Love Damaged: Rock-N-Roll Heiress Book 2

by McCracken, Kelli

  “It doesn’t change the fact that my sister is in the hospital.”

  “No, it doesn’t, but it doesn’t make us responsible. She was supposed to be on bed rest. If she had followed her doctor’s orders, she wouldn’t have found us. We would have talked to her and worked everything out.”

  This time, she snickered, but there was no humor in the tone. “You’re a fool if you think we could have worked things out with Izzy. She wasn’t going to have the paternity test done. She planned to get you to fall in love with that child and, hopefully, her again.”

  I stepped closer. “That never would have happened. I love you. I don’t want to be with Izzy.”

  “Yet you chose to see her after suggesting we’d be better off apart. You don’t know what you want, Ayden.”

  “Yes, I do!” My gruff voice made her flinch. I chastised myself internally for scaring her. I would not convince her of anything if she was afraid to talk to me. I had to keep my cool.

  “I’m sorry for the tone of my voice. Right now, I’m so afraid of you walking out of my life, I’m panicked.”

  “I’m just giving you what you asked for, Ayden. You don’t feel like you’re meant to have a relationship, and unlike my sister, I refuse to tie you down to me. If you want your freedom, you have it.”

  “All I want is you.” Didn’t she realize how hard this was? I was laying my heart on the line. At this point, she didn’t care. She would plant her heel inside of it and grind it into the ground. Why did I keep fucking up everything between us?

  “Mia . . .”

  There was no time to say anything else. Movement drew my attention to the nurse who’d walked into the room. She regarded each of us before she spotted Mia.

  “Miss Brooks, are you ready to get out of here?”

  Mia nodded. “More than you know.”

  The nurse chuckled. She handed Mia a dark blue bag with the hospital logo written in white. “The information Dr. Banks wanted you to have is in here, along with the meds he discussed with you.”

  When the nurse glanced in my direction, I knew she wasn’t saying everything she wanted to say because I was standing there. Perhaps she didn’t want to divulge Mia’s medical information and take a chance on being sued. At this point, anything was possible, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever Mia was hiding from me, it was colossal.

  “Your discharge instructions are inside the bag. If you have any questions, you can call the ER and ask for Dr. Banks or me. Don’t forget to schedule a follow-up appointment.”

  Once the nurse drew the curtain around the bed, Mia thanked her before she left the room. As soon as she disappeared out the door, I noticed Bentley and Darius standing near it listening to our conversation. Regardless of that fact, I needed to know what had happened to Mia to cause her to faint.

  “Something is wrong with you and it’s serious, isn’t it?”

  I waited for her to answer, but she didn’t. She faced Andi for a moment, then her gaze lowered to the bed. The panic I felt doubled. It rushed through me, spinning my worst fears out of control.

  “My God. It’s bad, isn’t it?”

  “I told you, don’t worry about it. I’m not your concern, seeing as how you’re not meant to have a relationship.”

  “Quit throwing those words in my face, Mia. You know I didn’t mean anything I said earlier.”

  At first glance, she seemed remorseful for saying what she had. Then a dark expression covered her face. “I don’t need you worrying about me.”

  As she proceeded toward the door, she was only a few feet from it when I cut her off. “You’re trying to avoid this conversation, but you should know me better than that. I want to know what’s wrong with you, and I won’t stop asking until you tell me.”

  “Just drop it!” She pressed her lips together when I winced. “Ayden, please listen to me. Go back to your suite at Music Haven and get some rest. We’re both exhausted.”

  “Do you honestly think I can go back to my suite and forget that there is something wrong with you?” When she acknowledged me, I decreased the small amount of space between us to less than a foot. “Is it cancer? Is that why you’re pushing me away?”

  She couldn’t look at me. That fact caused my pulse to increase. Each beat of my heart thumped inside my ears, decreasing all other sounds. Had I guessed right?

  “Please tell me. I need to know.”

