I can tell those words affect Bastian. His expression changes. “I love her too,” he says quietly.
Security guards flood the room, shouting. They stand up both Bastian and Brian, place them in handcuffs, and then march them out of the room. I limp after them down the hall, my head swimming.
I see Lexi step out of a bathroom. Her eyes widen as she takes in the sight of both guys being led into the security office. Craving a shoulder to lean on, I slow down and let her catch up to me.
“What happened?” she asks.
“Brian showed up.”
I expect her to look surprised but she doesn’t. Come to think of it, didn’t Brian come in just after Lexi left the room? She must’ve seen him. “Why didn’t you warn me?”
Lexi tilts her head. “Excuse me?”
“I could’ve prevented Brian walking in on us if you’d warned me he was coming. My room is at the end of the hall. You would’ve had to pass him on your way out here.”
Lexi stops walking and so do I. She looks me in the eyes and says, “So what if I did?”
My jaw drops. “Lex.”
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out your fiancé is probably gonna show up after a car wreck puts you in the hospital. How dumb can you be?”
Lexi and I have had exactly two real arguments and we’ve been friends since elementary school. That’s why this sudden hostility catches me so completely off guard. I think back to her awkwardness when she arrived with Bastian. “Are you mad at me or something?”
“God Aspen. You’re so clueless. You’ve always had it so easy, everyone making your decisions for you. You don’t even think!”
I just look at her. “What in the world is your problem?”
“My problem is that you don’t deserve a guy like Sebastian. You wanna know the reason we’re here right now?” She jabs her finger into my chest. “It’s because you didn’t leave with him when you had the chance. You put pleasing your idiot father and Brian before the guy who is dying, Aspen. Who loves you enough to spend whatever time he has left with a spoiled, weak, pitiful human being like you. All of this, it’s your fault.”
I just stand there, staring. Lexi’s words splash over me like ice water. It feels like I’ve just been kicked in the stomach.
Lexi shakes her head and leans in close. “And that’s why he kissed me.”
Sebastian
Brian and I sit on opposite sides of a wide office—the walls are covered in little screens showing security footage from all over the hospital.
We’re both in handcuffs. Much as I wanna hate the guy, I don’t. If I was two days away from making Aspen mine for the rest of my life and some guy threatened that, hell I’d wanna bash his face in too.
I’m well aware that I’m wrong for showing up here like this. But I love that brown-eyed girl; I feel her down in my soul. Always have. The doctors made it clear that I’ve only got a little time left.
I’m gonna spend it with the one person that makes me happy. The one person I’ve got left.
I lean my head back and let my eyes drift up to the ceiling. This ain’t exactly how I’d hoped things would turn out. If I end up getting arrested, what then?
A man in a suit comes knocks on the door. The security guard can’t get out of his chair fast enough to let him in.
Once inside, the man in the suit goes over to Brian and holds a phone up to his face. I can’t hear what's being said, but Brian keeps nodding. After the phone call is over, the man in the suit says something to the security guard, who promptly goes over and removes Brian’s handcuffs.
Brian stands up, rubbing his wrists and immediately comes over to where I’m sitting. “My father owns a portion of the company that owns this hospital. So naturally, they’ve decided not to press charges. One of the many benefits of having a successful father.” He crouches down beside me. “I understand that you have a bit of a health situation. Your cancer is terminal if my information is correct. Now that i know that, i can understand why you'd show up here like you did. But you can't let whatever past you guys had destroy Aspen's future. Once you're dead and buried, what then? Is Aspen supposed to just stop living? Be smart about this. And besides, do you really want to spend whatever time you have left in a jail cell? Because that’s what you’re looking at right now.”
“What are you saying?” I ask. Even though I know exactly what he’s saying.
“I’m saying your charges could disappear too if we could come to an agreement about Aspen. You agree to go away and the hospital won’t press charges. Simple as that.”
“And if I said to hell with you and your rich daddy?” I say, and stand up. “There’s nothing you threaten me with that’s gonna make me give her up.”
He stands up too.
That’s when the pain starts, like firecrackers going off inside my skull. Black spots freckle my vision and I stumble and fall.
Everything goes black.
***
My eyes open and everything’s blurry. There’s pressure against my back so I know I’m laying down. There’s lot of beeping. Beeps I’m familiar with. I'd know them anywhere.
I’m in a hospital room.
A hands strokes my face and I reach up to grab it. The hand is soft and small and I try to tell Aspen I appreciate her being here.
“Shh, don’t try to talk,” she whispers.
I flinch. That’s not Aspen’s voice. It’s Lexi’s.
Chapter Seven
Start from the beginning
