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A spasm of pain crossed Liam’s face. He shook his head, blinking fast, moisture shining in his eyes. “Ben’s not here, Carly. It’s me... Liam.”
Then something amazing happened. Dream Liam’s hand cupped her cheek. And shefeltit! She covered his warm hand with hers.
“It feels so real,” she whispered in awe, wishing the vision would never end.
“Carly? Do you remember the accident? When the car hit you?”
No, she hadn’t been in the accident. Ben had hit a tree. They had shown her a picture of the crumpled mass that had previously been a car, an image she could never un-see. If only she had been honest with her dad...
“I’m so sorry,” she rasped. “I shouldn’t have lied.”
“It’s okay, Carly. I’m not mad anymore.”
“Youshouldbe mad.” Her eyes stung. “I should’ve told him where you were. He would’ve found you before you got in the car.”
“Who would’ve found me?” Liam frowned. “Fordham?”
The image of Liam’s face quivered in her puddled tears. She had to make him understand.
“It’s my fault you’re paralyzed. It’s my fault Ben died.” Her chest cramped, and she pressed her hand against it. “I’m so sorry.”
She blinked her eyes, trying to clear the fog away.
“No, Carly.” His expression crumbled. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I encouraged Ben to drink. I let him drive the car.”
“But Dad asked where you were, and I lied.” All the tears she’d held back for sixteen years burst through the dam. “If I’d told him about the party, he could’ve stopped you. But I lied. I killed Ben, and I ruined your life.”
“Carly, you can’t believe that.” Liam shook his head. “It wasn’t your fault. Ben and I were drinking.”
His thumb wiped across her wet cheek, a sensation like nothing she had ever felt in a dream before. Could it be real? The overhead lights brightened to spotlights, searing her eyes. She turned her face to the side and pain shot through the back of her head.
“Ow!” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Why does my head hurt so bad?”
Liam seemed to be talking, but she couldn’t understand his words because of the loud ringing in her ears. She strained to keep her eyes open, but her lids weighed a half-ton each.
“I’m so sleepy...”
CHAPTER 18
LIAM
With a white-knuckled grip on his standing chair, Liam took a slow breath to suppress his anger. At least his chair let him move around in an upright position where he could talk to the doctor at eye level.
“There has to be some way you can find her records and get them transferred,” Liam said. “Isn’t everything digital now?”
“We still need a signed release form to get her records sent.” Dr. Kemp used the kind of monotone that showed he was tired of repeating himself. “There’s only so much we can do until she wakes up or you locate her next of kin. I understand Mr. Knight is working on that as we speak.”
“He is.” Liam considered banging his head against the wall. He needed some place to direct his pent-up fury. Or was it fear?
His only hope was that Bran or Fordham would find something that could help them. Fordham was driving back to look through her things in the apartment, hoping to find medications that would give them a clue. Meanwhile, the hospital administrator had recognized Branson, their biggest donor, and was allowing him to use a computer in her office to reach someone at the research facility in Houston who might give them the needed contact information.
But what if they decided to do emergency surgery? She could die if they didn’t know her medical history. He tried a different tack.
“I’m her boyfriend,” Liam said. “Can’t I sign the form?”
Dr. Kemp paused his data entry on the iPad in his hands and glanced up with a dubious expression. “She’s your girlfriend, and you didn’t know she had cancer?”
“We haven’t been dating that long.” Liam lifted his chin to counter his embarrassment. His mouth had gaped open like an idiot when the emergency room doctor had asked him what he knew about her cancer and chemotherapy. He and Fordham hadn’t even noticed she was wearing a wig when they’d pressed the rags to the back of her head, trying to stop the bleeding.
