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He ignored my words, cupping my cheek and brushing my tears away with his thumb. “I thought you were done fighting for me. You have every reason to be. But you’re here. Fuck, I’m so sorry, Piper. I should’ve told you.”
I nodded and leaned into his hand. His eyes landed on where we were connected and widened with what looked like awe. “I can’t say I’m exactly happy with how you handled things, but I think I understand.” I took a deep breath. “I really needed you, and turns out I never completely lost you. It’s sweet in its own messed-up way. It took me a bit to understand all the things you did, but honestly, my heart just breaks that you blame yourself.”
His jaw clenched before he said, “Piper, I know you don’t think so, but I was why he charged off.”
I cut him off, needing him to understand how wrong he was. “I was on the phone with him, and Lucas, it wasn’t your fault. You were his brother, and he just needed to calm down. He understood—he just didn’t see the car. It was an accident.”
Lucas sucked in a shuddering breath and dropped his forehead to mine. “I’m so fucking sorry. I never should have left you like that. It wasn’t just guilt that I caused Marcus’s crash… I was terrified if you knew, you’d hate me. I can live through a lot of things, but I couldn’t live through that.”
He lifted his head, and whiskey eyes met mine. “The grief app… I went looking for you, and when I saw your username, KillerB, I couldn’t stop myself from reaching out. It didn’t take long until I was sure it was you. I know it’s fucked-up, and I should have told you sooner. The things you said, I couldn’t stand knowing you were alone. That not even your parents could help you through. It was the only way I could think of to be there for you.”
“You could’ve stayed. I needed you to stay.” I swallowed hard, finally saying it out loud.
“I’m a fucking idiot.”
I smiled at that, and he bored his gaze into mine, waiting until the moment went back to being serious. “I will regret not staying for the rest of my life. I’m done making decisions for you. I thought I lost you this time. Never again. I can’t promise I won’t fuck up, but I’ll promise to never keep it from you.”
I covered his hands with my own and forced him to look at me. “Listen, we’re going to fight—that’s just a part of us, but we will always be together. We will always be worth fighting for. You will always be worth fighting for.”
“Fuck, I love you.” His mouth crashed onto mine, and I hummed at the back of my throat as he swept his tongue against mine.
We jerked apart when someone cleared their throat loudly. “I’m glad to see you’re awake, but I’m going to have to run some tests now.” The nurse from earlier smiled at us, and I could feel my cheeks turning crimson.
I pushed the chair back and moved toward the corner of the room, not wanting to be in the way but also not willing to leave.
She let us know the doctor would be in shortly, and the guys entered the second she left. Jax came in first and immediately wrapped Lucas in a hug. “Thank fuck, man. I’ll fucking kill you if you do that to me again.”
“I’ll try not to take an illegal check to the back next time.” Lucas huffed out a laugh, but Jax turned serious.
“I should’ve been there to stop it.”
“Fuck off. It wasn’t even your shift.” Lucas pushed Jax away with a friendly shove, and both friends smiled at each other. “I’m fine. Probably head home tonight.”
The doctor walked in, holding a clipboard. “Mr. Knight, you won’t be going anywhere tonight. You took a severe hit to the head and have a concussion. Although your alertness and speech pattern are all a good sign; I’ve got you booked in for a CT in a few hours. If it’s clear in the morning, you can head home. Now, I hate to do this to all of you, but visiting hours are over, and I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Alex and River both said something quietly to Lucas that I didn’t make out before leaving, quickly followed by Jax. I stepped up to the side of the bed and squeaked when Lucas pulled me onto it, and I landed with my hands on his chest. He leaned up and kissed me breathless before settling back. “I’ll see you in the morning, babe. Keep the boys out of trouble.”
Alex, River, and Jax ended up having to take the bus home that night. I was pretty sure Misty lost her mind when the coach said she could catch a ride so I could keep the car with me. I stayed in the waiting room the rest of the night, only catching a few minutes of sleep here and there before a nurse came and rested her hand on my shoulder, and my eyes snapped open.
A lady in her late fifties smiled down at me. “You can go in now.”
She laughed when I flew from my seat and headed straight to Lucas. He was already awake, grimacing at the green Jell-O he was trying to swallow. It wasn’t until I saw him that the exhaustion of the last twenty-four hours hit. It must’ve been written all over my face because he tugged me into his side until I was laid on the bed, half on top of him. He slid his hand down my back and cupped my waist. “Aren’t I the one who’s supposed to look near death?”
I stiffened at his joke. “Not funny.”
He kissed my head and tucked me closer. “Get some rest. I’m taking you home today.”
THIRTY-FOUR
LUCAS
Piper walkedthrough the front door with a wide smile and a brown paper bag that was nearly the size of her torso. “I thought we’d have tortellini tonight.”
My eyes roamed over her sundress–puffer jacket combo, and I smiled. She’d left her gold hair down around her shoulders, and it haloed her face. “Sounds delicious.”
I set down the book I’d been reading—there were dragon riders, challenges, and fights to the death. Super badass—and met her in the kitchen. I grabbed the bag and tugged her closer until her lips were on mine. She made soft, needy sounds as I trailed my free hand lower on her spine and pressed her hips against me. I broke the kiss and rested my forehead against hers. “I missed you.”
“I’ve only been gone a few hours,” she said with a breathy laugh.
