Her parents were already here by the time I came to. Leslie filled me in on her condition while Brian excused himself to get coffee.
Surprisingly, despite having her leg pinned under the dash it wasn’t broken, though she did have to get stitches from where part of the steering column sliced into her shin. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for her left arm which was broken in three places. She also had stitches across the left side of her head where she presumably hit her head on the door as the car tumbled.
The doctors assured Leslie and Brian that there was no sign of traumatic brain injury. While she may remain unconscious for several hours, they expect her to make a full recovery. Hearing that was music to my ears, but until she opens her eyes and I know that she really is okay, I have no intentions of leaving her side.
I jump slightly when I feel movement next to me. Realizing I must have dozed off, I lift my head from the bed, my eyes heavy with sleep.
It only takes a split second for our gazes to lock, but the second they do I feel wide awake. Like someone jolted me with an electrical shock.
“B.” I smile as I grasp her hand in mine. “Thank god.” I lean down and press my lips to her fingers, my entire body trembling under the immense relief that courses through me. “I thought I’d lost you.”
I lift my face to find confusion clear in her dark eyes.
“What happened?” She looks around, blinking several times.
“We were in a car accident,” I tell her, watching the realization dawn on her face.
“I wrecked your dad’s car.” The words catch in her throat.
“You remember?” I question, having not remembered what happened myself until several minutes after regaining consciousness.
“There was a deer.” Her voice is soft, barely above a whisper. “Asher, I’m so sorry. Your dad’s car.” She lets out an audible sob.
“Hey.” I quickly stand, gently taking a seat next to her on the bed. “It’s just a car,” I reassure her, reaching out to run the back of my hand softly along her chin. “Material things can be replaced, but you, B.” I stop with my palm flattened against her cheek. “You can never be replaced.”
“I love you.” The admission is barely audible from her lips, but I catch it as if she had screamed the words into a mega phone standing right next to me.
I watch as she drops her head back against the pillow and closes her eyes, as if she doesn’t realize what she said.
My hand is still on her face when I hear someone enter the room behind me. I don’t have to turn around to know who it is. And my assumption is confirmed when Blakely’s eyes flutter open again and instantly widen.
Without a word, I pull my hand away and take a deep breath before slowly following her gaze toward the door.
The instant my eyes land on Tyler, a knot forms at the back of my throat. It’s one thing to know she’s moved on with someone else. It’s quite another to have that reality shoved in my face.
He’s not what I was expecting, and yet oddly, exactly what I was expecting at the same time. He’s got an athletic build. Clean cut. The kind of guy I’m sure most girls would find attractive. I’ve seen him briefly once before but I was too preoccupied with Blakely to really pay that much attention.
He closes the distance between us in three long strides. Without even acknowledging my presence, he leans forward and presses a kiss to Blakely’s forehead.
“I was so worried,” he tells her, pulling back to gently touch her face the same way I had been doing only moments prior. He stares down at her for a long moment before straightening his posture, his gaze swinging to me.
“You can go now,” he grinds out, his nostrils flaring slightly.
I almost have to bite back a laugh as I stand, squaring my shoulders, more than ready for a fight.
“I’ll go when B tells me to go. Not a moment sooner,” I challenge.
“I think you’ve done enough.”
“I don’t give a shit what you think,” I bite back, anger bubbling in my chest.
“Asher.” Blakely’s voice is weak, like a siren in the wind. My gaze instantly falls to hers. “Please,” she mouths.
“B,” I start.
“Just go.” Tears well behind her eyes and it nearly guts me where I stand.
It takes everything in me not to fight, not to kick and scream and refuse to leave, but she’s been through enough today. I care too much about her to put her through anymore. So even though it’s the last thing I want to do, I nod once and quickly exit the room.
The minute I’m in the hall I press my back against the wall, feeling shaky on my feet. The ground sways slightly and I have to grip the railing to keep myself upright.
I’m not sure how long I stand here. It feels like only a minute but perhaps has been much longer than that. My perception of time feels skewed, among other things.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I lift my head at the voice, but it takes several long seconds before I register Tyler standing directly in front of me.
“What?” I spit out, disoriented and a bit caught off guard.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he repeats, slower this time.
“I’m not doing anything.” I take a deep breath and force myself to stand straighter.
“No? Because it seems to me like you’re trying to weasel your way back into a life you no longer belong in.”
“Seems to me like you’re trying to act like you have a fucking clue what’s going on when in reality you don’t know shit.”
“I know you nearly broke her when you left. What? You think you’d come back and finish the job this time?” He steps toward me and it takes every ounce of will power I can muster not to lay him flat on his ass when he does.
“Back the fuck up,” I warn, balling my fists at my sides. I feel the pull of the stitches in my injured hand but my adrenaline is pumping so hard I barely notice the twinge of pain that shoots up my arm.
“Or what? You gonna put me in a hospital bed next?”
