For Her (Broken Promises #2) by M Dauphin

happiness I had. Going back there? Going back there… I’m not ready for that yet.
    So I head back to the hospital, ready to spend another night sleeping on a cot next to the only thing in my life I hold dear anymore.
    ***
    The funeral is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to endure. Alexis is able to join me after pulling some strings at the hospital, but there was no way I was going to let her not come to it. We sit up front, directly next to Lane’s parents and brother. The rage running through me wants to punch his entire family in the mother fucking face for being here. They don’t deserve to be here. They didn’t know him. They thought they did, but they didn’t.
    I can’t look at the casket. I can’t listen to the service. My ears are buzzing, the only thing I can hear are Alexis’s hiccups as she cries into her tissue as quietly as she can. My hand squeezes hers when they start to lower the steel black and silver casket into the ground, I feel her heavy breaths trying to calm her tears.
    There goes part of my life. This is it. This makes it real. I’m fucking dumb as shit, because it should have been real that night, or every night since, but it hasn’t. This is it, though. He’s gone and… and… and he’s gone… Shit.
    “Help me, Bray,” she whispers to me, her eyes full of tears, she starts to stand so I do as I’m asked and stand with her, supporting her as she stands strong and makes the move towards the casket, fully lowered into the ground. I still can’t honestly believe this is my life right now.
    Fuck.
    Taking the red rose from her bag, she grips it, a tear slipping down her face, and tosses it down into the hole.
    “I love you, Lane Sheridan.” Her whisper does me in. Jesus fucking Christ I’m such a goddamned tool. Letting a tear slip down my cheek, I have no fucking cares anymore if anyone in this entire crowd sees me crying. Here I am, the man who’s supposed to be here for her, and she’s being so much stronger than I am.
    “I’m ready to go.” Gently, her hand squeezes mine as her eyes hit mine. Fuck she’s so beautiful; I want to vomit from all these feelings. I don’t do feelings. I do sex, I do friendships, but I’ve never been good about expressing my feelings so I just haven’t. Holy shit.
    We make it back to the hospital just in time for her first physical therapy session, so while she goes in to that I grab food for us. Italian was always one of her favorites so I pick up almost one of everything on the menu and head back to the hospital to wait for her. A nurse comes in, smiles gently at me while she remakes her bed. They don’t try to make small talk with me anymore. I’ve been nothing short of a beast since Al got here,  though they’re warming up to me now that she’s awake, there was a time when I thought I’d never get a smile out of them.
    That’s not surprising, though, since they got an earful from me when they weren’t going to let me in the room with her.
    I had to. I have to. I need to be with her.
    “Hey,” Alexis’s voice is cheery, but tired as the nurse wheels her into the room.  Hopping up, I don’t give him the chance to help her out of the chair before swooping in and guiding her to the chair in the corner of her room. “Thank you,” she says tiredly. “That was a pain in the ass,” she says, smiling.
    “When do you get the prosthetic?” I hand her the to-go box and she opens in, taking a huge whiff of the food in front of her, moaning in response.
    A sexy fucking sound that I wish wasn’t directed at food.
    Fuck me.
    “They’re sending me home with a temporary one. It’ll be a while before I get my final,” she answers, shoving a breadstick into her mouth. “Holy shit I’ve missed real food.” She groans again, I have to adjust myself before my fucking cock strangles itself. Jerk. “They told me as long as everything goes ok I should be discharged tomorrow or the next day.” She’s talking carefully, taking a