Page 34

Haleigh is at home with her newborn baby, and she’s gonna freak the hell out when I call her; she’s still expecting us for dinner. She doesn’t need the stress of not knowing her condition on top of everything else.

I will call Ellie's family eventually, but right now, the only person she needs is me… or maybe it’s the other way around.

Because I sure as fuck need her.

The waiting is killing me.

She's stable, but she’s been out for almost two hours, and those hours have been pure torture.

I'm not sure why she hasn’t woken up yet.

I don’t think the doctors know either, and I’m going out of my fucking mind.

They stitched her up, thankfully needing fewer stitches than it appeared; it was hard to tell with all of the blood smeared on her face and hair.

All of her vitals are pretty much normal.

It's just a waiting game at this point. She’s fluttered her eyes occasionally, but she's still not waking up.

The doctor said this is normal with certain brain injuries, but that does nothing to calm the panic in my chest. As I sit and listen to the beeping of the monitors, Nurses constantly come and go checking her vitals.

My beautiful Peachy just lies there, motionless, and the sounds begin to fuck with my head.

I can't fucking lose her.

I slide my chair closer to her bed, grabbing her hand in mine. I want to crawl in next to her and hold her like I did that one night not long ago. But I’m too fucking scared, scared I will hurt her even further. Her fingers are tiny compared to mine.

I bend down, pulling her cool hand to my lips. Damn, I just need her to wake up. I don’t even care if she yells at me or tells me how much she hates me, I just need her to talk so I can hear her voice.

“Peachy, you have to wake up. You’re fucking scaring me.” My words flow out like a prayer, as my voice trembles, but I’m desperate at this point.

Just when I’m about to lose all sanity, I feel her fingers twitch in mine.

It’s the slightest movement—just to let me know, give me the smallest amount of hope.

I don’t pull away, though; I need to feel her.

Instead, I lay my head down, snuggling the soft skin of her hand against my face.

I wrap my free arm around her body, holding her close, and pray to God this somehow keeps her here with me.

I must drift off to sleep, because the next thing I know, I'm woken by the gentle touch of fingers caressing my cheek.

My head jerks up, and my heart bursts out of my chest when I see her gentle smile.

The relief I feel when I see her beautiful blue eyes again is indescribable.

A warm sense rushes through my body—I feel like I can finally breathe—as I stand to study her face.

“Fuck, Ellie…you scared the hell outta me.” I grit out, trying to hold back all the emotions I’m feeling.

I gently brush the soft skin of her cheek with my fingertips, then cup her face.

“Let me grab the doctor.” I should move, but I can't bring myself to stop touching her or staring down into her eyes.

I want so badly to kiss her, to press my lips to her gorgeous, swollen ones. I want to tell her that I can't stop fucking thinking about her, and the thought of losing her was crushing my soul.

I don’t know how I’ve so quickly—in just a few months that she’s lived with me—fallen so hard for her. But standing here staring into her eyes, I know the answer to my question.

I’ve been in love with her for years.

Back when we were still in school, I would have asked her out then, but I overheard her and Haleigh talking late one night.

I was hiding out, snooping near Haleigh's bedroom door. I heard Haleigh accuse Ellie of having a crush on me, but she denied it and said she couldn’t stand me.

Ever since then, I pushed her away. I always acted like I couldn’t stand to be around her, either.

Eventually, it became a normal occurrence for the two of us.

I got off on the fighting, the back-and-forth, and her feisty, smart-ass comments.

Then, somehow, along the way, it turned into something I didn’t know how to escape from.

I reach for the button, but she reaches for my hand before I move it.

“Jaydon.” Her voice is weak when she speaks. “What happened?” A lonely tear leaks from the corner of her eye .

My heart breaks, and my stomach tightens, but I need to tell her, “Oh, Peachy.” I try to soothe her, rubbing my thumb along her wrist. “Let me get the doctor so they can check you.”

“Please,” she begs, licking her swollen lips.

Her normal, vibrant, and smiling face is scratched and bruised, but she’s still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

I carefully sit on the edge of the bed, barely touching her. I raise my hand to her face and thumb her cheek when I speak, “You were in a wreck on the way to Haleigh and Ryan's, do you remember?”

Her eyes flash, and I know she remembers.

“Oh… Yeah, a little bit. Kevin? Do you know if he’s okay?”

As much as I hate her asking about him, I know that’s just her kind soul. Always worrying about everyone else around her, and I don’t want her to stress any more than she already is. So, I give her what she wants.

“Yeah, he’s fine. You got the worst of it. Let me go grab the doctor.”

But what I don’t tell her is if I ever see his ass again, he won't be fine.

It only took two days before she was back to her old self… stubborn as hell. I’ve been staying at the hospital, bugging and driving her crazy, as she told Haleigh earlier.

I don’t care, she can give me all the shit she wants as long as she’s feeling better. The rest can be worked out later. I can tell she's feeling better by her sass. Besides the bruising of her face and the stitches, I know she’s on the mend.

The entire evening of the accident is a blur. I had to end up calling Haleigh because she was blowing up our phones, wondering where the hell we were, since she was expecting us for dinner, and I lied to my own fucking sister.

