Falling For Ryan: Part Two

by Tracy Lorraine

  “So, that’s Caleb, huh?” Jax still looks completely confused. “I’m sorry to ask, but how does she go from me to him?” He asks, pointing in the direction he just left. “I mean, we’re like night and day.”

  Jax is right. To say I was a little surprised when I met him for the first time a few days ago would be an understatement. “Abbi doesn’t look at him like she does you. Plus,” I drop my voice to a whisper because Ryan got a little mad when I made this suggestion to him. “I get some serious gay vibes off him.”

  Jax goes to reply but is stopped by the appearance of Liv and Beth. They come straight over and Liv introduces him to Beth. They both look amazing. Liv is wearing a turquoise prom dress and Beth has on a red cocktail dress with glittery heels.

  Once Jax has said his hellos, his eyes immediately go to the door, waiting for the last two people to appear from downstairs. He doesn’t have to wait long, because in a matter of seconds, Caleb walks through the door with Abbi’s hand in his. Jax groans in pain as his eyes run up and down her body, clad in a fitted red floor-length dress. It shows off all her sexy curves to perfection. Her blonde hair has been curled, then piled on top of her head. Her eye makeup is dark and her lips as red as her dress.

  “Sweet mother of Jesus. Is she trying to torture me?” Jax mutters.

  Her eyes latch on to his the instant she walks in the room, as if she knew exactly where he was standing. She gives him a onceover before nodding slightly and walking over to talk to her sister and Beth, who are waiting in the corner of the room with drinks for them.

  I turn to Jax and take in his deer -in-the-headlights look. “Are you okay?” I ask tentatively.

  “I…uh…need something stronger than his beer.”

  “Coming right up,” Ryan says from behind us, making us jump. He must have been watching the show, too.

  Thankfully, Chris and Shane are the next to arrive, and they immediately distract Jax with their stupid stories, which I’m grateful for.

  “How’s he doing?” Ryan asks once I’ve managed to get away from Jax.

  “I think he’s pretty much in hell. I mean, you’ve seen your sister, right?”

  “Yeah. When exactly did my little sister turn into…well…that?”

  “I’m sorry, Ry, but your sister’s hot. Just be grateful we’re not going out tonight, because she’d have guys lining up for her.” I feel a little bad for saying it when he groans. “Sorry,” I wince. I’m only telling the truth.

  “Angel, you look beautiful. Did you both have a good time in Liverpool?” Susan asks as she passes me a huge bunch of flowers and a bottle of champagne to celebrate the New Year, followed by hugs from Pete and Emma.

  “It was brilliant, thank you. You look lovely as well. Drink?” I ask.

  “Don’t be silly, I’ll sort us out. You enjoy yourself.” With that, I’m shooed out of the way and Susan takes over the kitchen. She just can’t help herself.

  Behind Susan and Pete are Lilly and her roommate, Taylor. They met at uni and now live together in the flat Susan and Pete organised for them. Taylor’s lovely; he’s also hilarious. He can have an entire room laughing in seconds with his stories.

  Half an hour later, all our guest are here. Our living area is packed and everyone’s chatter fills the house. My nieces and Oscar are playing on the Wii and getting in everyone’s way, but no one seems to mind. Everyone is enjoying themselves too much to pay much attention to them—well, everyone apart from Jax, who looks like he could claw his eyes out at any minute.

  It seems like Daniel has taken a shine to Beth and has her pinned in a corner—not that she looks like she wants to escape. Shane and Chris have been laughing with Taylor and Lilly very loudly, but what has caught my attention most are the looks I’ve seen pass between Taylor and Caleb. If I’m not mistaken, I would say there’s some chemistry there. I’m now surer than ever that Caleb’s gay.

  Before I know it, it’s eleven-thirty. “Ryan, can you come and help me get the champagne glasses down, please?” I ask, because they’re on the top shelf.

  I stand next to him as he passes me the glasses and I put them on the side. Unfortunately, the little bit of skin that Ryan reveals when he stretches up distracts me, and I miss the worktop entirely. The glass smashes on the tiled floor and shards shoot off in all directions. “Fuck.”

