Page 65 of Evading Fate

“You and I both know that we’re right together. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before in my life, and I know that I’ll never find anyone else that I love as much as you.” I lift my head and look up, willing her to open her eyes but she remains motionless. This awful twisting feeling in my gut isn’t going to go away until she’s back with me again. Fighting my emotions, I stand and lean in, pressing the gentlest kiss against her lips.

I sit back down and press her hand to my lips as I close my eyes and fight back tears as I think about everyone I’ve lost in my life. I can’t lose her, too. I was building a future with her. Or I wanted to, at least.

“I need you, baby. You gotta hear me. I can’t do this without you. You have to come back to me. I’ll wait forever.”

* * * *

“Trey,” someone whispers, and I bolt up, looking around the room in bewilderment. I finally focus on Mom who smiles at me and nods to Addy. “How’s she doing?”

I look over at my girl and sigh. “Same.”

It was a long night last night between nurses coming in to check on her and taking her away for the CT scan. They’ve been doing them every twelve hours, and we haven’t heard from the doctor yet but she’s getting better. I have to believe that, otherwise, I’ll lose my goddamn mind.

“Why don’t you go get some sleep? Or a cup of coffee.”

I shake my head, holding Addy’s hand a little tighter. “I’m not leaving her.”

Mom’s smile is blinding, and she looks to the chair pushed up against the wall behind me. “Mind if I sit?”

“Nope.”

I watch her as she crosses the room and moves the chair closer to the bed so I don’t have to contort my body to talk to her. When she sits down, she looks up and studies me for a second. “Why doesn’t anyone know about the two of you? And I swear to God, Trey Andrew Harrington, if this is another Tucker and Daisy situation, I will drag both you and your brother outside by your ears and beat the shit out of you.”

I cough out a laugh and shake my head. “Jesus Christ, Mom. Sometimes I forget that Dad is the nice one out of the two of you.”

She shrugs, looking as innocent as ever even though she’s really a tyrant. Although, I suppose you’d have to be to raise Tucker, Emma, and I. Strong-willed is an understatement.

“It’s not like that. There’s something going on with her, and she didn’t want anyone to know yet. We haven’t even really defined our relationship,” I add, and she nods slowly, looking lost in thought.

“You think it has anything to do with why I can’t find her mama anywhere?”

“Yes.”

She sighs and turns, looking out the window as the sun starts to rise outside. “Addy is a lot more closed off than people realize. When she was little, she was this bubbly girl who told you exactly how she was feeling but when her daddy was killed, I watched her fold in on herself. Neither her or her mom ever recovered but the difference is that Addy put on this façade, and everyone bought it.”

“Except you,” I point out, and she nods.

“Yes, except me. Do you think she loves you?”

I shrug. I’d love to say yes but the truth is, I’m still not sure. “I don’t know.”

“You know,” she says, a smile forming on her face, “I went home last night after our talk and I thought about that brunch you two showed up to together, and the both of you were practically glowing you looked so happy. I don’t know why it took me so long to see it. I’m usually much more observant.”

I laugh and nod. “Oh, that I know.”

When Tucker and I were teenagers, Mom had eyes like a hawk. Each time we thought we were gonna get away with something, she would bust us, and we would get in huge trouble. She’s so good that I began to wonder if any time we did get away with something, she was actually behind it.

“My point is that I think she does love you even if she’s scared to admit it.”

“We’ll see,” I muse, looking up at Addy again, who even covered in bruises looks like an angel. I can’t stop myself from reaching up and brushing my thumb gently over her cheek, careful not to hurt her. When I look back at Mom, she’s smiling softly with tears in her eyes. Blinking them away, she stands and brushes her hands down her pants.

“Well, I’m gonna go and grab some coffee. Want me to bring you some?”

“Yeah, that’d be great, Mom. Thank you.”

Leaning down, she kisses the top of my head and nods. “Of course, sweetie.”

She leaves the room but forgets to pull the curtain closed behind her, and I do a double take of the man standing in the hallway. Kyle’s leaning up against the wall, his hands shoved in his pockets as he looks down at the linoleum floor. My jaw ticks as I look over at Addy, wondering what the hell he’s doing here.

I swear to God, I’m gonna set this dude straight right now. There is no room for him in this equation, and he needs to know that Addy will never be his. Just as I’m going to stand up, he pulls a box out of his pocket, and my whole world spins.

What the fuck?

He opens the little velvet box and stares down at its contents, which I can only assume is a diamond fucking ring. What the hell has Addy been telling him to make him think this is a good idea? She wouldn’t say yes, would she? My gut twists, and my heart constricts as I look over at my girl again, wondering if she was ever really mine.

This feeling of uncertainty inside me brings back unpleasant memories that I thought I’d outgrown long ago. I met my first girlfriend, Jules, in the beginning of our sophomore year. She was so pretty and had this addicting bubbly personality that drew me in right away. I became attached much more quickly than she did, and after two months, she dumped me for being too clingy. The trend continued with my second girlfriend, Lily, and my third and fourth. As a grown man, I can admit that I did move too fast. I was searching for a connection that I didn’t think I had anywhere else. I was an angry kid whose mom had just died, and I thought I was completely alone in the world. I just wanted someone, and I thought a girlfriend was the answer to my problems.

But I thought Addy and I were different. No, fuck that. I know we’re different. The way she looks at me and the way her eyes light up when she looks at me, you can’t fake that shit. So, what the hell is Kyle doing in the hallway with an engagement ring? Seeing him makes me question everything, and I fucking hate it.

There’s a fucking war going on in my head as I sit at her bedside, my knee bouncing like crazy. There’s a part of me, a very large part, that would love to go out there and break his nose but I still have to wonder if Addy wants him here. I shouldn’t care. But I do. And if he’s who she really wants, I love her enough to let her go.