I sat on the chair beside the bed, the nurse letting Clay know to push the call button if he needed anything before leaving the room.
"So what did the doctor say? Are they keeping you for a few days?"
He nodded. "An Ortho doc is supposed to come see me in the morning. They think I might need surgery to fix the leg. They're keeping an eye on my head too, I hit those concrete stairs pretty hard. I probably cracked the cement."
I chuckled at his attempt to make a joke. "Clay, I feel terrible. Are you in pain?"
"Sweetheart, pain means you're alive. So I'll just say I'm very much alive right now, but I'm okay with that."
"Is there anything I can do for you? Do you need anything from your house?"
"Marsha is bringing a bag from my place. But there is something you can do for me."
"Of course, what do you need?"
He patted my hand. "You can start by telling me how you are."
I smiled weakly. "I'm okay."
"You haven't been at the games, and that's very unlike you. I don’t like seeing Lexi as much as I have lately. I want an honest answer, damn it."
Clay's never scolded me before.
"I'm confused. Hurt. I don't really know what to think. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the situation."
"Have you talked to him?"
I shook my head, tears coming to my eyes. "I want to, but I'm not sure exactly what to say."
Clay grabbed my hand and squeezed tightly. "It was an accident, Mel. I'm sure when Carson got behind the wheel that night, he had no intentions of hitting anyone, especially your parents. And I’m certain that he wasn’t keeping this a secret from you. I really think he had no idea that they were your parents. It’s probably a very bad memory for him that he wants to keep buried. Can’t blame him."
Tears fell to my cheeks. "I know. It just hurts. I miss them so much, and Carson took away some of that pain. He was a bright spot in my life that I desperately needed. But now he's associated with the worst day of my life. I feel like I'm supposed to hate him, but I can't. I've tried to think terrible things about him over the last week, and it's not possible. I love him so much. How sick is that? I'm in love with the man who is responsible for the accident that killed my parents."
"You listen to me right now, Melody. You met Carson for a reason, I believe that with all of my heart. I don't think it was a coincidence that Carson was there the night your parents died. I don't think it was a coincidence that his foul ball hit you. There are no coincidences in this crazy life. It's called fate. What's meant to be will be. You and Carson were meant to be together, and you know it. Otherwise, you wouldn't be having such a hard time deciding what to do. Your head is telling you to leave him because that's what one would think is the right thing to do, but your heart is telling you the truth, and that is there is no other man on this planet you will ever love the way you love Carson Lawrence. And I’m certain there is no one that will love you the way he does."
I was crying harder at his words. "You make it sound so easy."
"Because it is, Little Mel. Stop focusing on what others would think. If Carson were in front of you right now, what would you do?"
I imagined him walking through the door right now, and my heart sped up. "I would run into his arms and hug the shit out of him. I wouldn’t talk, I would just need him to hold me close."
"Then go hug the shit out of him. You need to let him tell his side. The boy is hurting just as bad, if not worse than you right now."
"You think so?"
"You haven't been watching the games, have you?"
I shook my head. “I can’t.”
"He looks tired. Defeated. Broken. Coach doesn't even have him batting right now. This is affecting his whole life too. Guilt is a miserable emotion to begin with, and having the love of your life pull away at the same time must be devastating. You’re not the only one hurting."
I wiped the tears from my face with my sleeve. "It probably sounds really selfish, but I didn't think of it that way."
"And you wouldn't because you're involved in the situation. It's always good to hear both sides from someone who isn’t involved. And that's why you need to talk to the boy. I'm not saying things will be fixed over night, but I think you both will feel a lot better afterwards."
"Wow." I chuckled.
"What?" Clay asked.
"Never did I think I'd see the day you would be taking up for Carson Lawrence."
Clay's brows pinched together as he shifted in bed. "It's the concussion talking. I'm not in the right state of mind. All this morphine and shit."
I laughed. A genuine, honest to goodness belly laugh for the first time in a week. "Uncle Clay, you’re terrible.”
His calloused hand covered mine and squeezed. "All girls become women, but not every woman becomes a lady. You, little Mel, have become a lady. Your parents would be so very proud of you."
“I love you.” I told him.
“And I love you, sweetheart.”
A light knock came to the door, the nurse coming back in. "I hate to cut the visit short, but your bed is ready upstairs, Mr. Scott."
I stood up. "No problem, he needs to get his rest anyways." I leaned down and kissed his cheek, carefully hugging him. "Thank you. I'll be back to check on you soon."
"Thank you for coming to check on me. Update me soon."
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Carson
“I should fly out to Baltimore. You’re not doing well, honey.”