  Bending down, I to start pick bits up, but I’m stopped by Ryan. “Let me do that—you get the dustpan and brush. I don’t want you cutting yourself. Bollocks!” Just as he says this, a drop of blood hits the floor. I quickly grab the kitchen roll for him and wrap it around his finger when he stands up.

  “Hold this, I think I’ve got some plasters downstairs. Hang on.” I quickly hurry out of the room, minding the glass. I go charging though my old room and fling the bathroom door open, not thinking anything of it as I head straight for the cabinet, but I’m rooted to the spot when someone calling my name makes me look up.

  There, on the counter, is Abbi with her dress around her waist, her legs wrapped around Jax’s hips, and her heels digging into his arse. His trousers are pooled at his feet, exposing his very naked behind. They both stare at me with wide eyes and a look of horror on their faces.

  “Shit. Sorry, I wasn’t…uh…yeah,” I stutter as I head for the door. I’ve regained some of my thoughts by the time I get there. “Jax?” I shout over my shoulder.

  “Uh huh?” is all I get.

  “I never knew your tattoo went all the way down to your thigh.”

  “Fuck. Off,” he grunts.

  I quickly close the door and head back upstairs.

  “Are you okay? You look a little flushed,” Ryan asks.

  “Yeah, fine.” I would tell him the truth, but Susan and Pete are fussing around him, trying to pick up all the glass. “I couldn’t find them, sorry.”

  “I think I’ve got one in my handbag. I put it on your bed, angel, if you could grab it for me.” Susan calls from her kneeling position on the kitchen floor.

  I just turn the corner at the top of the stairs and am about to open our bedroom door when two figures catch my attention at the other end of the hall.

  I quickly jump into our bedroom before I’m seen and close it quietly behind me. “What the fuck is up with people tonight?” I mutter quietly to myself, shaking my head. First, I catch Jax and Abbi going at it downstairs, and now I’ve just found Caleb and Taylor making out like teenagers, hiding at the end of the hallway.

  I make use of our ensuite while I’m here before heading back down with Susan’s handbag. The hallway is empty when I open the door, so I hurry back to the party, aware that it’s nearly midnight.

  When I walk in the living area, the first thing I see is Caleb and Abbi laughing with each other with a glass of champagne in their hands like nothing’s happened. I search out Jax to find him with Shane and Chris again, and Taylor’s whispering in Lilly’s ear. I wonder if he’s giving her the details of his little rendezvous.

  “Molly,” Ryan shouts, getting my attention. I hurry over, passing Susan her bag in the process. “Are you okay? he asks again when I’m closer.

  Checking no one is in earshot, I lean into him. “You would not believe what I have seen in the last ten minutes.” I pull back to look at him and he raises his eyebrows in question, so I continue whispering. I give him a quick rundown of the events I’ve witnessed as I wrap a plaster around his finger.

  He looks around the room to the four people I mentioned. “Are you sure? They all look pretty normal now.”

  “Yes, I’m sure…” I go to say more but everyone starts counting down. I quickly pull Ryan into the living area with everyone else, just as Big Ben chimes. I stretch up on my toes and crash my lips to his. He deepens the kiss and slides his tongue deep into my mouth, pulling my body painfully tight again his. Everything and everyone around me disappears, and the only thing I focus on is the amazing man in my arms and on my lips. He means everything to me. The past year has been hard, but out of all that pain, I’ve found some
thing that has made me happier than I have ever been in my life.

  Love, pure and simple.

  Eventually, my senses come back and I realise everyone in the room is cheering. Ryan pulls away from me, and I open my eyes to see that it is at us. My face heats and I shove it in Ryan’s chest to hide from everyone.

  “We were hoping you’d pick her up and carry her out of the room like the last time we were here,” Shane pipes up.

  “Shut up and drink your champagne!” Ryan quips, making everyone laugh and return to their previous conversations, thankfully ignoring us.

  Ryan places his fingers under my chin and forces my head up, so I look at him. “This is going to be a good year, Molly, I can feel it.”

