Better Me Than You

The EMT thanked them both for the information and kept working. He told Lisa which hospital they were heading to and she promised she would be right there to help fill out paperwork and do whatever else needed to be done before hanging up.

She was definitely a wife or girlfriend if she knew enough about Nathan to fill out paperwork on his behalf while he was unconscious. Sierra's guilt only grew.

He might be a bit self-righteous but he was also a genuinely helpful person who had people who cared about him deeply. And he might be in real danger because he prevented her from getting hit by that bus.

She sighed heavily. He better be okay.

The EMTs took Nathan away to get various scans done on his arm and head and Sierra found herself sitting in the waiting room. When a frantic woman who looked an awful lot like him showed up, she suddenly wondered if she was another sister instead of a wife or girlfriend. But then why would their last names be different?

Oh wait. She saw a ring. Being married would explain it but she still couldn't be sure.

"Are you Lisa?" Sierra asked guiltily.

The woman swiveled around at the sound of her name. "Are you the one I spoke to on the phone?"

"Yeah. Here. This is Nathan's," she said as she handed his phone over. "I truly am so sorry for what happened. If there's anything I can do—"

"Could you stay until he wakes up? I think he would want to see you and be sure you're alright. That's simply the kind of person he is."

Definitely not a wife or girlfriend. That would be too weird of a request to make when worried about the man you're in love with. Who was she then?

"I can do that. Sorry…but are you related to Nathan? You look a lot alike."

Lisa gave her a tiny smile. "We get that a lot. Actually, I used to be his foster mom but adopted his little sister. He was already seventeen when his parents died and didn't want to be adopted but he's still an important part of our family."

Wow. That was a lot more personal information about the man than she expected to get out of three sentences.

Sierra had no idea he was an orphan or that he had been in foster care. But why would she know that? It wasn't as if they were friends. That would explain why he was so close to Amber though. Poor guy.

The woman at the front desk called for Lisa and handed her a bunch of paperwork to fill out. She continued talking as she worked. "So how do you know Nathan?"

"We're neighbors," she said lamely.

That was the lightest explanation she could possibly give. She didn't want to say that he was constantly helping her out because the very thought of all he had done for her made her feel worse.

"I didn't realize he actually talked to his neighbors," Lisa replied in a surprised tone. "That's nice."

Sierra couldn't help it—she had to stifle her laughter. It seemed that his awkwardness wasn't only with her. He wasn't much of a people person in general. Well, he did find himself a job where he could work from home. He probably didn't interact with others very often.

"We kept bumping into each other. I actually found out he was my sister's favorite author by accident because of the back of the book cover she was reading. I recognized his headshot. I haven't had the chance to read any of his stuff though."

Lisa smiled proudly. "He's very talented. Sometimes I wonder where he comes up with all of these ideas. He's always been quite the storyteller. He used to make things up for Amber at bedtime when he babysat her and she would get put out when I couldn't tell her how the stories ended the next day!"

That was actually kind of cute. Sierra already knew he was good with kids but it seemed he had been like that for a long time. That was an attractive quality in a man.

Geez, what was she thinking? She couldn't possibly harbor thoughts like that for someone who got hit by a bus because of her. Nathan wasn't going to want anything to do with her after this.

He would probably straight up ignore her the next time she was about to injure herself because of what happened. She wouldn't blame him for it in the slightest. He had already done more than she could ever repay.

A while after the paperwork was done aside from insurance information (which was probably still with Nathan in his pocket) someone called Lisa forward and said he was conscious now. She immediately gestured for Sierra to come follow her to the room he was in.

The older woman entered the room first and sat down in a chair next to his bed, grasping his hand in hers as she spoke to him tenderly. "Hey, Nate. How are you feeling?"

"Terrible," Nathan groaned. "My head is killing me. Where's Sierra?"

Her heart skipped a beat. Did he…remember her without seeing her face or a picture of her? That had never happened to her before. She had always been 'out of sight, out of mind' even with people that loved her and never understood why.

How did this completely random person end up being the first to remember her existence without needing reminders? She felt a lump rise in her throat and tears sprang to her eyes unasked for.

Stupid. Why was she getting emotional about not being invisible? You would have to be pretty stupid not to remember someone you almost died because of.

"I'm here," Sierra called out as she rather awkwardly stepped into the room and waved, not meeting his eyes because she didn't want him to see her cry. She didn't know how bad his vision was from that distance. "Hi. I know that saying thank you isn't enough for what you did but I still feel the need to say it. Thank you for saving me."

"It's fine," he said. "Better me than you."

How could he say that?! He was lying in a hospital bed and had barely admitted his head was killing him! Why on earth would he think it was better for him to get hurt than her?

"Nate," Lisa scolded. "You shouldn't be so reckless. Think of how devastated Amber would be if anything happened to you!"

Nathan sighed and winced before leaning further back into the pillows. "I know. Sorry."