by L. P. Dover
“But your heart belongs to someone else. Look, I know Luke has made mistakes, but it’s been a year and he still hasn’t given up on you.”
“Was this his idea?” I asked, glancing at him over my shoulder.
He shook his head. “Mine. When I saw your reaction last night, I knew I had to do something. You’re miserable, and so is Luke. And to put it bluntly, it’s not fair to Grayson. You need to follow your heart and stop being afraid.”
Tears fell down my cheeks and he pulled me into his arms. “I’m scared, Evan. What if I give Luke my heart again and it’s not enough? I can’t go through this again.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen. I’ve never seen him this heartbroken over a woman before. He’s genuinely changed this past year. When I look at him, he’s not the same person anymore. It’s amazing what loving a woman can do.”
I gasped at his words. Letting him go, I wiped the tears off my cheeks and looked down at the ring on my finger. “What about Grayson? The last thing I want to do is hurt him.”
“He deserves the truth, Lara. It’s not fair to him if your heart belongs to someone else. Either way, someone’s going to get hurt. It’s either going to be you and Luke, or Grayson. It’s up to you.”
I knew what my heart wanted, and it would be the most difficult thing I had to do. “I think I know what I have to do,” I told him. Turning on my heel, I walked around the house and hopped in my car.
“I hope you make the right choice,” he called out after me.
Who really knew what the right choices were in life? All we had to do was make our decisions and hope for the best. I had to believe what I was doing would be the right thing for all of us. Shutting my door, I pulled out my phone and called Grayson.
“That was fast.” He laughed. “Are you ready for me to come over?”
“Actually, I’m on my way to you. I’ll see you in a minute.” I hung up and headed straight to his house. When I walked in, he was in the kitchen, wearing only a pair of jeans. I’d be stupid not to think he was one of the most handsome men on the planet.
“Hey, baby,” he said, grabbing a beer out of the refrigerator. “Want a glass of wine?” He glanced back at me and I shook my head.
“Not tonight.”
With his back to me, he opened his beer and took a long, hard pull before setting it down. I waited for him to turn around, but he never did. “You’re not happy, are you?”
My throat closed up and I lowered my head as the tears fell. When he turned to look at me, I broke down in sobs. “I’m so sorry,” I cried. “I love you so much, but . . .”
“But what?” he snapped. “It’s not enough? After all this time, you’re still in love with him, aren’t you?”
“I don’t want to be. You have no idea how many nights I’ve prayed I could love you the same. You’re everything a woman could want in a man.”
His jaw tensed. “I’m just not good enough for you.”
“No,” I gasped, “that’s not it at all.” I hurried over to him and grabbed his arms. He turned his head away, his fists clenched tight. “Grayson, I’m not the one who’s good enough. You deserve someone who can love you with all their heart.” I slipped the ring off my finger and placed it in his hand. “I’m just not that woman.”
Gripping it in his hand, he leaned his forehead to mine. “Please, Lara. Don’t do this to me, to us. I would never hurt you.”
Placing my hands on his face, I could barely see him through the tears. “And that’s what makes this so difficult.” I leaned up on my toes and kissed his lips.
His arms wrapped around my waist and he held me tight, his kiss rough and hard. I could feel his desperation to keep me close. “I love you so damn much it hurts.”
I stepped back and he reluctantly let me go. His sea-green eyes were red, his face showing every ounce of torment he was feeling. It killed me to leave him, but if I stayed it’d only make him miserable. “And I’ll always love you. Goodbye, Grayson.”
I walked out the door and glanced back to find him leaning over on the counter with his head down. Please, God, help him get over this. I didn’t want him to hurt. It felt wrong of me to seek my own happiness when I’d just ruined another’s, but I’d lost so much time with Luke, I couldn’t wait anymore.
Getting in my car, I hurried down the road. There were so many things I wanted to tell him. First off, I really wanted to hit him upside the head for using those other girls to get a reaction from me, but most importantly, I wanted to hear those special three words come out of his mouth. If he could admit his love for me, everything would be right in my world.
Pulling out my phone, my hands shook as I called him. There were so many emotions circulating through my body, it felt like I was on overload. The second I heard his voice, I burst out crying. I wasn’t the type of girl to cry, but I couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“Lara, what’s wrong?” he asked, his voice laced with concern.
I shook my head, even though he couldn’t see me. “Nothing,” I cried. “Are you at home?”
“Yes. Where are you?”
“On my way to you. I’m sorry it took so long.”
His breath caught and I smiled. “Are you saying it’s over?”
“Yes,” I murmured.
“It’s finally over between you and Grayson?” he repeated.
“Yes, but listen here. You have one last chance to make it right, Collins. Don’t let me down this time.”
“Baby, I promise I won’t. I know I should wait until I see you to say this, but I love you. I love you so much.”
Those were the words I wanted to hear. And I was about to say them back, when a blinding light came at me from the side. There was only a split second of time to react; all I could do was scream. Glass shattered all around me and the impact jostled every bone in my body. I didn’t know how many times the car flipped, but the pain was unbearable.
When the darkness crept in, I welcomed it with open arms. There was no pain on that side.
