by Tia Siren
His hurt pride burned over the ache in his heart. He shouted back, “It obvious you can’t live without all the stupid things you need with your big money. I’ll never be able to give any of that to you, so why are we even together? Go have lunch with Brent, and while you’re at it, marry him. You should be with him, the world’s most eligible asshole. You’ll make a lovely freaking couple, and your mommies and daddies will be so proud of you.”
She glared at him. “Maybe I should be! Maybe then I wouldn’t feel like I constantly have to apologize to a whiny douchebag who hates his life just because he didn’t inherit anything from his family, a guy who is angry at me just because I was born into it. That’s your real issue, Gray! You can’t get over that, and your pride won’t let you.”
“Fuck you, Riley! I’ve never asked for anything in my life. I’ve worked for everything I’ve ever had, all of it.” He tried to hide it, but he was angry that Jon had cut him out of the family fortune after all the hard work he’d put in, and it only made him angrier that Riley knew him well enough to see right through that. “Go to hell!”
“I’ve already been there, in that stupid apartment with you!”
They stood there for the longest time, panting and glaring at each other. Finally, Riley shoved her hands in her coat pockets and kicked a small rock while Gray glowered at her. They had fought before, but never like that. He also had no idea what was going to happen next. He loved her, but everything both of them said was true. She really was a spoiled rich kid, and he had nothing to offer, nothing at all. He could wish all he wanted to, but in the end, all he had to give her was his love and a few good romps in bed, and it just wasn’t enough. He couldn’t believe he’d told her to fuck off. He’d never said that to a girl before, especially not one he loved and respected. He’d just thrown away the best thing in his life. Over jealousy and what?
He stepped backward, onto the solid ground beneath his heels. He didn’t realize it until too late that his next step would have him standing on nothing but thin air.
Chapter 36
Riley froze, stunned by her own anger. She certainly hadn’t meant to say all the horrible things that had tumbled out of her mouth. Some of them were true though. Most of it was. She didn’t want to live a miserable existence just to appease Gray’s pride. She didn’t want to spend her life tiptoeing around the subject of money or just scraping by when there was no need for it. Her money could do so much for them, it could set them up for a happy life. They could buy a business. We could travel, have fun, but all he wants to do is waste that opportunity. And the audacity of him acting like I’m some kind of spoiled brat, accusing me of being selfish just because I have money! Those words still scalded her heart.
“Go to hell!”
“I’ve already been there, in that stupid apartment with you!” she shouted, glaring at him as he took a step back.
His arms flailed for only a split-second before he was flying backward, his body arching and his feet kicking, a cry coming from his lips.
It seemed to take an eternity for her to react, but when she realized what was happening, she shouted, “Stop! Gray, no!” She raced forward to try grab his arm, but it was too late. The last glimpse she caught before he plummeted was the terrified look on his face.
“No!” A long scream split her lips as Gray thudded against the rocky point just below the spot where he’d been standing a moment before. The sound was awful, bone shattering. Her hands went to her ears to try to block it out, and she kept screaming as he bounced off the snow covered rock point and continued rolling down, farther and farther away from her.
Shock set in almost immediately, but she managed to break through it with a coherent thought: I have to get to him! Heedless of the danger, Riley raced down the trail, toward the spot where Gray lay, crumpled and still. Her feet slid on a patch of leaves and ice, and she fell on her backside, so hard that the air was knocked out of her lungs in a long, painful whoosh before she made it back to her feet and ran on again.
As she ran, she found her phone and fumbled her fingers over the buttons to dial 911. Her voice was a garbled rush as she tried to explain to the dispatcher what had happened. She was hysterical, crying and still screaming when she finally made it to him. She dropped the phone, knowing they would be found now, and hit the snow next to Gray.
Terrified, she looked down at him, trying to assess the damage.
Blood seeped from his forehead, trickling out from under his hairline. Her hands found his pulse, and she cried even harder as she felt the thin, threadbare beat below her fingertips. He was still alive, the best she could hope for at the moment. Her Grayson was alive, and she had to get him out of there and to a hospital.
“Gray, please, please listen to me,” she cried. “I need you. Don’t you die on me, you hear me! You can’t. I l-love you. I need you.”
He offered no answer, no response whatsoever, and his eyes remained closed. Dirt and snow clung to his cheeks and hair.
Shaking all over, Riley pressed a glove against his head, in an effort to stop the bleeding. His arm was twisted at a strange, unnatural angle, and one of his legs was bent behind him in a way that stopped her heart.
This is all my fault, she thought. Why the hell was I so mean to him? Yeah, he’d been a jerk to Brent, but still… He wasn’t exactly wrong about him either. The truth was that Riley didn’t like Brent that much, and she had no idea why she’d been so dead set on defending him. She knew Brent was a horrible person, a pretentious, condescending snob, just like Gray had said. If things had been different, she would have walked off without even thinking twice, but she’d harbored an anger against Gray all morning. She was sick of his gloomy mood, especially since he refused to talk about it, and she had knowingly used the conversation with Brent to get under his skin. It was a payback, of sorts, to teach him a lesson. Things were ending between them and she wanted to blame him.