“I didn’t...” I start, floored that he would imply I’m the reason B is laying in that bed right now.
“But you did,” he cuts me off before I can defend myself. “If you hadn’t pressed her, if you hadn’t insisted she go with you, guilted her into it, she would be home right now. Safe and out of harm’s way.”
I pause, taken aback by his accusation and also trying to figure out how he seems to know so much when I was under the impression Blakely hadn’t told him we were hanging out.
“Safe with you?” I give him a hard once over. “Safe in a boring, predictable life with her second choice?”
“Fuck you.” Tyler shoves me hard against the wall. Before I can recover, Allison steps between us, seeming to appear out of thin air. “You just can’t handle the fact that she didn’t wait for you. That she found a real man who can make her happy. Who won’t run away when things get hard.”
“Tyler, stop.” Allison presses her hands to his chest, guiding him backward.
“I’m going to give you one chance to walk away. Keep running your mouth and I’ll be forced to shut it for you,” I warn, fully prepared to act on the threat.
“Stop it.” Allison keeps one hand pressed against Tyler, turning to hold the other one out in an effort to keep me from closing in. “Both of you just stop.” Her gaze bounces between the two of us.
“You told him I guilted Blakely into going with me?” I turn my anger on her, my frazzled mind finally starting to piece it together.
“That’s not what I said,” she stutters.
“You told me she didn’t want to go with him,” Tyler cuts in.
“I told you that she was torn about going with him. Not that she was forced,” she argues back. “Don’t twist my words to use for your benefit.”
“Whose side are you on anyway?” He draws back like she’s physically slapped him.
“I’m on Blakely’s side. And right now that means telling you two that if
you’re going to insist on behaving like teenagers, then you need to leave. This is the last thing she needs right now.” She drops both hands and gestures toward B’s hospital room.
Tyler instantly takes a full step back and holds his hands up in surrender. As much as I want to smash his fucking face in right now, I have to respect how quickly he’s willing to bow out for B’s sake. It’s clear to see she means a lot to him, which is what this whole pissing match was about. He finds me a threat to his relationship, and truthfully he should.
“You need to leave,” he tells me, making his way toward Blakely’s door.
“I’ll leave when I’m damn well ready to,” I call back, watching him disappear into her room moments later.
“What the hell are you doing?” Allison starts in on me as soon as the door snaps shut behind him.
“Me? He’s the one that started it.”
“What are you, ten? It doesn’t matter who started it. You finish it.”
“I was about to.”
“Yeah, because throwing down with her fiancé in the middle of a hospital is really the way to win her back.”
“Again, he came at me.”
“Because he’s scared.” She throws her hands up in frustration. “He got a call that his future wife was in a car accident and was unconscious. He shows up here to find out that she was in the car with you when it happened. How the hell do you expect him to react?”
“Look, it’s clear that you like the guy.” I try a softer approach. “But let me make something very clear, I don’t really care how he feels. He is what stands between me and Blakely. At this point, I would be more than happy to forcefully remove the road block.”
“Would you listen to yourself?” She shakes her head. “Blakely loves him, and if you love her as much as you claim to you’ll back off.”
“Me?”
“You. You are the outsider here, Asher. You are the one pushing your way in. You are the one creating all these problems. Not Tyler. You. For everyone’s sake, just go home.”
“You don’t get it.”
“No, you don’t get it. You’ve made your position known. Now give her some space to figure things out.”
“You mean back away and watch her marry another man. I can’t do that, Allison.”
“Well you may not have a choice.” She crosses her arms in front of her chest.
“I love her.” The statement comes out almost desperate.
“I know you do. And I know that she loves you. But all of this, fighting with Tyler, it’s only going to make things harder for her. Please. Just go home. I’ll call you the minute she wakes up,” she promises.
“She’s already awake,” I inform her.
“She is?” She steps back. “Did you tell the doctor?”
“No, I didn’t have a chance to before Tyler came in.”
“Jesus.” She lets out a frustrated growl. “Go home, Asher. I’ll go let the doctor know she’s awake and find Leslie and Brian.”
“I’ll tell Brian and Leslie. You find the doctor.”
“And then you leave,” she tells me, waiting until I nod in agreement before quickly spinning on her heel and taking off down the hall.
Chapter Twenty-two
Blakely
“You doing okay?” Tyler stands next to my bed, hovering over me like a watch dog.
“I’m sore,” I admit, finding it hard to keep my eyes open. Even though I’ve slept for nearly an entire day, I’m just so tired.
Of course that might have something to do with the doctors and nurses that were in and out of my room all night last night waking me up every hour on the hour to take my vitals and ask me weird questions that made very little sense in my tired state.
“Where is everyone?” I ask, glancing around the room. I feel like I only closed my eyes for a second.
