Page 33

Ellie

I wake to the sunshine casting a soft glow across my bedroom. I check my phone, hopeful. Even though it's still pretty early on the East Coast, I have no messages—not a single text wishing me a happy birthday.

I should be excited and bursting at the seams. Today is my day… my birthday, but all I feel is alone. An ache settles in my chest as a sadness washes over me.

Nobody to wake up with.

Nobody to enjoy a birthday breakfast with.

I can almost hear my mom's voice in my head, waking me up with her sweet smile and the smell of pancakes and bacon filling the house. Breakfast has always been her favorite meal to cook. Every year, she made me breakfast—just for me—with all my favorites. It was her special thing.

But not this year .

This year, it's just me… all by myself.

Of course, I have my bestie, Haleigh, who I will be seeing later today. But right now, the radio silence is killing me, and I feel more alone than I ever have been.

I pull myself out of bed with the stress of the day already weighing on me. I need to get into the shower and pull myself together. It's Saturday, so I don’t have to work, but I need to go to the grocery store and do my part of buying my share of groceries this week.

Maybe someone will remember my birthday at some point today.

When I walk downstairs, I’m stopped dead in my tracks to find balloons, a card, a box of Sno-Caps, and the most gorgeous floral arrangement—a mix of peach roses amongst other beautiful blooms—waiting on the counter for me.

My breath catches as I step closer, completely caught off guard.

This man.

He's always showing up when I least expect him .

I reach for the card and lean in to smell the flowers—just what I needed, like a breath of fresh air.

With a huge smile on my face, I swipe my finger under the flap and rip open the envelope. Excitement rushing through me at the thought of Jaydon doing all this—just for me.

He's slowly tearing my walls down once more.

I open the card, revealing only a handwritten note from him inside.

Happy Birthday, Peachy I got you some Sno-Caps, so now you can stop stealing mine. I hope your birthday is as sweet as you are. Xoxo, Jay P.S. I know you planned on going to the grocery store today, but don’t worry about it. I’m probably already shopping as you read this.

My face stretches into an even bigger smile as I read his words.

How is this man even real?

Jaydon

I’m driving along headed over to my sister's house tonight for dinner to celebrate Ellie's birthday—she even invited our parents.

Ellie left the house a little while ago; her so-called boyfriend picked her up.

I watched out the window like a fucking stalker as she climbed into his car and shut the door.

I’ve been following a car that looks familiar for about five minutes. It keeps slowing down and speeding up, even going off the edge of the road at one point. I watch in confusion as it veers off the side of the road before correcting and picking up speed again.

That’s when it hits me, I’m following behind Ellie and that douchebag. That’s where I know this car from— his little fucking car—with that little fuckface friend of hers driving it.

My heart races when I see them swerve again, feeling helpless as I watch them continue jerking back and forth across the road and continue to pick up speed.

What the fuck is going on ?

I try my best to stay close behind, but we are easily going over sixty now. This winding road isn’t meant for driving at this speed. I know this road, and the turn up ahead is sharp… too sharp. I don’t even see brake lights.

Goddammit! I scream out.

Panic floods my body. He’s not gonna make this turn going this fucking fast.

I let off the accelerator, fumbling for my phone to call Ellie and swipe the screen.

But I'm too late.

My stomach drops as I watch them cut hard and go off the side of the road. He tries to correct… but it's no use.

The car goes airborne, rolling end over end before smacking against a tree, debris and dust flying, and coming to a sudden, gut-wrenching stop.

My breath catches in my throat.

I slam my foot on the brake, tires squealing, and my stomach in knots as I pull off to the side of the road. Every instinct tells me to run, to get to her. My hands are shaking; my heart is pounding in my chest because I know my girl is in that car. And I can't breathe until I know she’s okay.

Ellie —

She’s the only thing on my mind right now.

She needs me, and I need to get to her. With shaking hands, I quickly dial 911 and give them all the information and location. Throwing my truck door open, I take off in a sprint, heading towards the girl who’s slowly stealing bits and pieces of my heart.

I rush to the passenger side, and my heart drops to my stomach.

Blood.

There is so much fucking blood.

“Ellie!” I scream at her, but there’s no response. She's lying there motionless.