  Ryan

  It’s been just over a week since our New Year’s Eve party. It took us a few days but we eventually got the house back in order after our guests left looking the worse for wear at some point the next day.

  Getting back to work was hard after such a brilliant two weeks off. Molly and I hadn’t spent more than a couple of hours apart since my trip to Liverpool on Christmas Eve, and it was harder than I imagined. She’s still not feeling herself—so much so she actually cancelled on Megan on Friday night for their pole dancing class.

  “Mate, I think I’m dying,” Jax says between pants.

  I look over to see him bring his treadmill to a stop and rest his head forward on his arms as he tries to catch his breath. Jax has been coming to the gym with me for a few weeks now. We’ve actually become quite good friends. He was pathetic in the first couple of weeks, but he’s starting to build up his stamina.

  “How many miles?”

  “Three!” he gasps back.

  “I’ll let that slide. You’ve spent a lot of time on the weights today,” I say to him like I would one of my students.

  “Why, thank you, Mr. Evans!”

  “I want to do a few more miles. If you want to head off, I’ll meet you in the sauna in a bit, yeah?”

  “Yeah, okay. Try not to make me look too bad.”

  Shaking my head at him, I put my speed back up. Jax walks out and I can’t help feeling a little sorry for him. I didn’t quite believe what Molly said she saw on New Year’s Eve, but the moment I looked into his eyes that night, I could see a sparkle in them. Unfortunately, Abbi blew all that to shit when she got up before anyone else the next morning and left with only a note for Jax, saying she was sorry.

  Almost an hour later, I also give up and head in the direction of the sauna. When I open the door, I see that Jax is the only one in there, sitting on the bottom bench with his head tipped back, deep in thought.

  “You okay?” I ask as I hop up onto the top bench. He lets out a huge sigh. “We really are trying to do everything we can to help.”

  “It just feels like a sinking ship.”

  I couldn’t agree more. Currently, Abbi is refusing to answer the phone to either me or Molly. She must sense what we want to say to her. I only know she’s okay because I’ve had to ask Liv.

  “Hey, Molly’s out babysitting tonight, if you want to come back for a beer?”

  “Seriously, you want to spend all your night with me? Even I know how miserable I am!”

  Jax eventually heads for home just after nine, the snow that was falling lightly when we left the gym now starting to get heavier.

  Molly’s out babysitting Oscar because it’s Megan and James’ anniversary. They promised her they wouldn’t be late, so I’m hoping to get a text from her soon to say she’s heading home. I’m already feeling anxious about her driving home as the snow’s starting to settle. That car of hers gives me nightmares as it is; I do not need snow on top of that.

  Just after ten, I get the text I’ve been waiting for. On a good day, it would take her twenty minutes, but in the snow it’s probably going to be more like forty, so I decide to head upstairs so I can be waiting for her in bed. I’m already getting tingles at the thought of her eyes darkening and her cheeks flushing when she finds me ready and waiting for her. God, I cannot get enough of her.

  I must fall asleep, because my phone ringing wakes me. I quickly sit up and see that it’s already eleven o’clock. I look to the other side of the bed—it’s empty. My heart races as the panic sets in. I grab my phone and answer it without checking the caller ID.

  “Molly?” I shout into the phone.

  “Ryan, it’s Susan. We’re two minutes away—get dressed now,” she says in a menacingly low voice.

  I pull the phone away from my ear and just stare down at it. Please, God, no, don’t let what I’m thinking be true.

  “Now, Ryan!”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Ryan

  Somehow, I manage to pull some clothes on and get out of the house. I’m standing at the front door when a taxi pulls up and Susan jumps out the back. One look at her and I know, I just know.

  My world implodes around me.

  This cannot be happening again.

  Susan pulls me from my dark thoughts, grabs my hand, and drags me towards the idling taxi. Tears are pouring down her face, but I feel like I’m in a complete trance. It’s like aliens have taken over and are controlling my body.

  This cannot be real.

  “Ryan,” I hear someone say in the distance, but I let it wash over me.

  “Ryan…Ryan.”

  A hand on my thigh brings me back around and I look at Susan’s concerned face as she studies me.

