Page 59 of Always Choosing You

Everything, she thought. Because she finally realized that Tyler was everything to her. He always had been.

She grumbled a thank-you to Calvin and hung up the phone, taking a few calming breaths before driving back to Misty Bay. She didn’t bother turning on any lights when she walked through the door. She sat down on the couch and watched the Chapman house through the window, waiting for them to get home.

It was sometime past midnight when she drifted off to sleep, both houses still blanketed in darkness.

* * *

“Sweetie?”

Rory felt herself being gently shaken awake, a warm hand steady on her shoulder. She blinked her eyes open, the kitchen light now turned on. She glanced at the clock on the microwave. It was 1:26 in the morning.

She bolted upright, glancing next door. Their car was parked out front. She looked up to Tyler’s room, noticing his lamp was on.

“Rory, sweetie, what’s going on?” Gabi asked. “Why aren’t you in bed?”

She stood up abruptly, heading for the back door. “Tyler, he was hurt at the game. I have to go see if he’s okay.”

“It’s one in the morning,” Gabi said, chasing after her daughter. “That’s probably not wise—no, Rory—”

Rory didn’t obey as she slid the door open, racing down the steps and over to the Chapman house. She found Mrs. Chapman in the kitchen, one arm hugging her stomach, the other clutching her cell phone to her ear.

Rory knocked on the window, and Mrs. Chapman smiled slightly, telling whoever was on the phone to hold on as she slid open the door. “His father is putting him in bed.”

“Is he okay?” Rory asked through tears. “Can he walk?”

“Not right now, no,” Mrs. Chapman explained. “But the doctors said he didn’t break anything. It sounds like some kind of nasty sprain.”

“Can I see him?” She knew it was a long shot, but she was desperate. She couldn’t fathom the idea of him hurt.

Mrs. Chapman placed her hands on Rory’s shoulders, rubbing her thumbs back and forth reassuringly. “It’s probably not a good idea right now. He’s in really rough shape.”

Rory couldn’t see Mrs. Chapman through the tears pooling in her eyes. She caught the familiar scent of Gabi’s lavender hand lotion as she hooked an arm through Rory’s and thanked Mrs. Chapman. Rory didn’t fight Gabi as she led her home and guided her up the stairs to her room, tucking her into bed like she used to.

Rory sat up as soon as Gabi closed the door, looking out her window to Tyler’s room, and watched as Mr. Chapman flicked off his bedside lamp. She dug for her phone in her sweatshirt pocket and dialed his number.

One ring. Two rings. Three.

Her heart pounded in her chest. Just answer. Please answer.

“Ry?”

His voice was hoarse. He was crying.

“Ty, I’m so sorry,” she blubbered. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not okay. We lost. Everything is ruined. And…and you weren’t there.”

“Yes, I was,” she whispered. “I was, I was.”

“But not when I needed you,” he stammered. “I was on the grass and I looked up in the stands and I…I couldn’t find you.”

“I know,” she cried, her words thick in her throat. “I’m sorry. I screwed up. I shouldn’t have left.”

He was now sobbing into the phone, sounding more broken than ever. She wished she could crawl into bed with him and hold him close, tell him how sorry she was, how she knew she’d screwed up, that she wanted to make everything better for him.

“Please, I’m-I’m the worst,” she admitted. “I was selfish and hurt. I should have been there for you.”

His crying slowed for a moment. “I can’t do this right now. I-I need to sleep.”