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lift her head. He was staring at her at her like he could see right through her. “I’ve been asking for you.”
                                Lil gave him a weak smile. “What's the last thing you remember?” she asked. She didn’t need to hear him go into how much he had missed her. She needed to handle one thing at a time.
                                Sam drew his lips together in a tight line. The wrinkles in his forehead, that weren't there the last time she had seen him, creased together. “I remember us closing on the house. I remember standing in front, admiring something that was ours.” He laughed lightly. The sound was music to Lil's ears and a knife to her gut. “I remember telling you that nothing would ever come between us.” His eyes were sad as he recalled the final moments he remembered between them. Lil had the sudden urge to curl into a ball and cry. Cry for the loss of her one true love. Cry for what lay ahead for him. The recovery, the memories, and the heartache of knowing they weren’t together anymore.
    She remembered that day clearly and looking back she would have laughed in the face of anyone who told her that she and Sam wouldn’t last. They were a solid unit, totally in love with one another. Funny how one moment in time could change all of that.
                                “ That's it?”
                                “That's it. I woke up a couple of days ago confused as to where I was. The walls were white and I thought to myself, 'man we have a lot of painting to do.' Then I heard a beeping noise. I rolled over to tell you to turn the alarm off, that it was Saturday and against the law to hear that sound on the weekends. But when I reached out you weren't there and my boss’ daughter was asleep on the couch. I thought I had lost my mind, Lil. Then she started crying and said how happy she was that I woke up. For a second I thought maybe I had been in a car accident and she was some crazy that hit me. You know, like maybe she felt so bad and thought she had killed me and camped out in my room to make sure I was okay. I even told her I wouldn't press charges. That only made her cries harder. She thought I was the crazy one.” Sam sighed and pushed the sheet past his legs. He was wearing a hospital-issued gown and his long, lean legs were shaded with the same color hair as his head. Lil had to avert her gaze. She didn't want to be caught staring or, worse, risk seeing something she shouldn't have.
                                “Things only got worse from there. The doctors kept asking me questions. My dad and brother came up here. Mr. Miles' daughter kept crying. And the whole time I only wanted you. I didn't understand why you weren't here. I had a moment of panic when no one would tell me what was going on. I thought that maybe they were trying to protect me. That you had been in the accident with me and you didn't make it. Then I find out that I've lost three years of my life. I find out I'm engaged and it's not to you. That's when I thought it was all a joke. When Dad told me earlier that you were on your way I was so happy. You weren't dead, you were alive! I would finally get my answers.”
                                He laid his head back against the pillows and sighed. “And now here you are and all I want to do is get out of this bed hold you in my arms.”
    Dear God. She didn’t realize how strong her pull to him was.  A lot of tears and heartache might have broken her down, but looking at him now brought about how much she loved him and it made her realize how she never fully stopped.
                                “As much as I hope this is one messed up dream,” Sam continued, “I can tell by the look on your face it’s not. Three years have really passed?” Lil nodded. “You look