Bound

Chapter 60 - Recovery

Skylar

Ally just finished examining my side, her eyes full of concern. "Take these. It will help with the pain. And no more moving. You need to take it easy, no matter what." She casts a glance toward Chris. "I'll leave you but call me if you need anything. I'm right outside."

"She can't be moved." Ally gives Chris a pointed look as she leaves. Geez, they were treating Chris like a criminal, as if he had done this to me. This is precisely why I never went back to the doctor.

"I'm sorry, Chris. Everyone thinks it's your fault. I will set things straight as soon as I can." After everything he has done for me, the last thing I want is for him to be painted in a bad light.

"Why didn't you tell me, Skylar? I could have helped you." He speaks quietly as he approaches the bed. I sit up, shifting as he perches on the side of the bed, taking my hand in his. He seems sad and angry all at once.

"I didn't want to be even more of a burden. After everything you have done for me, helping me set up a new life in a new town. Letting me stay at your place long past the time that I should. You've done so much for me already. And I thought this would go away. I don't even really know what is happening to me."

"It doesn't matter. You should have told me. And I was too blind to see what was happening to you." He cups my cheeks gently, his face inches from mine. I hope to god he isn't going to do something stupid.

"Don't you realize how I feel for you? How I have always felt for you...I love you, Skylar." To say that I am shocked is an understatement. I know he has feelings for me, but love? That is not a feeling I reciprocate. I don't know if I would ever feel that feeling with him or anyone else. The man still in my heart was the cold-hearted prick that humiliated me earlier. There didn't appear to be room for anyone else.

His face is edging closer and closer to mine. "Don't, Chris," I say quietly, shifting my head to the side, causing his hands to drop as he moves back. "I'm sorry, but I don't feel the same way. I like you, but I don't love you. And I don't want to string you along. I care about you too much to be that cruel."

He gets up, stepping back as he turns his back to me. "It's because of him, isn't it? Dmitri. This is his fault. We should never have come to this event. We wouldn't be in this mess if he had just stayed away like he was supposed to. And maybe you would learn to love me the way I love you. This is happening because you are around him."

"I can't choose who I love, Chris. I wish I loved you, I really do, but I don't. I don't want to lie to you."

He continues standing with his back to me, our breathing being the only noise filling the silence. "I brought you some tea. Don't forget to drink it. It will make you feel better." He puts it on the table beside me, and poof, he is gone, just like that.

I would call him later once he has had time to process what I have just said. But I would definitely need to move out asap. After what happened, I couldn't continue living with him and pretending to be a couple. Now that I know how strong his feelings are and how weak mine are, it was time to find my own way. Alone.

First things first, I needed to understand what the hell was going on with my body. I couldn't carry on like this. Literally. And the cat was out of the bag, so there was no need to hide anything anymore. I just wish it had been in another setting, not Dmitri discovering my secret.

Dmitri. Thoughts of last night come tumbling forward. Savannah isn't his mate. The baby isn't his, either. He had been lied to. Tricked. This must be so difficult for him. All the deception for a whole year. He must be hurting. I mean, he lived with her for a year. There must have been some feelings there. And for the baby that he thought was his. Maybe he was excited to be a father. I could only imagine how he felt, tears welling at my imagination.