It wasn't the lights that woke her up. Or the TV. Or the noise from commotion she couldn't piece together without opening her eyes.
It was the pain.
Her forehead felt like it was on fire and she felt the cold dab of something being smeared across her wound. Her eyes flew open, determined to verbally assault whichever nurse had woken her up.
"Conrad?" She practically yelled.
"You're awake! Hold still." He said, trying to put butterfly bandages at the perfect spots.
"What in the hell are you doing?" She demanded, glaring at him.
"Trying to concentrate. Can we postpone the glare of death for five minutes?" He asked, still focused on the bandages.
She looked around, trying to understand how she fell asleep in a hospital and woke up in her bedroom. Was it all a nightmare? She couldn't help but wonder if her stay at the hospital was her subconscious playing tricks on her.
As if he read her thoughts, Conrad put his bandages down with a sigh.
"I took you out of the hospital."
"You have no right-"
"Save it. We both know how are you with hospitals. I did you a favor. In case you don't remember, you were locked in the bathroom having a panic attack-"
"That red headed nurse!" Victoria gasped, suddenly remembering.
"She tried to give me stitches!"
"And when I got to you she had you sedated. That's why you don't remember coming here. I wasn't going to let them stitch you up."
"You almost did! You left me! Just like the car accident-"
-No! You left the house. I saved your life. And I saved the previous inch of skin on your forehead that may cost you dearly. It seems the nurse is considering pressing charges for that little love tap..."
"Just find out what her price is. I'd be more than happy to double it if she comes over to get it." Victoria said, a mischievous grin forming at the idea of one more hit against the nurse.
"The important thing is you're safe at home. But if your cut doesn't start healing right you won't be for long, so please sit still while I bandage it up." He said with a sigh.
She relented, enjoying the tender way his hands moved over her wound. She wanted to tell him that she had missed him at the hospital. She wanted to beg him not to leave her side again. She wanted to feel the electricity of his skin on her skin again. But she couldn't form the words to say all the things she wanted. She couldn't even form the courage to say anything.
"There. We'll have to keep an eye on it," he said, letting his finger trail down her cheeks. Victoria's heart was beating so fast she was certain he could feel it, too.
Conrad couldn't quite place Victoria's expression. Had she felt the same when he touched her? His hand on her cheek felt like rubbing two sticks together. The room seemed engulfed in sparks that threatened to set ablaze at any given moment.
"I have to go to the bathroom," she finally said before scurrying off. Once there, she leaned on the vanity and studied her reflection, silently pushing herself to get it together.
She couldn't be so infatuated with Conrad. She hated him. Their marriage had been one of convenience, not adoration. Hadn't it? Was it possible that she had lived her entire marriage in denial? Could she really see herself with Conrad after the cameras had stopped flashing?
No it couldn't be. That could never happen. They could never rekindle a relationship they had never truly had.
Could they?