Great. So she really had been told that.
“But to be honest,” she continued, “I haven’t believed a word of it. It takes time to get to know someone, and I’m trying to learn things for myself. So far there are so many things I love about you, Ty.” Her eyes remained fixed on me, and what she said made my heart beat faster. Finally she looked at the ground and sighed. “I feel like I’m just…babbling and nothing is coming out right.”
“No, you’re not babbling…”
I honestly didn’t know what else to say. How was she so good at communicating and I just…sucked? I led her over to sit on the bench with me. “I’m sorry I’m being such a jerk. I have no idea what I’m doing. I just… You happened so fast and everything that was once one way, is now different, and I don’t know…what to think.”
With a smile she asked, “You know what I think? I think you love me.”
The words made my heart race in my chest and I had to swallow. “I do love you,” I admitted.
I could tell by the look on her face that it’s what she’d wanted to hear. “Well, I know how you feel because…Ty, I love you, too. And I’ve hardly known you for very long. I mean what is that about?” she softly laughed. “But all I do know is that I can’t stand being away from you. I love how you treat me, how you look at me, how you talk to me, and most importantly…how you make me feel.”
Until the day I die I will never forget that moment. Never in my life had a girl ever said anything that meant so much to me. Here was the most beautiful girl in the world—sweet, understanding, and amazing—telling me that she loved me. How was it possible? I thought I was crazy for falling in love with her so fast, but now she was telling me she felt the same way.
“Jayden… Everything you said is exactly how I feel, too. I’m in love with you and…I really need you in my life. I just don’t know if it’s a life you want to be a part of,” I chuckled sadly. “I don’t have a great family, I don’t really do anything except play baseball and work on cars, and the rumors about the girls…I’m sure most of them are partially true.”
“Partially?” she asked with a cautious smile.
I sighed. “I have no idea what’s been said, but the truth is…I just don’t have girlfriends—at least not many. I don’t find any that I want to stick with, so maybe it does seem like I date a lot of ‘em. Not really, though. They’re just…around. I seem to have more girls that…”
“Pursue you?”
I smiled. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Yeah, I heard about Holly.”
I eyed her curiously.
“Jesse,” she admitted.
“Hmm. Yeah, I went out with her once. She drove me nuts.”
She smiled and placed her hands behind my neck. “Jesse also told me that all these girls chase you, and all you do is run.”
Jesse, I owe you one buddy, for setting the record straight. “It doesn’t mean I’ve resisted them all—”
“I don’t care. As long as you don’t resist me. As long as you don’t run from me.”
I studied her perfect face—her beautiful eyes that were staring back at me, her lovely mouth—and I wondered how I could find someone so incredible. She loved me. She said so. And from this moment on I would live my life knowing that.
“Jayden… I love you so much. I want it all with you. Everything. And I’m so afraid of…screwing it up. I’m so afraid of not being good enough, or doing one thing wrong that will just…leave me with nothing.”
“Ty, nobody’s perfect. We’ll both screw up—guaranteed. But as long as we’re honest with each other…and trust each other…that’s where we start. And I don’t think it will be hard to forgive you,” she smiled. “You’re pretty dang cute and you have a heart of gold.”
I kissed her, like I had done a hundred times before, but it held a different meaning. We sat there for quite a while, alone in the night, and the one question that kept running through my mind was: when can I marry her?
And the other thought lurking in the back of my head was her loathing father. Would that situation ever change? Like Tucker said: she loved me; her father didn’t have to. But boy, it sure would make things a lot easier…
Chapter Fourteen
By the end of the weekend, I truly believed that for every good thing that happened, something equally as bad would happen as well. It was the story of my life; it was so predictable.
Saturday was another pair of games about an hour south. Jayden did go riding with her father and a bunch of her friends that morning, and I was really glad they could spend the time together. I saw her just before the first game at one o’clock when she smiled and blew me a kiss. Megan had ridden with her and they sat in their usual spots above our dugout. We ended up losing the first game but winning the second, with only one more game left to go in the season.
I got home close to eleven o’clock that night. I was pretty tired and decided to just shower and get to bed. Before I went to sleep, I gave Jayden a call just to make sure she was home safely—something I always did. It went to voicemail, so I just left a brief message that I was checking on her and that I loved her. Maybe she was asleep and had her phone on mute.
