Page 12 of It's Always Been You

“Don’t hang up,” she pleads in alarm.

“I won’t,” I soothe. “Stay with me and I’ll place a second call.”

I tap on the location Riley sent me and see that it’ll take me twenty minutes to get there. Twenty minutes too long.

I pull out of the parking lot while calling 9-1-1 and give them Riley’s details. After I’m reassured they are sending an ambulance her way, I cut the call and focus on Riley again. “Are you still with me, Sunshine?”

“Y-yes.” Her voice is so tiny, so scared.

“Talk to me. Are you putting pressure on his wound? Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“Yes, I’m putting pressure.”

“You didn’t answer my second question, Riley. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I have a gash on my forehead, but it stopped bleeding a long time ago.” I hear her sniffling, but she’s not hyperventilating anymore. So I take that as a good sign. “Grayson is the one who is…h-hurt. H-he saved me, Colton.”

He saved her…

I’m grateful Grayson was with her when she needed him, but I don’t know why my chest aches at the thought.

I spend the rest of my drive to Riley in silence, while only listening to her muffled, choked cries. I break all possible traffic laws to get to her, and I do it in under fifteen minutes.

When I find Riley, I see her in the middle of the road. Holding Grayson’s head on her lap. I see a silver car flipped on the side of the road and another one a few feet away from them, with a limp body next to it.

“Riley,” I call out in urgency.

Her head snaps up, her gaze landing on mine. I know the moment she sees me because I watch her shoulders slump as if all strength has left her.

Her chin wobbles, and she lets out a choked sob. And then I hear my name on her lips.

“Colton.”

It fucking hurts — seeing her like this. My heart burns at the sight of her, looking so scared, so fragile.

I hear the sirens in the distance, but I can only focus on my girl. She calls out my name again, almost desperately, as I approach her. She’s shaking, her fear and distress palpable.

I take two big steps forward, dropping down to kneel beside her. “I got you, Sunshine. It’s okay.”

“He’s hurt,” she whispers weakly.

Grayson’s swollen face is almost unrecognizable. It looks like someone took a baseball bat and bashed his face in at least a few times. And he’s covered in blood, so much that it’s soaking the ground. I don’t know how anyone can bleed this much and still be alive. Shit!

I watch his chest closely, looking for any signs of life. It rises and falls, his breathing slow and labored. He’s alive, for now. That’s all that matters until the paramedics get here.

I return my focus to Riley.

Cupping her tearstained face, I gently tuck her messy blonde hair behind her ears. I don’t have a chance to respond when I hear voices from behind me. From the corner of my eyes, I see the paramedics piling out from the ambulances as they rush over to where we are. Riley lets out a wounded sob as someone lifts Grayson away from her lap and she falls back into my arms.

Riley buries her face into my chest. “He can’t die, Colton. What if he dies?”

“He’s not going to die,” I soothe while holding her in my arms. My lips brush against her temple, placing a tender kiss there. “Grayson is a tough guy.”

I pray those words are not a lie. I may not like Grayson, but aside from him breaking Riley’s heart, he’s a good man from a good family. He doesn’t deserve to die.

But I need to know what the fuck happened here. I need to know who hurt my girl and why.

A female paramedic gently approaches Riley. “Miss, I need to check your wounds. I see a nasty gash on your forehead. Where else are you hurt?” Her sympathetic gaze briefly meets mine. “Sir, I need to take a look at her.”

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