I grab the door handle, ripping it open with a grinding crunch. The side of the car is crushed. I have no idea how I even managed to get the door open. The car is destroyed. Her beautiful face and blonde curls are covered in blood. So much fucking blood.

“Ellie… can you hear me?” I yell, needing an answer. But I’m only met with silence.

“Ellie!”

Dammit, she’s not answering me, her eyelids flutter.

This can't be fucking real life.

I rip my flannel off and hold pressure on her bleeding head. With every pump of her heart, more blood gushes out.

Fuck. She’s losing too much. The ambulance better hurry the fuck up.

“Peachy, stay with me... open your eyes!”

“Move… she’s my girlfriend.” I hear Kevin slurring his words as he stumbles over to where I’m holding her. He's limping, holding onto the car for support .

I don’t have time for this dumb fuck. He needs to sit his ass down somewhere. I don’t know what the hell was going on in the car, but it’s his fucking fault this happened.

“I don’t give a fuck what you think she is to you… you did this to her, and I’m not fucking letting you touch her. So back the fuck up.”

He scowls down at me, and I hear sirens in the distance. He better not dare try me right now. I don’t give a shit if the wreck didn’t knock his ass out—because I fucking will.

I turn my attention back to Ellie. She’s breathing, but it’s shallow. A bad gash runs down the side of her head.

Please, God, just let them get here quickly.

I grip her tiny hand, the feel of her somehow calming me, and hold it in mine while I stare at her beautiful face. “Peachy, just hang on for me. Help is almost here.”

I’ve trained to remain calm under pressure—but at this moment, I’m a fucking mess. I feel like I have no idea what the hell to do right now.

But one thing I do know is, I can't lose her. Because without her… I don’t know how I will ever live again.

The paramedics get her boarded, and they waste no time heading to the hospital.

I jump in my truck, grinding gears to follow, not giving a second look back.

Another ambulance is enroute for her fuckface boyfriend, but it's obvious Ellie was the priority.

Since she was more severe, they took her first.

Fuck him .

He will be fine.

Right now, I’m worried about the girl riding in the ambulance in front of me.

Watching the red lights flashing up ahead of me, I follow, trying to keep up as we speed through the winding roads towards the hospital. We have about a fifteen-minute ride to get there, and the entire time, my heart is pounding through my chest. I can hardly breathe.

Please let her be okay . She has to be.

She’s my sister's best friend, but fuck , she’s obviously so much more than that to me.

I finally get to the parking garage and throw my truck into park. Not wasting a second, I jump out and start into a full sprint, dodging other pedestrians as I make my way towards the emergency room doors. I need to get to her.

I reach the doors that lead back to triage; dammit, they won't open. Panic floods my body because I need her. I turn to my right to face the front desk. My breathing is still heavy from running as I speak to the lady sitting behind the desk .

“Hello. Can you please open the doors for me to get back?” I ask, leaning over the counter.

“What’s the patient's name?” She asks so calmly.

“Ellieanna Banks. She was brought in by ambulance.” My voice trembles, still trying to catch my breath.

“Are you family, Sir?”

Dammit. They're not gonna let me back .

Then, the thought hits me. Fuck it.

“I’m her fiancé,” I answer, and those words wrap around my racing heart.

“Oh, yes, sir. Head straight back and take a left to triage.” The double doors start to slide open.

“Thank you.” I don’t even know if she hears me, because I'm already making a beeline for her room.

I see her from a distance and immediately know it’s her; even amongst the chaos, I would know that blond hair anywhere.

Multiple nurses and paramedics work together, transferring her from the stretcher into the bed.

I feel physically ill at seeing her like this.

As I get to the door, one of the nurses glances my way .

“I'm sorry, sir, but we need to get her stable,” she says, her tone firm but apologetic.

“I'm her fiancé,” I reply without a second thought, “I'm not leaving...” I will stay out of the way and let them work, but there’s no fucking way I’m walking out of this room. I need to be with her.

“That’s fine, sir. Just please stay to the side while we get her hooked up.”

I nod, knowing not to cause a scene; Ellie needs all the attention on her. And I can’t pull my eyes away from her either. It crushes me inside to see her beautiful blond waves streaked with crimson.

She has nobody else nearby except for Haleigh, and I can't bring myself to call her right now. Not until I know what’s going on and make sure she's going to be okay.