“Mary and Allie headed home. Mary has to work today, but Allie said she’d be back later if you’re up for the company. She’s supposed to call me before she heads this way. Your mom and dad went home to shower and change. Your mom said something about stopping by the flower shop and watering some of the plants, but they should be back soon.”
“I forgot all about the shop.” I sigh heavily.
“Well, you kind of have other things on your mind.”
“Yeah, like sleep,” I say around a yawn.
“Anyway, that’s the benefit of owning your own business; you can close down when needed...” He drifts off.
“Only if you want no clientele left.”
“Florence’s has been in business for decades. I highly doubt one day is going to drive people away. Your mom already called Sheila and they’re going to handle the shop until you’re back on your feet.”
“Well that won’t be long if I have anything to say about it.”
“Says the girl who can barely keep her eyes open,” he teases.
“What time is it, anyway?” I ask, searching for the controls that adjust the bed.
“Just after three in the afternoon. You’ve slept nearly all day. The doctor should be in soon. The way he talked it sounds like they might keep you one more day, just to be safe.”
“I don’t want to stay another day.”
“I know you don’t, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. You took a pretty good hit to the head. They’re being cautious.”
“I guess.” I sigh loudly. “How do I sit this bed up?” I ask, growing frustrated that I can’t find what I’m looking for.
“Here.” Tyler reaches across me and hits a button on the panel, causing the bed to inch upward.
“That’s good,” I tell him when I’m sitting almost completely upright.
He smiles, reaching behind me to adjust my pillows. I wish I could say he’s only being sweet because I’m hurt, but the truth is he’s almost always like this. He cares for me in a way I still don’t fully understand. Like he needs to be needed in order to feel fulfilled.
“Are you hungry? Can I get you anything to eat?”
“Actually, I am a little hungry,” I admit, not able to remember the last time I ate. Maybe yesterday afternoon when I was at the beach.
Asher’s face instantly flashes through my mind and my stomach twists. I only vaguely remember him being here last night when Tyler came in. The entire encounter is such a blur, but I do remember that he and Tyler exchanged a few words before he left. Though I have no idea what those words were as I’ve been in and out since then.
Regardless, I know that Tyler and I are going to need to sit down and discuss Asher. Though as of right now he seems perfectly content avoiding the topic all together. Which I have to admit works for me. I’m not in the right mental state to have a real conversation, especially with all the pain meds they’ve been feeding me.
“I’ll run down to the cafeteria and get you something. Anything in particular sound good?”
“Not really. I guess maybe just a sandwich or something.” I shrug. “Oh, and a sweet tea if they have it,” I quickly add.
“Sandwich and a sweet tea coming right up.” He leans forward and drops a kiss to my forehead.
“Hey, Ty?” I call after him just as he reaches the door.
“Yeah?”
“Do you know where my phone is?” I look around, not seeing any of my personal items.
“Actually, no. It wasn’t with your stuff. I’m assuming it got lost during the accident. I’ll see about getting you a new one once we’re home.”
“Okay.” I nod, watching him disappear into the hallway moments later.
I’ve barely had time to adjust in bed when the door swings open again. I look up, expecting to see Tyler. Instead, I’m completely thrown when I see it’s Asher who quickly steps into the room and shuts the door behind him.
“I thought he would never leave.” He shakes his head, turning back toward me.
“Asher... What. What are you doing here?” I stutter out.
“I had to see you.” He rushes to my bedside, allowing me to get my first rea
l look at him since the accident.
He’s got a deep purple knot on the right side of his forehead and a couple scrapes on his cheek. I also notice a bandage wrapped around his hand.
“You shouldn’t be here.” I sit up straighter, cringing when I put even the slightest pressure on my left hand which is wrapped halfway up my forearm in a cast.
“I had to see you,” he repeats. “Your mom said you were doing okay, but I couldn’t go home until I could see it for myself.”
“Couldn’t go home? You mean you’ve been here all night?”
“I slept in the waiting room,” he confirms. This news causes my heart to flip inside my chest.
“Asher,” I start, but he quickly cuts me off.
“I’m so sorry, B.” He reaches out and slides the back of his fingers gently down my cheek.
“I’m the one that should be sorry. It was my fault. I was going too fast and took my eyes off the road.”
“Only after I gave you a hard time about how slow you were driving.”
“Don’t do that. Don’t try to spin this so that you can burden the guilt. This is on me. My punishment.”
“Your punishment?” He seems confused by my statement.
“It’s what I deserve, isn’t it? I knew I was playing with fire by being out with you. I knew it was wrong. That it wasn’t fair to Tyler. Yet I did it anyway. Maybe it was the universe’s way of knocking some sense into me.”
“You can’t believe that.” He reaches for my hand but I pull it away before he can touch me.
“I don’t know what I believe.”
“It was an accident. Accidents happen every single day. They don’t have to have some profound meaning. It just is what it is.”
“I can’t do this anymore, Asher,” I blurt.
“Can’t do what?”
Love Me Like You Won't Let Go Page 15