  Mia stared at me for what seemed like forever. At least she hadn’t moved away from me. If anything, she inched closer.

  “Ayden . . . God, I don’t know where to start.”

  “From the beginning. I want to know everything, Mia.”

  I didn’t think she would answer me. The way she stared silently, blinking her eyes while nothing but a few sighs left her mouth convinced me as much. “Ayden, today I found out—”

  Before she could finish, she peered at something behind me. I turned to see what had distracted her when I found another nurse standing between Bentley and Darius. It was the same nurse that was taking care of Izzy.

  “Pardon the interruption, Mr. McAllister, but Miss Giles is awake and frantic. She’s asking for you.”

  Her statement made me cringe. In truth, I didn’t want to see Izzy. It had been hard enough being around her earlier when she first woke up and learned she had miscarried.

  How could I leave an emotionally charged conversation only to end up in another? I wanted to be in this one because I wanted to reason with Mia. I was working toward something positive. Izzy would bring out every negative vibe I was feeling

  The nurse studied me as if she were waiting for me to follow. I knew I had to make a choice. Yet before I opened my mouth to answer, Mia did it for me.

  “Go, Ayden. My sister needs you.”

  As she turned to walk away, I struggled to get any words to come out of my mouth. “Mia.” Her name caught in my throat. “Please.”

  It was pointless. She wasn’t going to talk to me no matter how much I begged. Once again, I had let my big mouth ruin everything for us. Still, it hurt me to know she could give up on me. Instead of fighting for me, she chose to walk away. I would have stayed and fought for her.

  On the bright side, she was still wearing my ring. It gave me hope. The love we shared wasn’t gone. She cared as much as I did. Right now, she was upset. I had to give her time.

  Besides, I had questions that needed answers. For the sake of my own sanity, I had to find out the truth. Now that Izzy was no longer pregnant, I didn’t have to worry about the child she was carrying. Yet, I didn’t know if I should grieve that loss. I didn’t know how to react. That left me with one choice.

  I still had to know if the child Izzy lost was mine.

  Chapter 21

  ~Mia~

  The night air was cool on my arms as I stumbled through the emergency room parking lot searching for my car. I was midway between the edge of the lot and the ER doors when I realized an important fact. I wasn’t the one who drove to the hospital. My driver had brought us.

  I was supposed to call him when I was ready to leave. Had I not passed out, maybe I would have remembered. Everything that happened after my fainting spell had kept me from thinking clearly. Now it would take my driver at least twenty minutes to get here.

  The wind whipped around me again, reminding me how chilly it was. I couldn’t wait outside and I didn’t want to go back into the ER. Ayden would do his best to get me to talk if he wasn’t with my sister. Part of me expected him to follow me. Now that I knew he hadn’t, it made my chest constrict. Once again, he went to Izzy when I needed him.

  I leaned against an old truck as my chest began heaving. No matter how hard I tried not to cry, tears streamed down my cheeks. In truth, I had no right to be upset with Ayden this time. I told him to go to Izzy before I walked out. That, along with my harsh words, left him with no other choice.

  What the hell was I going to do? This wasn’t about Ayden and me anymore. Now a child was involved. Our baby had to come f
irst, but I was making poor decisions. My emotions were getting the better of me.

  Hormones. It had to be the damn hormones making me so crazy. Then again, all the stress I’d been under explained a lot too. My biggest fear wasn’t Ayden finding out about the baby. It was my fear of suffering through the same thing my sister had. I didn’t want to miscarry.

  A warm hand chased away the chill the breeze caused. My fears pulsed to life under the touch of what I assumed was Ayden. When I looked at him, relief filled me when I realized it was D.

  “Are you okay?”

  Tears blurred my vision. I struggled to see his face as I nodded. “I need to leave, but my driver brought me. It will be twenty minutes before he can get here, and that’s after I make the call.”

