I’d been living at the hospital ever since. Sleeping in the chair beside her bed. Talking to her even though she couldn’t respond. Reading her favorite books out loud. Waiting for a miracle that might never come.
And every day at 3 PM, this stranger would appear.
“Who are you?” I demanded. “Why do you keep coming here? How do you know my daughter?”
Thomas stopped. His eyes were tired. Sad. He set the flowers down on the side table.
“Ma’am, my name is Thomas Reeves. And I’m the reason your daughter is in this bed.”
My blood went cold. “What?”
“Not the way you’re thinking.” He held up his hands. “I wasn’t the drunk driver. He’s in prison where he belongs.
But I’m the one who pulled Emma from the wreckage that night. I’m the one who held her hand until the ambulance arrived. I’m the one who promised her she wouldn’t die alone.”
I sat down slowly. My legs wouldn’t hold me anymore.
“I was riding home from a club meeting,” Thomas continued. “Saw the accident happen right in front of me. The drunk driver took off. Ran like a coward. Emma’s car was crushed. Smoking. I thought for sure she was dead.”
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