Riley
I have a hard time keeping my eyes open after that. My mom is quiet as I kind of drift in and out of sleep. At one point, I hear the door close softly. I figure it’s my dad coming to check with my mom before he leaves, so I don’t open my eyes. But I hearhisvoice. “How is she?”
My eyes pop open, and I turn my head to see a shirtless Reid standing next to the bed. The way he’s turned slightly to face my mom gives me a view of a little bit of his back. “Reid,” I cry out hoarsely. He immediately turns towards me. “Your back,” I whisper in horror as tears form in my eyes.
“Hey,” he says gently, sitting down carefully on the bed next to me. He takes my hand in his, the one not hooked up to the IV. “It looks worse than it is.” I don’t believe that for a minute and tell him as much. He gives me an easy smile. “You don’t have to believe it; it’s true.” His hand cups my face, and he leans forward. “How are you? How’s your pain?” I don’t miss the way he scans my body, lingering on the areas where I was injured. His eyes darken.
“It looks worse than it is,” I say, throwing his own words back at him. He doesn’t look amused.
“Are you in pain?” he asks in a low growl.
I meet his gaze. “Probably as much pain as you’re in.” I stare him down, knowing he’s between a rock and a hard place. If he admits he’s in pain, I’m going to be worried. If he says he’s not in pain, then it makes it look like I’m not in pain. I glance over and realize my mom is gone. I appreciate the privacy for at leasta few minutes. “How did you get in here? My mom said there’s a security guard outside your door.”
He scowls. “There is; that’s why I didn’t come sooner.”
“How did you get past him?”
“Your dad said I had a few minutes. I don’t know what he said or did, but when I stepped out of my room, the guard was gone.”
Thank you,I send to my dad.
“Are you sure you’re okay, Ry?” he asks, leaning forward.
“I am, thanks to you.” Guilt swarms me. “I’m so sorry. What happened to your back is my fault.”
“No, it’s not. Nothing that happened is your fault,” he argues.
“Yeah, but if I hadn’t been injured, you wouldn’t have had to protect me, and you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
“Stop.” His voice has a command to it. He leans forward, so that we’re almost eye to eye. “You are my mate, and I will protect you with my dying breath if it comes to that, no matter the cost to myself.”
I stare into his gorgeous chocolate brown eyes, and I reach out to touch his cheek. I can’t not touch him. “Thank you.” My words are soft, but I know he hears them.
He glances at the bed. “Will it hurt you if I lay next to you for a few minutes? I just need to hold you for a little bit.”
I’m already moving. It’s a tight squeeze because it’s a small bed, but he puts the sides of the bed down, so at least there’s that. He wraps his arms around me very carefully, and I lean against him. “Is this okay?” I ask softly. “Does this hurt your back?”
“It wouldn’t matter if it did; but no, it doesn’t hurt my back.”
I lay my head against his chest where I can hear his heart beating, reassuring me that he’s alive; he’s okay. I put my hand over his heart and just leave it there. “I’m so glad you’re okay; I was so scared,” I whisper to him. He's the only one I’ve confessed that to, but I’ve never been more scared than I was tonight.“I thought we were going to die,” I continue in a whisper. The words are a struggle to get out.
“I know.” He kisses my temple. “I’m so sorry.” He kisses my temple again.
I struggle to get my thoughts together, to say what I want to say. “When I thought we weren’t going to make it,” I pause and try not to get overly emotional. I feel so out of sorts from everything that's happened. I’m not usually emotional, but I am right now.
“What is it, Love?” he asks softly. His term of endearment only makes it harder, and I swallow hard, battling against the emotion threatening to choke me.
“All I could think is that I let too many years pass being mad at you.” He stills against me. “When you shut me out of your life, it hurt. One day, you were my best friend, the next; you were a stranger. I know we’ve already talked about this, and I know why. But I spent so many years mad at you, and I couldn’t stop thinking about that. What if—” I can’t bring myself to say the words.
“Hey.” He puts his hands on either side of my face. “We’re not going to dwell on the past, Ry, not when we have the future to look forward to together. It’s a fresh slate between us.”
I take in his words and feel a weight fall off my chest, a weight I hadn’t realized was there until tonight. “I love you, Reid,” I tell him simply. “I always have.”
His eyes bore into mine. “I love you too, Ry. You've always been my girl, even before I knew you were my mate.” The heat of his body warms mine, and I feel myself starting to fade. He kisses my forehead. “Rest now.”
When I open my eyes sometime later, Reid is gone; and so is my mom. My brother now sits in the chair next to mine. As if he feels my stare, his eyes snap to mine. “Riley.” He leans forward. “How are you feeling?”
I wonder how many times I’m going to get asked that in the days to come. “I’m okay.”
