I regret it. I should have said it.
Maybe after I have her naked and panting beneath me, in a post orgasm bliss, I'll finally tell her how I really feel.
As we pull into the parking lot of the hotel, we drive to the back and find a spot by the dumpsters. For no good reason at all, I'm feeling on edge. Something isn't right, or maybe I'm just feeling paranoid because I should be. My dad—no, George Ayers, is still out there. I should be more vigilant.
But Everly seems unfazed. She jumps out of the car as soon as I put the car into park.
"You comin?" she calls from the outside.
"Yeah, yeah," I reply, climbing out. She's staring down at her phone from the other side of the car, and I glance around the lot, looking for anything suspicious. The lot is well-lit, but I hear the rumble of an engine nearby. There are no car lights on, so I scan the other cars.
Then, everything happens so fast. The rumble grows louder, but without the car lights on, Everly doesn't see it coming. She's still looking down at her phone as it speeds down the lane, straight for where she's walking in the lot.
I could scream her name. I could yell or warn her, but there is no time. The car is flying toward her, and I know who it is and what they're going to do from the very first second I hear the rumble. Everly doesn't.
She looks up at me first, and I act on instinct. Bolting toward her, I know after the first step I won't reach her in time. There's no time to pull her out of the way or carry her to safety.
Our eyes lock just as I slam my body into her, praying it knocks her out of the way before the speeding car hits us both.
Time moves fast until that very last second because in that moment I see her flying away from me. I see her eyes in shock and fear, locked on mine. And in some deeper part of my brain, I see her on that first day of class, standing at the front of the room, nervous and excited for a fresh start. I see her in her car, her face in my hand while I tormented her. I see her in the stands during practice. All of these images collapse into one just before the world turns upside down.
The black sky flips and rotates with the ground. The car carries me as I roll, tumbling to the sound of tires screeching and her screaming my name. When my body hits the pavement, I keep my eyes on the sky, waiting for the pain to register.
When it does come, it makes my stomach flip. It spreads like fire from my head down to my toes, engulfing me in flames, but I keep my focus on the sky and the sound of her voice as she screams my name.
Suddenly, her face is blocking my view of the stars, and I can't move although I want to touch her face, knowing he could still be here, ready to turn around and hurt her the way I know he wanted to.
"Run," I say, but it comes out in a breathy grunt.
"Cullen, oh my god. Oh my god. Baby, say something.”
She looks up, and I try to move again, afraid he's there.
"Please call the police!" she screams at someone out of my vision.
"Run, Ev," I groan.
With her eyes back on me, I see the anguish and terror in her eyes, and I know it's a lot worse than she's letting on. My mind is fuzzy as if I'm drifting in and out of dreams, and any moment the darkness will take me. I'll let it, as long as I know she's safe.
"Run," I gasp again.
"I won't leave you," she breathes, tears falling from her face. "The car crashed, Cullen. Ran into a wall. I think you surprised them. Just stay awake while we wait for the ambulance, okay?"
"Everly," I say and this time it comes out garbled, making me cough and gasp for air with each breath.
"Oh my God, Cullen, please..." she sobs.
"Everly," I try again, this time whispering because it's all I can do to keep from suffocating on whatever is keeping my lungs from taking breaths.
She leans in, touching my face. I wish I could touch hers, but I can't move. In the distance, I hear sirens.
"I love you," I say, but it's more like mouthing the words. My body can't even manage a whisper at this point, and my vision turns into a tunnel as I stare up at her.
"I love you, Cullen. I love you so much. Please just stay with me."
My body goes numb. I wish I could stay awake for her, but the pain wins out in the end. Her hands are somewhere on my body, her tears landing on my face, and I repeat her words in my head as the darkness swallows me whole.
25
Everly
"Ma'am, please calm down."
"I've given my report to the police. I've waited and waited. I've done everything you've asked. I just want to know how he is."
"Are you family?" the nurse asks, looking at her computer. This is just another day at work for her, not the worst day of her life.
"I'm the only family he has," I say, holding back the constant sobs that want to shake through me. "I'm his girlfriend."
I see the way she's scrutinizing me. He's too young for me, I get it, so I just send her an eye roll and plant my hand on the counter again. "Listen. I'll leave you alone if I could just get an update. The ambulance hauled him away almost three hours ago and I don't know if he's dead or alive, and I'm just trying to find out what's going on. Please, I'm begging you." I’m sobbing in earnest now, causing a scene in the waiting room, but I don't care.
Every moment that goes by is torture, the endless waiting, knowing he's in there somewhere either in pain or dying or looking for me, and I can't stand it. Cullen jumped in front of that car for me, to save my life, and the thought ricochets through my heart, making it hard to breathe.
If he doesn't make it...
No. I refuse to think that. It can't end this way. It was never supposed to be him.
I barely registered what was happening after Cullen hit the ground, but I know the car that hit him probably wasn't expecting a nearly 190 pound man to dart in front, knocking me out of the way. After Cullen tumbled over the top, the driver lost control and slammed full speed into a four-foot brick wall.
I was barely able to catch George Ayers's face before the paramedics zipped up his body bag.
It was such a minor detail at that point I didn't even care. What did it matter if the monster was dead if Cullen wasn't going to be around to enjoy his new freedom?
"Okay, ma'am. Let me see what I can do." The nurse gives me a sympathetic look with tight lips and soft eyes.
"Thank you," I mumble, wiping my tears on the back of my sweatshirt. No, Cullen's sweatshirt. She disappears behind the wide double doors and I take a seat, trying not to look at anyone else waiting around me.
It feels like an hour goes by before the nurse comes back out. "Miss West," she calls. I jump up and stare at her, wide-eyed and hopeful. "Follow me," she says quietly, and my heart hammers in my chest.
Scrambling behind her, she leads me through the triage corridor and down a long hallway with rooms on either side. "He's asleep and hasn't been moved to his room yet, but the doctor said you could at least see him."
When we reach a room at the end of the hall, she stands aside and lets me walk in. My hand flies to my mouth when I see him. His limbs are laid out with pins sticking out of his legs and left arm. There are wires and tubes all over him, and his perfect white hair is covered by a giant white bandage.