To Have A Love Like This

To Have a Love like This – Chapter Twelve

Erik POV

Ringing. It was distant but was becoming clearer by the second. I groaned reaching absently on the table beside the bed. I felt around until I realized that it was still in my pants on the floor. I groaned once again leaning over the bed to reach my pants. That’s when I noticed my arm was hooked around Samantha pulling her to me as bent over.

Samantha sleepily opened her eyes, blinking away her dazed expression. When she saw me halfway off the bed she scooted back. Her eyes clouded with confusion as her mouth became an ‘O’.

“My phone was ringing.” I muttered stupidly. As if on cue my phone started to ring again in its shrilling voice. She made a motion for me to answer. I grabbed my pants looking at the screen. David. I pressed answer holding the phone to my ear. “Hello.” A light slap to my butt made me grunt in surprise cutting off David midsentence.

I looked back at Samantha who had a grin on her face shaking her head indicating that she didn’t do anything. I threw the sheet at her, put my phone between my head and shoulder, and put on my boxers.

“Erik please, please, please tell me you know where Sam is.” I nodded before saying yes. “Is she with you right now?” I turned back seeing her backside walk into the restroom closing the door.

“She’s in the bathroom.” I could hear Emily in the background telling him to give her the phone. I heard shuffling on the other end and Emily’s voice.

“Erik give the phone to Sam.” I hesitated before answering.

“She’s in the-” Just then Samantha exited looking as she had come in earlier. I heard Emily calling out to me but I was mesmerized at the sight in front me. Samantha walked over pulled the phone out of my grasp.

Once she said hello her face switched expressions like a child deciding on a candy. As soon as Emily said goodbye Samantha was racing towards the door where her shoes were located. I quickly put on my pants and a clean plain black shirt.

“What’s wrong?” I only had time to grab both the keys to my apartment and car before she got on the elevator. She wiped at her eyes frantically and kept pushing the button for the first level. I grabbed her hand keeping it in mine as she tried to break away from my grasp.

She wrenched her hand away from me catching me by surprise as the doors opened. She ran, once again, out the apartment building. Just as she was going to the street sidewalk I picked her up. She yelped in surprise squirming. “What are you doing?”

I walked as quickly as I could to the parking lot. Setting her down I grabbed her shoulder back to me when she tried to go back to the street. I showed her the keys pressing the button unlocking the doors. She stopped momentarily staring at the car.

“You made us walk from the garage in this damn heat while you had this sitting here?” I rolled my eyes opening the door for her. I ran around to the other side turning on the engine. I didn’t put it in drive and it was until she made moving motions that she noticed I was staring at her. Ever so quietly she spoke, “Sydney is in the hospital. I don’t know what exactly happened but I know she’s hurt.”

Without saying anything else I drove to the hospital as calmly as I could yet breaking many laws on the road. I chuckled as an old lady held her cane in the air yelling as I cut her off on a turn. When we arrived Samantha was out the car before I was able to park. I jogged to the entrance. A hand clasped my elbow pulling me to the side.

Samantha immediately started to fix my hair, running her fingers through the knots. I pulled her hands away trying to fix it on my own. “Seems to me we grabbed each other a lot today,” she murmured. Without thinking I chuckled kissing her forehead. I lingered waiting to see if she would push me away. She played with the collar of my shirt not meeting my eyes. “I don’t exactly want them to know what happened between us today.” When I didn’t reply she went on. “At least not now.”

Not saying anything else we went to the desk to ask for Sydney’s room. Back was the anxious Samantha with antsy motions. “I’m pretty sure if you keep pressing the button it’s going to break.” She narrowed her eyes at me. The doors opened. I waited for her to bolt but when neither of us moved I looked at her.

“I don’t know if you want to go first. I feel like if I go and you decide to run again you’ll trip me on your way.” I stopped the doors from closing letting her pass through. She spotted Emily running to her.

Sam POV

I talked to Emily a couple minutes to ask her what had happened. They were in the park when Sydney fell from the swing while it was at a fast pace. I knocked on Sydney’s door before entering.

“Honey,” I breathed taking in her small form on the bed. “How do you feel?” She held out her good arm towards me. I hugged her small body to mine.

“My arm was hurting earlier, Mommy. But the doctor put a liquid into that tube thingy making it go tingly. It’s not hurting no more.”

“That’s good, then.” I combed her hair as she leaned against me. She sighed closing her eyes and held her arm near her body. Erik appeared at the doorway with two tulips in hand, one royal blue and the other lavender. My breath caught in my throat as my gaze met his. Sydney squealed practically jumping in place as he walked closer.

“Erik! I knew you would come. I don’t know when but I knew you would.” Erik raised an eyebrow lightly tracing the cast that covered most of her arm.

“Bright yellow, somehow that suits you.” She rubbed it shyly.

“The doctor gave me a choice of white and yellow. He even showed me what they were like. I liked this one better so I chose it.”

“Well since a pretty lady like you shouldn’t have her arm broken I bought you a flower.” He gave her the lavender one.

“How did you know I like purple?” Sydney clutched the tulip in her hand.

“I didn’t but I took a guess.” She beamed at him as if he were her favorite person in the whole world.

“I once watched a movie where this person broke their leg and people signed it. Is that okay?”

“I think you’re asking the wrong person.” Sydney looked back at me with a questioning look in her eye.

“Well I guess it is,” I muttered. She hugged me facing Erik again.

“Will you sign it?” She held her arm to him.

“If I had a marker I would. Tell you what I’m going to ask for one. I’ll be right back.” He met my gaze before leaving the room. Feeling that he wanted to talk to me I told Sydney I was going to use the bathroom.

“Okay, Mommy.” I closed the door behind me. David and Emily were in a deep conversation. Scott was between them playing with keys.

“It was a clean break. It’s not going to take as much time healing then if it wasn’t.” I looked back at Erik.

“You talked to the doctor?” He nodded shrugging at the end. “What are you going to write?”

“I don’t know something. Here I thought you might like this.” He shoved the royal blue flower in my direction. He turned a light pink when I took the tulip.

“How did you know?”

“I remembered. I wasn’t sure if it was still your favorite though.”

“It is.” He smiled slightly standing at his full height. “Thank you for bringing, Erik.”

“No problem. I would have wanted to come also.”

I thought back to Sydney’s entire firsts’ and realized just how much Erik missed. When the time came for me to tell him he was her father I don’t know how he or her were going to react, or how they were going to feel towards me. That should be the least of my worries, but when we go back to Minnesota I don’t want Sydney telling me that she wanted to stay.

A few more days I promised myself. A few more days and then I would tell Erik. Let some days pass until Sydney was safely out of the hospital and well.

Then I would tell him and have him not look at me in the same way ever again.