“Lara! Lara!”
The sound of the crash echoed in my ears. The screeching of tires, the impact of the hit and shattering of glass made me freeze. It was like I was in a nightmare, desperate to break free, but my mind wouldn’t let me out.
“Lara!” I shouted again. The phone went dead and that was it.
Adrenaline pumping, I raced into the garage and hopped onto my sport bike. If she was headed to my place, I could find her. I slammed my helmet down over my head and sped out of the driveway. Thoughts ran through my head, none of them good. There was no way in hell I could lose her now, not when we were so close.
When I pulled out onto the main road, I could see the line of cars up ahead. Dread settled into the pit of my gut, and even though it was against the law, I charged past them all in the center lane, as far up as I could go. The second I saw Lara’s mangled car, everything stopped. There were no blaring lights or sirens, but there were people trying to help get her out of the car.
Jumping off my bike, I tossed my helmet to the ground. “Lara!” I shouted. There were people getting out of their cars, but I pushed past them, not caring who I knocked down in the process. “Get the fuck out of the way.”
There were two men who pulled Lara out of her car and carried her over to the grass. There was glass everywhere, blood all over her body. “Lara,” I choked, falling to the ground beside her. Her phone was in the middle of the road and I blamed myself. If she hadn’t been talking to me, none of this would’ve happened.
“Do you know her?” the older man asked.
I nodded. “She was on her way to my house. I heard the accident through the phone.” Lara was so still, her body covered in blood. My hands shook when I took her pulse, but it was there. Eyes burning, I covered her with my body and cried. “Don’t you dare fucking die on me. I just got you back.”
“I saw it happen,” a woman murmured, coming up from behind. Sirens blared in the distance, and then the ambulance came into view, a
long with the police.
“Help is here, baby. Just hang on.”
The lady behind me kept talking. “I was almost to the light when I saw the guy in the truck not even attempting to stop at his light. It all happened so fast.”
Anger burned in my veins. I looked over at the truck, where blood was splattered all over the windshield. I’d never wished anyone dead before, but if he wasn’t, he’d wish he was after I got through with him. It was his fault.
“Move aside,” the paramedics shouted. There were two of them, a young man in his twenties, and another one, most likely in his forties. “Sir, you need to move,” the older one said. It took all I had to leave her side, but I watched them check her vitals and load her onto the stretcher.
“I’m going with her,” I told them. I followed them to the ambulance and the younger paramedic did a double take as they loaded her inside.
I heard him whisper to his partner, “Holy shit, I think that’s Luke Collins.”
Jumping inside, I sat beside Lara and held her hand.
The older EMT sat by her head as the younger one got into the driver’s seat. He asked, “Is there any information you can give me on the victim?”
Closing my eyes, I squeezed Lara’s hand, wishing like hell she’d squeeze back. “Her name is Lara Jacobs. She’ll be twenty-nine years old tomorrow.”
“And what is your relationship to the victim?”
I opened my eyes, my chest aching so bad I could barely breathe. “She’s my girlfriend.”
Other than seeing Lara’s limp and bloody body, having to call Summer was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do. I’d always thought of myself as invincible and strong, never one to show weakness. Knowing there was nothing I could do to help Lara made me feel useless. The thought of losing her terrified the fuck out of me. The only thing I could do was pace the waiting room floor, until the doctors were done.
“Luke!” Summer shouted. She ran toward me, with Evan following closely behind her, holding a sleeping Emma-Grace in his arms. They both looked just as bad as I felt. Summer jumped in my arms and broke down. When I had called her, I could barely talk. All I told her was that there was an accident and they needed to get to the hospital. “How is she? What happened?”
The pain in my chest was unbearable. I held her in my arms, wishing like hell it was Lara instead. And now I didn’t know if she’d be alive to tell her how much I loved her, and would always love her. Summer stepped back, eyes and cheeks red from crying.
Evan slapped a hand on my shoulder and hugged me, trying his best not to wake Emma-Grace. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I can’t imagine what you must be going through.”
I swallowed hard. “Hell.”
He let me go and I didn’t know if I could even speak. My throat was so tight, I could barely breathe.
“What happened?” Summer demanded. Evan put his arm around her and held her close.
“She was T-boned by a guy who ran a red light. The police were in here just a few minutes ago. They believe he was drunk. There was an open bottle of rum found in the wreckage.”
“Son of a bitch,” Evan growled. “Who was it?”
Teeth clenched, I shrugged. “Don’t know. All I know is the fucker’s dead. He deserves it, after what he did.” Now he couldn’t hurt anyone else. “Other than that, I don’t know much else. When we arrived, they rushed her away.”
“Oh my God,” Summer cried, collapsing into a chair. She rocked back and forth, holding her head in her hands. “What if she doesn’t make it?”
Evan sat beside her, consoling her. “She will, sunshine. Lara’s a strong girl.”
She looked up at me. “How did you even know she was in an accident?”
Before I could explain, Grayson charged through the door, his murderous glare fixed on me.
“Why is it every time Lara gets involved with you, she gets hurt?” Grayson shouted. He stormed my way and I was more than ready for a fight. He was the one who’d brainwashed Lara from the beginning, keeping her away from me.