My mom has called me every day, twice a day since the story leaked. She’s been just as sick over it as I have, especially when I told her that Dad was the one who sold the story.
“There’s no reason for you to cancel your girls trip, Mom. Go on your cruise, you deserve it. There’s nothing you can do here.”
Her breaths were shaky, I knew she was crying and trying to hide it. “Sweetheart, I can be there for you, that’s what mothers do. I’m not going to be able to go and have a good time knowing this is going on in your life. He promised us this would never come back up, Carson. He promised!”
I hated even more that he has upset Mom with this. “Hey, it’s alright. It happened, there’s no use in getting this upset over something that we can’t change.”
“Listen to yourself, Carson! He has ruined your relationship with a wonderful woman that loves you very much. Why aren’t you furious? You should go to the media and tell the truth. I will back you up, sweetheart.”
I pressed my fingers against my temple, hoping to relieve some of the pressure of the massive headache I’ve had for the last week. “It’s not worth it.”
The line went silent. “Mom?”
“Carson Lawrence, I can’t believe you just said that. You should be fighting tooth and nail to get that girl back.”
“I have to give her space. I’ve been getting texts from her roommate daily, updating me. Lexi said she thinks she’s coming around. When she’s ready, she’ll call me.”
“Do you think she will?”
“I need to believe she will. I have nothing else to hold on to.”
“Promise me something.”
“Anything, Mom.”
“When I get back to shore from my cruise, I’m going to call you from the airport. If she still hasn’t called you in a week, promise me you’ll let me fly to Baltimore and talk to Melody.”
Why not? If she’s not back within another week, I’d sell my soul to have her back. “Yeah, I promise.”
“Good. When I’m there, I’ll pay your father a visit and strangle his ass for messing with my son. That worthless bastard.”
“Damn, Mom. Why don’t you tell me how you really feel?” I laughed.
“He’ll be sorry for what he’s done. You don’t mess with a mama’s cub.”
And I don’t doubt her abilities for one second.
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Melody
"Do you want me to come to the game with you?" Lexi asked from the couch.
I slipped my flip flops
on at the door, ready to head out. "No, I'm okay. I need to do this on my own."
"If you change your mind and need me, just call. Otherwise...go get your man back."
I smiled. "Thanks, Lex. I'll see you later tonight."
"I doubt it." She wiggled her brows.
With each step I took towards the stadium, I was that much closer to facing everything head on. And I was okay. In fact, I was more than okay. I was determined and ready.
I took everything Uncle Clay said and really thought about it last night. When I woke up this morning, it was as if a burden had been lifted from me and the answer was in my head.
I don’t want Carson.
I need Carson.
Before I entered the gates of the stadium, I heard my name being called from behind. I turned around, hoping like hell is wasn't another reporter looking to get a statement. "Can I help you with something?" I asked the middle aged man.
As he got closer to me, the more familiar he looked. "Yes, I was hoping I could speak to you for a few minutes before you went inside."
I pinched my brows together. "Who are you and what is it regarding?"
He looked to the ground before looking back to me. "My name is Edward Lawrence. I'm Carson's father."
Holy hell. I then began to recognize the similar features he and Carson share. He looks much more like his father than he does his mother. I cleared my throat and stood straighter. "What do you want to talk about?" I was hesitant to say much to him, especially since I know how strained his relationship is with Carson.
"I want...no. I need to tell you what really happened the night of the accident. Most of the story that was reported is false."
I rolled my eyes. "I saw the police report. Please don't make this any more difficult than it already has been." I walked away from him but his next sentence stopped me dead in my tracks.
"Carson's wasn't driving that night."
A shiver ran down my spine. "Excuse me?"
"Can we please sit and talk for five minutes, Miss Carrick?"
I turned back to him, wondering what in the hell was happening. I took a few shaky steps to a nearby bench away from the crowds. He sat first, then I sat at the other end, putting plenty of space between us. "How was Carson not driving? It says so on the police report."
He rubbed his hand over his gray stubble. "I was driving the car when we got into the accident. He even asked me to pull over so he could drive." He paused for a moment and closed his eyes. "I had been drinking that night."
I felt like the wind had been knocked out of my lungs. "Oh my God."
"After the accident happened, I asked him to take the blame for me. I promised him a lot that night, offers that I knew he would never refuse. I won't go into detail, but he did it to take care of his mother and I took advantage of knowing he’d do anything for her. Carson was not at fault for that accident at all. It was me, and I want to make things right. I'm going to turn myself in and tell the truth. It's time that I take responsibility for my actions, no matter how severe. I wanted to apologize to you for the mess I've caused. I'm sorry for the accident, I think of your parents each and every day. I also think about you, how I left a young girl without her family. That night I also lost my family, but I deserved it. You didn't. I'm so very sorry, Melody. I'm not asking for your forgiveness, but I am asking you to talk to Carson. Don't let this ruin what you had with him. He loves you so much."
