Page 17 of Shy Girls Can’t Date Celebrities (Shy Girls Sweet Romances #6)

When Wyatt finished his session in the clinic’s gym, Savanna made him get back into the wheelchair for the journey back to his room. Savanna asked if I wanted to help him back to the fifth floor, and I barely let her finish the sentence before blurting, “Yes!”

Wyatt is happy taking control of the wheelchair, and I hang by the rear handles, just in case. We make it into the elevator without a hitch. Not much could go wrong when the security guard follows our every move. When he boards the elevator with us, my throat closes in.

Thankfully, security hangs back while we travel across the fifth floor, giving us some breathing room. Relief washes through me when we’re back inside Wyatt’s room, out of eyesight of the looming man.

“Umm,” I falter, watching Wyatt climb onto his bed. “That guy... back there.”

“You mean, the security?”

“Yeah, umm...”

“Why?” Wyatt asks, giving me a smirk.

“Yeah,” I say, pacing toward the bed. “What the heck?”

Wyatt shrugs. “I dunno. They just said I have a high profile and it was a precaution.”

“It just freaks me out. Like they’re waiting for something bad to happen.”

“Something bad already happened,” he says, tapping the side of his head. “Besides, he keeps the manager out. For all I care, he can stay indefinitely.”

I smile at the thought. “Yeah, he really gave Erika the business outside the gym.”

“Pretty great, huh? All those people are just noise. The security asked me if there was anything I wanted, and I said for them to do their best to keep the suits out.”

I exhale an easy breath. “As long you’re not unnerved, it’s cool.”

“I get how it’s weird, though,” he says, propping his hand on the small table rolled over his bed. “If you’re not comfortable, I can ask him to leave.”

“No, it’s fine,” I rush. “I totally get the point of him being outside now.”

With the elastic band wrapped around his fingers, Wyatt begins flexing his hand open and closed.

“I gotta keep this up if I’m going home,” he says with heightened energy. “I can’t wait to grab my guitar again.”

“I sure hope it comes back to you,” I say, settling into the chair by his bed. “But, it might take time.”

“I know,” he replies. “I’m trying to remember it might not be easy, but dang, I hope it is. ”

There’s an itch in my eyes as I watch him concentrating on stretching his fingers out wide. My insides contort with nervous anxiety. It’ll be soul-crushing to see him struggling with the thing he loves. The thing that made him famous.

Wyatt closes his hand, and the elastic springs off and lands at the edge of his table. He reaches across, pinching at the elastic in an attempt to pick it up.

I edge forward. “Want me to get it?”

“Savanna says I’m supposed to do it myself.”

I sit back. “Oh.”

He puffs a nervous laugh. “But I suck.”

“You don’t suck.”

He finally picks it up and uses his other hand to wrap it around his fingers. “I hope Savanna’s right and this does the trick.”

“It’s been so long since I heard you play something that wasn’t recorded.”

Wyatt mumbles a laugh. “I can’t believe I’ve recorded music. That’s so crazy.”

“I still have a soft spot for all the covers you used to play on that old acoustic guitar.”

He pauses mid-hand flex. “Don’t I have it anymore?”

“I don’t know. It’s probably at your house.”

“In Victoria Falls?”

“No, your parents sold that house. Remember?”

“Oh.” He continues flexing his fingers. “Right.”

“Sorry, should I not have...”

“No, it’s fine,” he blurts. “I just forgot.”

“Sorry, just yesterday you said you knew, and...”

He winces, cutting me off. “Everything’s still a little fuzzy. I forget stuff from the present.”

I move forward on the edge of my seat. “Do you have trouble remembering things from the day before?”

“Mm-hmm.” He stares at his hand, flexing his fingers in and out. “The headaches don’t help.”

“So, is the time we spent together yesterday patchy?”

He drops his hand, turning to me with rosy cheeks. “I remember every single time we got su-super close?”

Butterflies disperse within me, fluttering around my heart. “Oh, good. It’s not a blur.”

“It’s almost like, my brain can’t erase a single second I spend with you.”

I giggle, shaking off the layer of goosebumps sprouting across my shoulders.

“Speaking of back home, how are your parents?” Wyatt looks at me with a wry smile. “How on Earth did Mr. Skeptical let you come here on your own?”

I giggle, clutching the space over my bouncing heart. “You remember my dad?”

“Yes. I’m surprised he hasn’t been texting you with a million questions and theories.”

“He does a lot of traveling for work. Kinda holds him back from letting his mind spin out.”

“Probably a good thing for the whole family.”

“But, everyone’s good. The twins are super annoying and think they know everything. Mom’s still a basket of nerves. I seriously didn’t think she’d have the strength to let me get on the plane.”