  “Ryan, I don’t know anything. I must still be Molly’s emergency contact because I had a call to tell me that she was in the hospital after a car crash.”

  I rest my head back and look up to the stars through the sunroof of the taxi, sending up silent prayers that my girl is going to be okay.

  Please, let her be okay.

  Not many minutes later, the three of us are running to the reception desk of A&E in our local hospital.

  “Molly Carter,” I say, in a much calmer voice than I am expecting. “She came in by ambulance, from a car accident.” My voice cracks at the end.

  “Her ambulance came in a while ago. Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to wait until we know what that situation is. I’ll tell the doctors she has relatives here already, so one will come and see you as soon as they can. You are relatives, yes?” the receptionist asks.

  “Uh…”

  “He’s her husband,” Susan quickly pipes up from behind me.

  “Okay, well, Mr. Carter, if you’d like to take a seat, someone will be with you shortly.”

  “It’s Evans, Ryan Evans.”

  “She hasn’t changed her name yet. It was only a few weeks ago,” Susan adds.

  We find seats for what turns out to be the most horrific wait of my life. No one comes out to say anything. We have no idea if she’s alive, although judging by the fact that no one has told us otherwise, I’d like to assume she is. I just need to know what the hell is happening.

  Eventually, the receptionist pointing over at me catches me eye, and someone I presume is a doctor walks our way.

  “Mr. Evans, I’m Dr. John. I’ve been taking care of your wife. If you’d like to follow me, I’ll explain what’s happening.”

  “Can I see her?”

  “The nurses are just getting her tidied up. They won’t be long.”

  We sit in the relatives’ room with the doctor for ten minutes while he explains that Molly suffered a major blow to the head when she crashed. She has a broken collarbone and arm that will be casted shortly, and that she’s very bruised and battered, but most of that is superficial. The only major concern is the swelling of her brain. They’re monitoring it, but it could be critical if it increases, so they may have to operate. The next twenty-four to forty-eight hours are crucial, and he keeps repeating that it’s serious. Every time he says it, my fists clench. I know how fucking serious this is; he does not need to keep telling me.

  “Can I see her, please?”

  “Yes, they should be done by now. I’m sorry,” he says, looking ov
er at Susan and Pete, “Only one visitor at a time.”

  “Ryan, you go. We’ll be here if you need us, but Molly needs you the most. Go.”

  “Follow me, Mr. Evans.” I follow the doctor through the maze of hallways until he comes to a stop outside a door. “Mr. Evans, your wife is in intensive care while we monitor her condition. You will need to buzz in here to be allowed entry in the future.” I nod my head at him and he unlocks the door. “We have her sedated at the moment while we monitor her.”

  The moment he opens the next door I see her. I practically push the doctor aside in my haste to be with her. She looks so broken, laid out on the hospital bed with wires and tubes coming from her. Tears pour down my face and the lump in my throat feels like the size of a football. I take her tiny hand in mine and pray once again for her to pull through.

  Moments later, I’m distracted by a nurse placing a chair down behind me. I turn to look at her, instantly grateful.

  She gently places her hand on my forearm and encourages me to sit down. “This must have been a terrible shock for you. You need to rest,” she says as I lower myself down.

  “You’ve got a fighter on your hands there,” she says, smiling over to Molly. “My name’s Hannah, and I’ll be your wife’s nurse for the night. If there’s anything I can get either of you, please ask.” I just about manage to hold my sob in until she walks back over to the nurses’ station. Hannah—of course. I can’t help but smile slightly.

  The doctor comes back at some point. I’ve completely lost all concept of time, so it could have been minutes or hours, I have no idea. He checks the machines before looking at her notes at the end of the bed. Once he’s happy, he pulls a chair over and sits in front of me.

  “I don’t want you to get your hopes up too much, but things seem to be looking like they’re going in the right direction. As I said earlier, these first few hours are crucial, but so far, the signs are good.” I let out a huge breath at his words. “Now, I need to ask you something.” He looks over at Molly, then back at me. The look on his face has me dreading what is going to come next. “Did you know your wife is pregnant?”