  Another round of sobs shook my body. This time, D drew me against his chest and wrapped his arms around me. “Come with me. I drove one of your cars. If you’re ready, I’ll take you back to Music Haven.”

  Even though I broke his heart when I wouldn’t reconcile with him years ago, D was here for me. This was the second time an argument with Ayden left me at his mercy.

  As he escorted me to another row and back toward the ER, I spotted my grandfather’s BMW. D loved the car as much as my grandfather did. A love of cars is one of the things they shared, and one of the few reasons why my grandfather didn’t hate D when we were together. I couldn’t say the same about my father.

  Once I sat in the passenger seat, D shut the door as I put on my seat belt. He did the same when he got inside. Then he started the engine.

  I stared at him, thankful that we had put the past behind us and agreed to be friends. He was going above and beyond that title right now. How could I ever repay him for the kindness he’d shown me in the last few months?

  Leaning my head against my seat, I stared at D as he eased the car out of the parking space and veered toward the main road. If he ever settled down, he’d make a great husband to some lucky girl. It almost made me envious.

  “I wish my heart was still with you.”

  He didn’t take his eyes off the road when he answered, “But it’s not.” When I didn’t respond, he glanced at me. “No matter how much you try, you can’t deny your heart is with Ayden. Anyone who knows you knows this.”

  “Me loving Ayden was never a question, D.”

  “You sure about that? I think you made it questionable when you returned home. The guy went weeks thinking you were interested in me again.”

  Guilt spiraled through me. “I’m sorry for dragging you into my mess. Now I’ve done it again.”

  “You’ve done nothing wrong, Mia. We’re friends. I’m here for you no matter what.”

  I thought of everything that had happened as we drove through town on our way to the interstate. Why couldn’t I get my life together? It’s like I had a dark cloud over me that never went away. It followed me everywhere, keeping me from my happiness.

  Once we pulled onto Interstate 15, he turned the radio on low. A soft melody played in the background, but there were no lyrics. It was a soothing tempo in comparison to the music I exposed myself to every day.

  D regarded me again before focusing on the road. “Sometimes it helps to talk about it.”

  I shifted in my seat, curling my legs under me. “I don’t think it’s going to help this time.”

  “You’ve handled this situation the best you could. It’s hard on a couple when a baby is involved, especially when the child isn’t yours. We know how Izzy operates. She would have used that baby against you and Ayden.”

  “I know.” My voice faded as I thought back to my sister’s fall. “It doesn’t matter anymore. The baby is gone.”

  “It’s a tragedy that it happened this way, but Ayden was conflicted. Everyone knows he didn’t want that child to be his. He knew it would strain your relationship, and it did.”

  “It was more than the baby. Ayden and I would be together right now if he hadn’t said . . .” I couldn’t repeat the words. Just having them in my head was enough to make me queasy. Then again, maybe some of the nausea I had experienced was morning sickness.

  “This whole pregnancy put you guys under a severe amount of stress. Izzy’s accident is weighing on both of you. That’s why he said those things. I’m not excusing it, but I empathize with him.”

  Massaging my temples, I closed my eyes and did my best to settle the rapid beat of my heart. “Believe me, nothing about this is easy.”

  “We guys don’t talk about our feelings much, but Ayden and I have discussed how he feels about you. Trust me, Mia, he loves you, and I know you love him. You can work this out.”

  “No. We can’t. Too much has happened. We keep hurting each other. I can’t do it anymore.” I sobbed as I eased my hand to my belly. This child deserved both parents, but it also deserved to grow up in a stable environment. Right now, Ayden and I couldn’t provide that if we were together. Despite how much we loved each other, my fears took precedence.

  “So what are you going to do? Ayden will be back at Music Haven soon.”

  Shrugging, I opened my eyes. “I don’t know what to do yet. He’s going on tour soon. I hope the time apart will clear my mind and allow me to think.”