Summer stood up and stepped in Grayson’s path. “Stop! I won’t have any of this macho bullshit right now. This isn’t helping anything.”
“That’s right,” Evan agreed. “You need to calm down.”
Grayson then fixed his glare on Evan. “What did you say to Lara? You were one of the last ones to see her.”
Brows furrowed, Summer turned to Evan. “What does he mean?”
Evan was about to speak, when one of the doctors walked into the room. His attention immediately went to Summer, probably recognizing her from the woman he just operated on.
“You must be Lara’s sister?” he asked.
She hurried over to him. “Yes, how is she?” We all congregated around him and he acknowledged us all with a nod.
“I’m Dr. Prince. I wanted to give you an update on Ms. Jacobs.”
“Is she going to make it?” Summer cried.
Dr. Prince cleared his throat. “We’re trying to control the internal bleeding right now. Her body took a tragic blow and she needs to be stabilized before I have any answers. We’re not there yet, but we’re doing everything we can. She also suffered a traumatic hit to the head, and we won’t know the full extent of the damage until she wakes up. I’m sorry I can’t give you any other details at the moment. I’ll be back to give you an update after her next surgery.”
None of us could say anything, probably because the shock of it all was too much to take in, but Evan held out his hand. “Thanks, doctor. We’ll be here.”
When the doctor left, the room fell into complete silence. Head injuries were what scared me with riding because they could leave you brain dead in a heartbeat. If that ever happened to me, I’d want someone to put me out of my misery. The thought of seeing Lara like that scared the fuck out of me. She didn’t deserve any of it.
Summer wiped away her tears and kissed Emma-Grace on the head. “Why don’t you take her home? I’m going to stay until I can see Lara,” she said to Evan.
“You sure?”
She nodded. “There’s no sense on keeping her here. I’m sure the media will be coming around for questions. Oh, and we need to let everyone know the restaurant is closed until further notice.”
Evan kissed her hand and stood. “I’ll make calls. I’m sure Kate will want to be here too.” He glanced at me and sighed. “She’ll pull through, brother. I have no doubt.”
Evan was always the optimist, even when we were kids. Unfortunately, I didn’t share in his opinion. Something didn’t feel right, and I had no clue what it was. Shortly after he left, exhaustion took over and my eyes grew heavy. I didn’t want to sleep, but my body couldn’t take anymore.
I awoke to the smell of coffee. All night long, I’d dreamt about Lara, about all the times we never got to share with each other. The only date I ever took her on was the one to the party the night we slept together. I never got the chance to do anything with her, to see her face light up when we’d do something fun. I dreamt about everything I might not ever get to do with her.
Opening my eyes, Evan was there with three cups of coffee. I sat up and groaned as the muscles in my back protested. Grayson and Summer were still asleep in their seats.
Evan passed me a steaming cup. “Morning. I thought you could use this.”
“Thanks,” I said, taking a sip.
“Anything new yet?”
I shook my head. “No. Still waiting. Don’t you have football practice?”
“We’re on break until summer camp starts up. I was going to use these couple of weeks to help out at the restaurant.”
Summer jerked awake and gasped, her gaze darting around the room. “Did I miss anything?”
Evan pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “Not yet, sunshine.”
Reaching for a coffee, her lips trembled. “Where’s Emma-Grace?”
“With Kate. She wanted to be here, but she knew watching Emma would be a tremendous help.”
Summer sniffled. “Once I know Lara’s okay, I’ll get Emma-Grace so she can come up here and see her.”
My focus drifted to the hallway, and landed on Dr. Prince steadily walking toward us. “Here comes the doctor,” I said, jumping to my feet.
Summer shook Grayson awake and everyone stood up, waiting those agonizing last few seconds of uncertainty.
When he opened the door, he let out an audible sigh. “The surgery is complete. I wanted to let you know Ms. Jacobs is stable and resting. You can go in and see her now.” He gave us the room number, and Summer and Grayson headed out the door. I started to follow them out, but Evan stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.
“Wait,” he said.
I was desperate to see Lara. “Why?”
“I want you to tell me what happened with you and Lara. You never got the chance to explain.”
Eyes burning, I could still hear Lara’s scream when she was hit. “I was on the phone with her when it happened. I heard the crash, the sound of her screams. It’s a sound I don’t ever want to hear again.”
Evan closed his eyes. “Holy fuck, that had to be terrifying.”
Tears fell down my cheeks and I let them stay there. I’d never cried so much in my fucking life. “After that happened, I jumped on my bike to find her. She was on her way to my house so I knew she couldn’t be far away.” Fists clenched, I slammed them against the seat arms. “She was so close to my house. If that son of a bitch hadn’t hit her, she’d be with me, instead of on her deathbed in this damn hospital.” I lowered my head. “We would be happy.”
“I’m assuming she chose you?” he asked, his voice just above a whisper.
“Yes.” I lifted my teary gaze to his. “She told me she’d ended things with Grayson, that I had one last chance to make it right between us, to not let her down. I told her I loved her . . . and then everything happened.”
Evan’s face grew pale. “I can’t believe this.”