What a stupid, stupid, idiot she’d been! Picking a fight, for what? He didn’t want to be here. Like she didn’t want to be in Dominica. And now? She stared down at his unmoving body. Terrified that she might never get the chance to tell him how sorry she was.
Time seemed to stand still as she waited for help to arrive. As much as she wanted to hold him in her arms, Riley knew better than to move him. Instead, she talked to him, reminding him of all the things they’d done and telling him about all the things she still wanted to do with him. Tears washed her face with their salt, and she felt a sudden, wild urge to see the ocean again, to sail it with him like before, when they were happy, in a time that felt like a lifetime ago.
She was distracted from her thoughts by the whirring and thrusting of a helicopter as it chopped through the sky, at a distance but quickly approaching. “They’re almost here, Gray. You just hold on,” she consoled, knowing the words were more for herself than for him.
The helicopter hovered lower, and Riley, her face soaked with freezing tears, looked skyward as the shadow of the chopper fell on the ground. Her hands clutched Gray’s, and she could feel the chill of his skin, even through their gloves.
Scared, lost, and guilt stricken, she looked on as the helicopter hewed lower.
Snow sprayed up, and the gust of wind off the helicopter smacked her hard. She leaned over Gray’s body, trying to protect him. Ice formed in her breath and on her soul. Why? Why did I insist on this stupid hike? I know how dangerous, cold, and slippery it gets out here. Especially with fresh snow. This is all my fault! she silently raged, torturing herself as she looked down at him again. She asked herself those questions over and over.
Gray lay perfectly still, other than the slow rising and falling of his chest. His wan face grew paler in the shadow of the whirlybird. Behind them, the lake shimmered like a mirror, cold and deadly, reflecting a faux serenity that hid death.
A paramedic rushed over, his face shaded by a ball cap. He knelt down and asked, “How far did he fall?”
Riley lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know exactl
y. We were hiking up there.” She waved a hand at the steep bank of mountains, where the trail suddenly cut off. “I-I forgot to check for closed-off sections this morning, and… Well, we sorta got lost, so we turned around, but h-he slipped on a patch of black ice right below the snow and j-just f-fell,” she stuttered. The part about his fall was true, and she saw no sense in bringing up their vicious fight that had caused him to step back, away from her. Once again, the guilt of that flooded back into her mind, and she almost wished she was the one lying there, instead of him.
Riley couldn’t hardly bear the memory of that twisted, horrified look on his face as she helplessly watched his perfect body tumble away from her, the smacking, crunching sound his body had made as it collided with rocks and small trees. Horror swallowed her whole, and tears streaked down her face as she begged, her voice still breaking, “Please! Make sure he’s okay. He has to live because I…because we…”
The paramedic was too busy tending to Gray to give Riley any immediate answers. Someone wrapped a blanket around her and herded her over to the shelter of some fallen rocks. The wind was not so fierce there, and she was grateful for that, but she was also so scared and didn’t want to be so far away from Gray.
“Is he okay?” she asked, not sure if anyone heard her.
The medics worked quickly and got him onto the stretcher, ready to airlift him out. Riley shook all over, shivering far worse than the cold had ever made her. The thought of losing Gray was like an icicle stabbed straight into her broken heart.
Chapter 37
Riley huddled in a chair at the hospital, alone in a sterile, bleach scented hallway. Her sobs had stopped an hour or so ago, but the sadness and terror had left. She didn’t care how she looked. Gray had been rushed into emergency surgery, and while someone had come out and told her he’d survive, they’d also informed her that he was a long, long way from okay. He apparently wouldn’t reach that point for quite some time.
As she sat, her mind recalled the litany of injuries the doctor told her about: “Shattered arm and collarbone, badly sprained leg, broken ribs, concussion… We had to place pins and metal rods in his arm. His lungs are deeply bruised, and that has us quite concerned…”
There was nothing she could do but wait. She was so exhausted and scared that she could barely keep her head up. Her whole body continued trembling and shivering, twitching and turning in the chair. It was as if she was delirious with fever, but she certainly didn’t feel warm in any way. In fact, she had never felt so cold and frozen in all her life. Her skin was raw, and her bones ached. Her body was tired, but her brain insisted on keeping her awake, as did the hard surface of the uncomfortable, gaudy chair she sat in.
What happened to us? She asked herself for the millionth time. He could’ve died, with my nasty words still ringing in his ears. He might never wake up, might never have a chance to know that I really do love him. He could have died! What have we done? A sob tore through her throat. I could’ve lost him!
Guilt and regret ate into her, and she decided, right then and there, that she was going to do whatever it took to make sure Gray knew how much she loved him. “Never again,” she muttered, vowing that she’d never spew such vile, hateful words at him ever again. “I’ll spend my entire life making you happy, Gray, if you’ll only come back to me.”
They both had different priorities, different things they wanted out of life. The things that mattered to her, didn’t matter to him. And vice versa. Did that even matter right now? What if he woke and didn’t remember her? What if he blamed her?
