyes soften as she takes a step towards me, bending down to meetmine.

“Yes, Laura, I promise.”

I glance quickly at Alex and as his lips pull up into a grin, I let the fear go. I can practically feel it run through my veins. Overcome with emotions, I finally allow the tears to fall freely, not caring in the least about having to hold it locked up inside anymore.

“See, Mummy? Gan-Gan was right.”

Blindly, I look down at Ailith, barely able to make out her beaming smile shining up at me, but the joy in her voice makes my own smile wider.

“Yes, sweetie,” I whisper. “It was foolish of me not to trust her, wasn’tit?”

At the sound of Mum’s low laughter, I raise my eyes and quirk an eyebrow ather.

“I think I know what Dad meant now,” I whisperthen.

She sniffles and dabs at her cheeks.

“Good, lass.” She puts her arm around my shoulder and I take a moment to lean into her side, just as Ailith wraps her arms around my waist. The need to see Kristian with my own eyes—to feel his skin on mine, and to prove to myself that he really is okay—never abates, though, and I dry my wet cheeks. My eyes flicker towards the closed door that Kristian is behind, before I take a deep breath and turn toLise.

“May I seehim?”

She grins at me, making me catch my breath at the striking resemblance to Kristian.

“Of course. Go right in.” She jerks her chin at the door, but before I give in to my heart’s desire, I look down at Ailith when she tugs at myhand.

“If you want to see him, too, I’ll come fetch you in ten minutes, okay?”

“Okay, Mummy.”

“Go see your man, Laura,” Mum says briskly and runs a hand over Ailith’s hair. “I’m going to go find us a bite to eat, and then we’ll come back and wait for you. Take all the time that youneed.”

“Thankyou.”

I let Ailith’s hand slip through my fingers, and with my heart jack-hammering against my ribs, I turn my back on them and open the door to Kristian’s room. I can’t hold back a small gasp when my eyes fall on his body in the hospital bed. The colour of his hospital clothes is all wrong, making a stark contrast against his beautiful tattoos. His eyes are closed, as if he’s asleep, and most of his head is covered in a white bandage. I walk closer, aching to touch him, but almost afraid to at the sametime.

Wrong. This is so wrong.

I want to rush to him, but as if they have a mind of their own, my legs veer off to the left until I stop at the foot of his bed instead. His eyelids flicker like mad, as if he’s stuck in a nightmare, and I can’t help but wonder if he really should be asleep when he has a concussion.

Gathering my courage, I place a hand on the sheets covering his legs and press down on his right ankle.

“Kristian?” I try to whisper, but my voice comes out like a croak.

He grumbles in his sleep, and I press down even harder, willing him to wakeup.

“Laura?”

The grogginess of my name falling from his lips is the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard.

“Baby, I’m here. Open your eyes forme.”