Forgotten Promises (The Promises Series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

breathing in and out, in and out, inhale, exhale. You’re fine, Blair, I tell myself. My emotions are winning out; I feel anything but fine. My vision is starting to blur from the tears that are gathering in the corners of my eyes.
    “Are you okay, sugar?” the elderly plump nurse asks. “You should have let me know if you have a phobia about needles.”
    I smile and nod my head. She eyes me carefully for a few seconds. “Okay then, that’s the IV all out. Just press the buzzer if you need anything,” she says, already halfway out of the room.
    Mom went back to her hotel to shower and change into a clean set of clothes. I was thankful to be left on my own, but now I wish I wasn’t. He didn’t know me. There wasn’t a single spark of recognition in his beautiful azure eyes. I replay the whole sorry interaction like a movie stuck on a loop in my mind. The first tear falls and bursts the damn, more are quick to follow. The silent tears turn to sobs, the sobs turn to wails and then before I know it I’m pounding my fists as hard as I can into the bed in complete and utter frustration. By the time I’ve calmed down, my arms are aching, and I have the beginning of a headache forming behind my eyes. The throbbing around my stitches is a welcomed distraction from the emotional pain. This is so unfair! Why is this happening? I should be happy that Ethan woke up, but I can’t focus on anything other than the agony I feel coursing through my heart. He doesn’t even know who I am.
     

     
    “Blair?” Moira whispers as she takes a seat next to my bed. “Honey, are you awake?”
    I don’t think I can do this; I don’t want to talk to anyone, I just want to lie here and pretend that none of this is happening. I’m contemplating keeping my eyes closed and faking sleep. Maybe if I don’t respond she’ll leave again.
    “Blair, Ethan’s asking for you.”
    This has my attention. I bolt upright in bed, pushing the covers away from me and ignoring the smarting in my stomach that the erratic movement caused. “He’s asking for me?”
    She gives me a small smile and nods her head gently. “Yes.”
    “Wait, does that mean he remembers me?” My voice has risen a few octaves with the hope that’s surging through me. Her face falls and she looks like she’s about to cry.
    “No honey, not yet.”
    I feel my body sag as I release a long breath. “Oh.”
    I excuse myself to the bathroom and splash water on my face; I’m hoping that it will quell the heat in my cheeks and dampen the overbearing desire I have to cry again. I look at the reflection staring back at me and almost don’t recognize it. My eyes are puffy and red behind my glasses, my face is blotchy from the huge volume of tears that have rained over my cheeks, and my hair is limp and lifeless. I feel like I should care, but in truth I don’t. I have zero energy and feel completely drained. I look down at my watch and realize that my mom’s been gone almost two and a half hours; she should be back soon.
    I follow Moira down the hall to the elevators, and as we step in I notice she doesn’t press the button for the ICU. I rock back and forth on my toes as she glances over and catches my confusion. She tells me that Ethan was being transferred to a different ward before she came to my room. The elevator descends and then comes to a stop at floor eleven. “This is us,” she says as I follow her lead and stop by the ward’s entrance so we can sanitize our hands. There’s no buzzer for the door; I guess anyone can visit, unlike the protocol upstairs. We make our way through the doors and down the dingy mint green corridors until we reach the room at the very end. Ethan’s sitting on the bed with his cell in his hands, swiping the screen and eyeing it like it’s some foreign contraption.
    “Blair’s here honey,” Moira announces as I walk in behind her and stand at the bottom of the bed feeling completely self-conscious. A couple of days ago I would have