“How was the plane? Super swanky?”

“And then some. You sure are living the high life.”

“You’ve had more of a taste of it than I have.”

I look out at the city view, framed by the dazzling beach. “I dunno. This view is pretty to-die-for. Not many people get to experience this.”

“Maybe we can actually go to the beach sometime soon. ”

“That would be incredible. If you’re up for it.”

“Hmm. Maybe I won’t want to leave the penthouse.”

I giggle. “It’s so crazy that’s where you’re headed after the clinic. I’m sure your team is ready to spoil you.”

“Do you think that’s who will help me get home? I don’t even know my address.”

“I guess. Your assistant will probably have it organized.”

His lip upturns. “Randall?”

I ease out a soft laugh. “No Devon. Your assistant.”

His eyebrows lift. “I have a personal assistant?”

“Of course. Who else would video you in the gym?”

He laughs uncomfortably. “ Eww . That feels gross.”

I giggle. “No, it actually seemed cool. Like, you two seem like actual friends. At least that’s the impression I got from following you guys online.”

“Oh, cool.” Wyatt sits up, reflectively looking toward the door. “How come he hasn’t been around?”

I shrug. “I’ve no idea. I would’ve assumed he was by your side this whole time.”

“I don’t remember him. Unless, he was only here in the beginning when I was still out of it. I don’t remember much of the first few weeks.”

“Hmm. Yeah, maybe.”

Wyatt taps his knee, his shoulders locking as he mulls on a thought. “Should I ask my parents to move in with me?”

“Do you want that?”

He sighs, his eyes downcast. “I don’t know.”

“If it helps, they seemed really beat up this morning,” I say. “I guess they’re struggling with your recovery in their own way.”

Wyatt runs a hand back and forth over his hair. “I just don’t understand how my life has changed so much.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Ugh. I remember, after waking up, feeling so relieved the first time I saw my parents clearly.” Wyatt frowns. “They were fussing about my speech and my vision, and I was trying to tell them I was okay, but the words couldn’t come out.”

I push for a smile as I gently touch his arm. “It’s okay. You’re doing so much better now. Your stutter is hardly an issue.”

“It’s such a blur.” Wyatt winces, pinching the bridge of his nose. “My head pounded so hard and I couldn’t see straight. Whenever someone talked to me, there was intense ringing in my ears. It was like torture.”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. That sounds awful.”

“I remember days being crowded by people, but it’s pretty foggy.”

“Understandable. Dr. Fincher said you were in an induced coma.”

“Mom and Dad looked scared.” He swallows hard, keeping his stare low.

“After going manic on the doctors, they were talking about me working. All these people were talking about my career and none of it made sense.” Wyatt scratches the side of his head, dwelling on the memory.

“The last thing I could remember was the summer before high school. My parents had to explain everything about fifteen times before anything registered as real.”

“So, you don’t remember attending Ashworth Academy?”

His bite into his lip, his eyelids growing heavy as he gives a slight shake of the head.

“That’s okay. Sometimes, I’d be happy to forget that place.”

“Why? Are people not nice to you?”

“No, it’s cool. Just high school drama.”

“I hate the idea of anyone being mean to you.”

“I’m mostly bypassed. I promise.”

“Good. Man, I wish I could just rewind everything to where I remember.”

“I’d live those times over if I could. Any extra time with you is a blessing, even if it’s a do-over.”

“It’d sure beat the way my parents look at me now.”

“How so?”

“They look like their lives depend on me.”

I suck in a breath, feeling the weight of his words.

“They uprooted their lives for me,” Wyatt says with a strained jaw. “Right?”

My lips press together as I slowly nod in response.

“So, if I don’t work,” he mutters, “do they not have any money?”

I shiver from the chill sweeping the room. “I don’t know.”

“I mean, have you seen how they dress now? Looking at them is like looking at an alternate reality.”

“That was one of the first differences I noticed about them. But I’ve seen you dress really well over the last few years.”

He rubs the back of his head. “I guess a lot has changed. I dunno. Maybe I’m just projecting all these feelings onto them because I haven’t seen how my life has changed on the outside. But I can’t shake a bad feeling as to why I don’t live with them anymore.”

“Maybe because you’re on the road? Like, recording or away on sets?”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Nurse Liza is back on shift, and she brings Wyatt a new dose of painkillers at the same time an orderly brings our lunches. I remember Randall saying the hotel had way better food, but between last night’s dinner and this meal, the Gran Palacio has a lot of catching up to do.

We move over to the armchairs, adjacent to the comfy couch, and eat together. Not long after, Savanna enters the room.