He Comforted Their Child While I Recovered Alone Chapter 02

He Comforted Their Child While I Recovered Alone Chapter 02

In the video, Grayson held newborn Beckett like he was afraid to even shift his arms.

When they wheeled me out of the operating room, the only thing next to me was an empty chair.

Once the anesthesia wore off, I lay awake in pain all night.

The woman in the next bed couldn’t stand watching me suffer, so she poured me a cup of hot water.

“When’s your husband coming?” she asked.

I stared at the door and lied to myself, over and over.

“Soon.”

But morning came, and no one showed up.

The video kept playing.

Grayson was in every single clip.

Changing diapers. Holding the bottle while the baby fed.

The night Beckett spiked a fever, Grayson sat up with him till dawn.

Four years, and every time that boy needed him, he was there.

Then came the clip of Beckett’s first steps.

Grayson crouched on the carpet, arms open.

“Come on, buddy. Don’t be scared.”

“Daddy’s got you.”

The boy wobbled toward him.

Two steps in, he pitched forward.

Grayson caught him instantly, swung him up in the air.

Laughter rippled through the room.

Mom pointed at the screen, all warmth. “He was such a scaredy-cat back then. Wouldn’t take a step unless he could see his daddy.”

I couldn’t stop staring at the date in the corner of the screen.

That same day, I’d taken my first steps in rehab without a cane.

The doctor told me to walk the length of the hallway on my own.

I made it one step before I hit the floor.

Split my knee open. Tore up my palms.

Over and over, I hauled myself up against the wall. Over and over, I fell.

Halfway down the hall, I couldn’t take it anymore. I called Grayson, crying.

“Can you come sit with me? It hurts so bad, I can’t walk.”

Grayson went quiet for a second, and when he spoke, his voice was clipped with annoyance.

“Addie, the whole point of rehab is for you to learn to do this on your own.”

“I can’t be there to catch you every single time.”

“You need to stop leaning on other people so much.”

He hung up.

So I gripped the wall and walked myself out of that hospital.

Every step felt like walking on knives.

At that exact same moment, Grayson was crouched in front of another kid, telling him gently, “Don’t be scared. Daddy will always catch you.”

The pain in my leg kept climbing.

I couldn’t stand anymore. I slid down the wall until I was crouched on the floor.

The ribbon on the gift box cut into my palm, drawing a thin line of blood.

Light spilled out from under the door and stopped just short of my feet.

So close.

But it never quite reached me.