During the middle of his confession, tears began streaming down his face. I, on the other hand, had a completely different emotion building.
Rage.
"How could you do that to your son? You manipulated a young boy into taking the heat for an accident you caused while drunk. A father is supposed to protect their child until their very last breath, and you threw yours to the wolves. You could have potentially ruined his life and all you cared about was not getting in trouble yourself. Now I can see why Carson wants nothing to do with you."
I stood to walk away, but decided there was more to say. "I'm not letting the accident ruin my relationship with Carson. I was coming here today to talk to him with the thought that he was still the one driving that night. What I'm trying to say is, regardless if he was driving or not, I love him and I always will. Your confession did not sway my decision, I don’t want you feeling noble about doing ‘the right thing’.” I cleared my throat of the rising emotion before I finished. “You're right, though. I didn't deserve to lose my parents for your reckless behavior. But you did deserve to lose your family. Carson and Lynette deserve so much more in a father and husband than the coward that you are." I turned from him, ignoring his pleas for me to come back. I entered the gates of the ballpark, on the search for the other piece of my heart.
Chapter Forty: Carson
She didn’t show again tonight. I know Lexi said to give her time, but I’m losing my damn mind. I need Melody. I can’t eat. I don’t sleep. It’s impossible to breath without her. It’s been eight days too long.
Knowing the grounds crew was likely to throw me out of the stadium at any time, I unstrapped my leg guards and put them on the bench beside me. I stood to head inside the clubhouse when I saw Sammie walk into the dugout. "Hey, there's something out here for you."
I rub my hand over my face, not particularly in the mood for her friendliness. Sammie has tried to be a good friend over the last week, she and Ryan both have attempted to get me to go out with them after games or have tried to joke around. I just haven’t been in the mood. "Sammie, not today."
"I'm serious, Carson. There is something you may want along the first baseline."
When she mentioned the first baseline, the hair on the back of my neck stood. I rose to my feet to look down the baseline, and sure enough, there Melody was, sitting on the wall. I took off in a sprint, running as fast as I could towards her. She smiled brightly as I approached, her green diamond eyes sparkling back at me. I picked her up and held her against me without letting her feet touch the ground. She wrapped her legs around my waist and rubbed her hand along my cheek. "I missed you."
I felt like I could melt to the ground right now, all the tension and grief of the last week leaving my body. "I missed you so fucking much. I need you, Melody. I can't be without you for another minute. There's so much I need to tell you."
"I know the truth, Carson. We'll talk about everything later, but I couldn't wait another second to be with you. I love you."
I could feel tears prickling my eyes. "I love you too. God, I want to kiss the fuck out of you right now."
She took off my hat and put it on herself backwards. "Then kiss the fuck out of me, Carson."
I covered her mouth with mine, consuming her. I hadn’t kissed her in eight days, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to stop anytime soon. Cheers and whistling erupted from Sammie and Ryan, but I continued to taste my girl.
“We have a lot to talk about.” I said against her lips.
“Can we go back to your place?”
***
An hour later, we were sitting on the couch in my living room. Melody’s hand was in mine and we were about to talk this over. I was sick to my stomach.
“Even if you were driving, it was an accident. I could never hate you over something that wasn’t intentional. I didn’t know that you weren’t driving until I got to the ballpark today. Your dad was outside waiting for me.”
I must have misheard her. “My dad?”
“He looks a lot like you, just much older. I can understand why you hate him. He’s a pathetic excuse for a man, Carson. You and your mom deserved so much more than him. He said he wanted to make things right, but I ignored him.”
“He’s the one who leaked the information. He said Sydney offered him a large sum of money for any dirt he had on me. He ended up singing like a canary.”
“What an asshole.” She spat with disgust. “And why the hell is Sydney so set on getting dirt on you?”
“Because she came on to me at the beginning of the season and I turned her down.
I think it’s safe to say I’m off her radar now.”
“Why’s that?”
I frowned at her. “You didn’t hear about Ross?”
“I’ve been literally living under a rock for the last week.”
“Nathan Ross, spokesman for the ‘Adopt, don’t shop’ campaign got slammed with animal cruelty charges. He’s been suspended pending investigation. Sydney’s been all over the story.”
Falling for the Rookie (Fan Girl Book 1) Page 19
