I bite the inside of my cheek and fuss with the crisp, white sheets surrounding his broken body. “You should get some rest.”
“I feel like I’ve been sleeping for years.”
With a laugh, my eyes well with a fresh set of tears. “I know.”
“What’s going on?”
“You’ve been out for a while. Your dad said you woke up while I was in my room getting released from the hospital, but you fell asleep again before I got back.”
“My dad’s here?” That same look of confusion is painted across his handsome face as he searches the empty hospital room.
“Yeah,” I breathe out. “We’ve been taking turns hanging out with you.”
His heavy eyelids fall, and his forehead wrinkles with concentration again. Like he’s searching his memories for any hints about what the hell is going on.
After a few seconds, he looks up at me. “I remember seeing him. But it’s…kinda fuzzy.”
“That’s probably the drugs,” I inform him.
“What drugs? What happened, Reese?”
Steeling my courage, I breathe in a deep, unsteady breath and try to restrain my anguish. Because he doesn’t need it right now. He needs my strength. My encouragement. My determination. And even though it feels impossible, I do my best to give it to him.
“We were in an accident,” I explain carefully. “The truck rolled and caught on fire. They got you out but––”
Panicked, he reaches for me. “Are you okay? Babe, your wrist––”
“Is fine.” I laugh again, but it gets caught on a sob before I choke it down and smile tightly.
How can he be so damn thoughtful right now?
“I’m fine,” I clarify. “And you’re going to be okay too. I promise.”
Wincing, he raises my injured wrist closer to his face and inspects the damage with the cutest, most concerned expression a guy could have. My eyes burn with unshed tears as he brushes his good hand along the rough surface of the bright pink cast while his injured side stays limp on the hospital bed. His concern only makes me love him more, and I hate that he might question it when he finds out the damage to his perfect body.
This isn’t fair.
Satisfied I’ll be all right, Riv lets me go and carefully sets his head back on the deflated pillow behind him.
“Why do I feel like shit?” he murmurs in a tired voice, closing his eyes again for just a second as the exhaustion threatens to pull him back under.
I stay quiet and bite my lower lip. They’re pumping him full of painkillers right now, but his brows are still pinched with excruciating pain. Once he realizes the damage he’s going to have to recover from, it’ll break him.
“Tell me,” he orders.
My breath hitches again. “Y-you got burned pretty bad, Riv. They were able to remove most of the damaged skin in surgery, but it’s going to be rough for a little while. Now, you just get to take your time and recover, okay?”
He opens his mouth, then closes it before shaking his head slightly. Like he can’t wrap his head around what I’ve revealed. And I don’t blame him. I still can’t believe it. Everything was perfect just a little while ago. Then it all fell apart. But I’m not going anywhere. We’ll get through this.
We have to.
“Reese…?” His voice trails off as he searches my face. I wish I knew what he’s looking for.
“Yeah?” I choke out.
“Is it bad?”
The tears I’d been holding back manage to slip past my barriers and glide down my cheeks. But I can’t find my voice. So, I nod. And confirm his greatest fear. That nothing will ever be the same for him again.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Riv grabs my uninjured hand, then tightens his hold as if I’m the only thing keeping him grounded while the truth seeps into his tired bones.
“I’m so sorry,” I cry.
The intensity in his piercing green eyes pins me in place as the same determination I’ve fallen in love with rises to the surface.
“Don’t you dare be sorry, Reese.”
“Riv––”
“It’s not your fault. Besides, you’re okay. So, it’s okay.” He rubs his thumb along the back of my hand in an attempt to soothe me, but it only widens the chasm in my heart.
How the hell is he the one comforting me right now?
I feel so helpless. And it sucks.
“It’s okay,” he repeats.
No, it’s not, I want to argue, but I swallow the toxic words and lean forward to brush my lips against his.
“I was so scared, Riv. I can still hear your screams. I can still smell the gas mixed with the rain. When I close my eyes, I can still see the flames. It terrifies me.”
“Sh… Don’t think about that.”
“I can’t help it,” I tell him, blinking back tears. “But you’re right. Right now, we need to focus on getting you better. You should get some rest.”
“I don’t want to sleep anymore. I need to know what happened. Did they catch Ian?”
I swallow and attempt to give him some space, but he keeps me close, clutching at the back of my neck until our foreheads are pressed together.
“They caught the culprit, yeah,” I answer vaguely, avoiding his gaze.
“The culprit?”
“We’ll talk about it later.”
“Tell me.”
The bite of pain grounds me as I dig my teeth into my lower lip. “I don’t want to.”
His chuckle turns into a cringe. “Tell me, Reese,” he demands.
With another shaky breath, I grab his good hand from behind my neck and kiss the back of it, praying for the courage to tell him the truth.
“Please?” he begs.
Those same mesmerizing eyes that held me captive when we first met pull the truth out of me with ease. “Your mom paid someone to cut the brakes.”
“What about Ian?” he asks, confused.
“He’s an ass, but he wasn’t the one following us. They found him passed out in his car at SeaBird. It was the guy your mom paid to cut the brakes. Javier.”
“Her assistant?”
“I guess?” I confirm. “She was going to frame Ian and spin the story in your––and her––favor.”
“How did she know about Ian?”
“I don’t know.”
I can almost see the wheels turning in his head as he mutters, “She probably hired a PI to follow me when I stopped answering her calls. She’s done it in the past,” he adds, looking up at me as the puzzle pieces click into place. “She probably asked him to dig into your history when she saw us together. But…why would my mom do that?”
“She didn’t mean to hurt you like this––”
“Don’t defend her,” he spits. But I can’t help myself. His pain is too much for me to witness. She really is a monster, but no one wants to hear that about their own flesh and blood.
“She just wanted it to cause a fender bender,” I explain. “Then she’d be able to use it as a publicity stunt to reconnect with you just in time for the big reveal about the movie.”
He drops his head back and scoffs quietly. “Of course, this was about the movie. Has she been arrested yet?”