She closed her eyes and quickly opened them. Every time her eyelids shut, his fall replayed over and over inside her mind. The look on his face, the moment of impact, all of it.
She loved him. He loved her.
That’s what she needed to focus on. She thought of the day he’d shown up in New York for her.
It made her smile. They could find middle ground. Once he was all better, they could compromise. They would, and they’d find a way to make things work. To bring back the feeling of being perfect with each other.
Why can’t we have a happily-ever-after after all? She paused for a moment to consider, and her mind answered loud and clear: Because he’s stubborn and impossible and…I’m the freaking same way!
Riley rested her head in her hands, trying to think it all through, but her brain was as foggy as it was restless. No clear, rational ideas came to mind. She hoped there was a way for them both to be happy and to be happy together, but she had to accept that there might not. What if love just isn’t enough to keep us together? What if all those stupid old songs are wrong? The answer was not the one she wanted to accept. She had hoped to come up with something that would solve all the problems they had, but now she had another knot to worry over. Love might not be enough at all, and if it isn’t… Well, what then? I don’t wanna lose him, damn it!
Riley sighed and twisted around in the chair again, trying to bring feeling back into her tingling left leg, which she’d been sitting on for far too long. The numbness there was not as bad, though, as the numbness she felt in her soul. She did not want to be without Gray. He mattered to her, and without him in her life, she would be lost. Bank accounts aside, if Gray walked out on her, she would feel like the poorest woman in the world.
Chapter 38
A few days later, Gray told the nurses that his pain was at an all-time high, and no medication seemed to take the edge off. Shockingly, his heartache was even more painful than any of the literal pins and needles that now lurked within him. Riley’s terror up there on that trail and the harsh words that had flown between them were something he would never forget. They tried to talk in the hospital, but their words often crumbled to harshness; she would grow silent then and just sit by his bed until they threw her out. Gray would lie there, equally silent and unable to pull together enough coherent thoughts to keep himself from going crazy. In the end, there were just too many things standing in their way, and it was certainly not just about the money.
To make matters worse, Gray felt like a fool and an asshole. How could I say such cruel things to her? For that matter, though, how could she say that shit to me? He had no idea what had broken down between them to carry them to the point of being evil to each other, but somehow, it had reached a painful pinnacle.
Some of what she had said was true, and that was the worst thing about it. He was too stubborn and proud, and she didn’t want to live in poverty, eking by on tips and worrying that they wouldn’t be able to pay the rent on time. He admired that she was willing to work hard and even wanted to, but he knew there was no way in hell she would ever be happy living as they had.
He was still angry at her bold admission, though, for it cut right into his ego, which was already taking a beating from so many other angles. How can I possibly compete with that money? Hell, her cabin is really a mansion, and she acts like it’s normal for everyone to own places like that.
In one second, he was defending his own ideas, but in the next, he was furious with himself for what he’d done. “Damn it!” he muttered, punching the mattress beside him, even though it hurt to move his arm. “How could I have said all that to her?” He knew, even when he spouted off at the mouth, that he was being unfair, shallow, and stupid, and he was still acting that way toward her. He had hurt her deeply, and he wanted to tell her he was sorry, but instead, he just always managed to get into another argument with her.
The door opened, and his heart leapt in his chest as hope surfaced. Maybe she’s cooled off enough. Maybe she’s got enough sense to realize I’m a freaking douche canoe for saying those things, but she knows there’s still love left between us, a love worth saving. Maybe—
His hopes crashed when he saw a man step through the door instead, a man anyone would recognize, from their TV sets or internet news stories. The visitor was dressed to the nines, as always, in a handmade, custom-tailored Italian suit and perfectly shined shoes that Gray was sure cost more than the annual salar
y he used to make at the bar.
Gray shifted in the bed with a groan, his senses instantly on high alert as Teeters approached and gave him a scrutinizing once-over.
“I see you are awake,” said Richard Teeters, Riley’s father.
“Yep, and not a lawyer in sight,” Gray answered, his voice weary. “Don’t worry. I don’t plan to file a claim against you or your homeowner’s insurance.” He knew his words were coming out tight and angry, but it was really just in self-defense; something about the disapproving scowl on Mr. Teeters’s face made him feel as if self-preservation suddenly had to be a priority.
Teeters gave him a tight smile and angled his body so they were looking at each other.
Gray tensed again but managed to hold his stare.
“I know exactly what is going on here.”
“Uh…it’s not that hard to figure out. I fell off a cliff?” The sarcasm was biting but was totally lost on Teeters.
“Not that. I mean what’s going on between you and Riley.”
“Hmm. Well, it isn’t like we’ve made much of a secret out of it.” Gray’s eyes met Teeters’s and refused to look away. There way was he going to let the man turn him into an apologetic, cowering zombie, like everyone else did around him.
Teeters shifted; obviously, the talk was not going the way he had planned, and Gray’s brashness caught him a bit off guard. “I mean that I know why you are with her.”