I had to lie.

I told her everything was fine, even though I had no idea if or when Ellie would wake up.

After she did, though, I had to come clean.

Haleigh still freaked out and rushed to the hospital.

She was pissed I didn’t tell her sooner, but I couldn’t let her worry when she was already at home tending to her newborn baby .

When Haleigh and Ryan arrived earlier to visit, I stepped out, knowing they wanted time alone and to give her a break from me.

Now, Ryan and I are sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch. And I can sense the gears grinding in his head. He’s gonna call me out every fucking time.

“Your ass has been here the entire time? Every night?” His eyebrows hit his forehead.

I nod, shoveling a bite into my mouth, “Yep,” and wait for the rest to follow.

“Where the hell did all those flowers in her room come from?”

I only smirk, because it was me. I filled every counter and shelf in her room with peach-colored roses. The smile on her face when they delivered them yesterday was worth every damn penny.

He shakes his head in disbelief, “Shit, you are fucked, man, so completely fucked…” He swipes a hand back over his short hair. “Does she know how you feel?”

I look at my almost empty plate, shaking my head. “Nah, she still fucking hates my ass.”

“Well, looks like you’ve got your work cut out for ya then… she’s gonna be hard to tame.”

We both laugh, “Yeah, that’s a guarantee.”

I know my girl is feisty, but I wouldn’t have her any other way .

His face suddenly gets serious, and he leans in, resting his elbows on the table, “Well, I’m rooting for ya, man.

She's been an amazing friend to Haleigh, but I don’t have to tell you that.

” His gaze locks onto mine. “Haleigh said she doesn’t have a good relationship with her sister…

I feel like there’s a backstory there that none of us really know about.

And with her mom being so far away, she really doesn't have anyone.”

She has me. That’s enough. I think, but I don’t say it out loud.

“So, whatever you decide, tread lightly. You know your sister would be pissed if you hurt her best friend.”

I nod in agreement. “Once she's fully recovered, I plan on telling her how I feel. Just don’t mention it to Haleigh yet. I’m sure she suspects something by now, but I'd really like to have that conversation with Ellie first.”

He studies my face for a beat before crossing his arms and nodding in approval. “All right, sounds like you're already in deep, my man.”

I chuckle a laugh, rubbing a hand over my jaw. “Yeah, don’t I fucking know it.”

Ellie

Yelling. It gets louder and louder, filling my ears, drowning out any other sounds. I’m riding down the road in a passenger seat, my body frozen in fear. The yelling and screaming is so loud, but I can’t make out the words; only the anger comes through.

I can feel my eyes squeezing shut, but panic still floods my body. I’m crying, although I’m not sure why. More screaming this time, it’s coming from my own lips. We speed down a back road, the trees a blur beside us, while I panic, feeling completely helpless. I can't move. I can't speak.

I finally manage to turn my head and see who's behind the wheel. Kevin. His face is reddened and twisted in anger.

Why is he screaming and so mad at me?

I can't make sense of anything. My brain is a jumbled mess. The car veers off the side of the road, and everything goes black. I try to scream, but I can't. No sound escapes my lips. I’m unable to move, fear flooding my veins. I can't breathe. I can't move. My body is in panic mode.

Then I feel hands—familiar hands, gentle but masculine—on my arms, then my face, and hear a voice I recognize calling my name .

“Ellie, wake up… Peachy, can you hear me?”

My eyes flutter open, and my vision clears, pulling me out of the darkness. I’m in the hospital, hooked up to machines, and Jaydon is standing over me, sheer panic written all over his face. “Ellie, calm down… you’re having a bad dream. You just scared the fuck outta me.”

I finally realize I’m okay and take a deep, calming breath, feeling heavy tears leak from the corners of my eyes.

It was just a dream.

But why did it feel so real?

And then, the floodgate opens, and the memories come crashing back.

Kevin’s yelling. His hands gripped the wheel so tightly, his anger boiling over.

He was out of control, his driving so erratic while he demanded I admit I was using him.

I had been upfront with him this entire time.

He knew I only wanted to be friends. He even agreed to it.

But his temper, his rage, had twisted everything.

The memory of him losing control, the car veering off the road—it all hits me like a ton of bricks.

The dream... it wasn’t just a dream.

It was a memory, and the terror I felt then floods back into me.

I'm trembling, unable to breathe, until Jaydon lies beside me and wraps me up in his comforting arms .

“Jaydon.” I reach for him, gripping his shirt in my shaking hand.

“Shh, Peachy. It's okay. You’re gonna be okay. I’ve got you...” My tears continue, and I feel the pain on my face when I turn into his embrace. “Always.”

I lose it, tears streaming down my face as my strength gives out, my whole body shaking as I sob into his side. He holds me against him like I’m the most precious thing on earth. I can barely breathe, but his presence and warmth are the only things that make me feel safe in this moment.

It’s ironic…

After everything, the one person who’s always been my source of anger is the one who’s holding me now.

I hate him, but as I lie here crying into his side, I realize I might just love him with my whole heart.

My heart has a mind of its own, betraying me with every beat. My head is a tangled mess of feelings, and I can’t get them straight. All I know is right here and now, I need this man more than ever.