  “If you’re counting on him to find someone on the road, you know as well as I do how many women will be ready to pick up where you left off. Still, it doesn’t mean he’s going to oblige them.” He peeked toward my seat, raised a curious brow, and then stared at the road. “What’s going on with you anyway? I overheard some of the conversation you were having with your nurse. Are you sick?”

  His questions caused my pulse to race. “Not exactly.”

  “Then what’s wrong? Ayden mentioned cancer.”

  “It’s not cancer.” I played with the hospital bracelet on my arm and avoided looking his way. “I’m not sure you’ll believe me if I tell you. I can barely believe it myself.”

  He kept shifting his gaze between my face and the road, careful to stay in his lane. “Girl, you better start talking ‘cause my curiosity is in overdrive.”

  I swallowed hard. There was no easy way to admit this. Although I considered D a great friend, I wasn’t sure if I could trust him with this information.

  I tried to answer. Honestly. The more I worked my mouth to get the words out, the harder they clung to my tongue. As soon as my eyes welled with tears, D pulled over to the side of the road. He put the transmission in park, unbuckled his seatbelt, then leaned over to hug me.

  “Mia, what the hell is going on? You’re starting to scare me.”

  “I’m sorry, but I’m scared too.” When D eased away from me, he tipped my chin up so I would look at him. Before he could ask the question again, I shook my head.

  “I can’t tell you, D. Not right now.”

  His jaw grew lax as his mouth parted. “Is it that bad?”

  “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

  Releasing a loud sigh, D clicked his seat belt together again. As he grabbed the shifter, he looked at me once more. “I know you’re a strong woman who can handle most anything you face, but you’re only human. If something is wrong, you need people to lean on. Don’t shut out everyone.”

  The tension in my body faded as he shifted the car into drive and pulled back onto the interstate. It relieved me to know he wouldn’t pressure me into talking, but it didn’t stop me from thinking about my dilemma. I had to figure out a way to tell Ayden about our baby or leave Music Haven.

  There was no other option. I wanted this child more than anything. I wanted Ayden too, but after everything that had happened . . .

  Would I get my happily ever after?

  * * *

  ~Ayden~

  The weight of my heart kept me pinned to the chair inside the Emergency Room waiting area. From the moment Mia walked out the door, I’d lowered myself into the cushioned seat and stared at the ground. Despite Izzy’s nurse coming to find me again, I refused to see her. She was the last person I wanted around me.

&n
bsp; Bentley sat with me for a few minutes. He didn’t say much until Andi was ready to leave. When I told him I was staying to talk to Chris, he made me promise to call him when I was ready.

  The memory faded as someone paged the trauma unit over the PA system. An ambulance siren roared in the distance, growing louder the closer it came. It wasn’t long before I heard a loud commotion near the main doors. A gurney rolled inside while an EMT worked frantically on a patient, doing chest compressions as he straddled the bed.

  The longer I observed them, the more fear flooded through me. Had Mia left the hospital and ended up in an accident on her way back to Music Haven? I would never forgive myself for not following her out the door if that was the case. Everything in me wanted to go with her.

  My fears were subdued once I noticed a family member of the patient. He spoke to a nurse, explaining how he and his family of four had been traveling west on the interstate when a semi crossed the median and crashed into them. Fortunately, the husband, who was speaking, and his two kids were okay. It was the mother the trauma team was fighting to save.

  The frustration in the man’s voice was evident before he asked the nurse why she was asking so many questions. As he begged to see his wife, I glanced at the small child standing behind him and the baby he cradled in his arms. The man was young—perhaps my age—and the agony on his face resonated with me.

  My chest constricted. I couldn’t imagine being in his shoes, worried sick about Mia and not being able to see her. The pain of that . . .

  Hell, I was in a similar situation. Although Mia had been discharged, something was going on with her. She’d fainted for some reason. It appeared to be stress related, but now I wasn’t so sure.

  After the weird conversation between her and her nurse, my curiosity wasn’t the only thing that had increased. My suspicion did too. Whatever her condition, I needed to find out.