My phone rang in the middle of the night. It was two a.m. I didn’t recognize the number but I decided to answer it anyway.
“Is this Ty?” the voice asked.
“Uh yeah, who’s this?”
“Joe Adams.”
I froze for a second. I couldn’t even imagine why he was calling me in the middle of the night, but my stomach automatically felt sick.
“I’m calling to let you know that Jayden was in a car accident last night.”
My heart stopped. “What? Is she- is she okay?”
His brief pause scared the crap out of me. “She’s in the hospital, but she’s okay. She insisted that I call you so…I’m calling you.”
Could he be any more obvious that I was the last person in the world he wanted to talk to?
I asked him which hospital she was at as I was trying to get dressed with one hand. After he told me where to find her, he just hung up. I didn’t have time to think about what a cold and inconsiderate man he was; all I could think about was Jayden.
When I got to her room, my heart was pounding. Just the thought of her being hurt in any way caused me to panic. If she was “okay” like Joe said, why was she in the hospital?
I opened the door cautiously and peered inside. I first saw her father sitting in a chair. He glanced at me briefly and then looked away. Then I saw Jayden and I prayed to God that she was just sleeping. I went to the side of her bed to look at her closer. In the dim light I could tell the left side of her face was bruised along her cheekbone. Her left arm had bruises too, and it looked like it held some stitches. But I didn’t see her hooked up to any machines, so I took that as a good sign.
Joe stood up and said, “She’s on some pain medication for now, so she’s a little sleepy.” He was making his way to the door.
“What happened?” I asked quietly.
He paused before he finally turned around to look at me. “Her car was broadsided by a drunk driver, sending her across the median where another car t-boned her into a tail spin. Then she was rear-ended and sent into the ditch. She may have a mild concussion… The doctor wants her to stay a couple of days for observation. She’s very lucky,” he added, giving me a hard glare.
He left the room, shutting the door behind him.
My heart sank into my stomach. Joe knew that my dad had been arrested for a DUI and public drunkenness. He knew my father was an alcoholic and he wanted to throw it in my face.
I took a deep breath and shook my head. Why did this have to happen? I pulled a chair up to Jayden’s bedside and watched her sleep. After beating myself up for a half an hour, I thanked God she was okay and laid my head against my arms on the bed.
I felt something soft running through my hair… Someone’s fingers? It felt good so I just stayed where I was. Then I realized where I was and
sat up.
Jayden was smiling at me.
“Hey,” I said, taking her hand and kissing it.
“How long have you been here?” she asked.
I glanced up at the clock; it was just after seven.
“A few hours, I guess. Anyways…how are you feeling?”
She barely shrugged. “A little tired. They drugged me to shut me up,” she sort of laughed.
“You were in that much pain?”
“No, I was in that much need for you,” she smiled. “I think they got sick of hearing your name.”
I had to smile, but I shook my head with sympathy and held her hand against my lips.
“My car is totaled,” she said.
I nodded, but I realized there was a lump in my throat. I couldn’t imagine what I would do without her…
“Sorry you wasted the time to fix that little dent.”
I smiled again and shook my head to disagree.
“I took Megan home. I’m so glad she wasn’t with me.”
I nodded my head again. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” I managed to say.
“Yeah, you can’t get rid of me that easy,” she smiled. “When I was sixteen I had a fortune teller inform me that there would be a lot of calamity in my life. She said I would survive it all.”
I chuckled. “I don’t take much stock in fortune tellers, but I might consider hoping for that one to be true.”
She nodded her head. “Could you help me up?”
“Uh, are you supposed to get up?”
“Do you want me to wet the bed?”
“No,” I smiled, “but maybe I should call the nurse, just to make sure it’s okay.” Plus, I didn’t want her father after me if I did something wrong.
“Fine,” she said, pressing the call button on her bed.
“What’s up sugar and spice?” a male voice answered.
“I need to go pee and my boyfriend thinks I’m incapable. Can you tell him it’s okay?”
I rolled my eyes.
The voice returned with a soft laugh. “She’s plenty capable. In fact, I wouldn’t try to stop her from doing something she’s set on doing; you might get hurt in the process.”
Jayden looked at me with a triumphant smile. “See?”
I raised my hands in defeat. “Okay.”
“But I could always have him come and help me. His name is Trae. He’s very cute.”
“Don’t bother. What do you need me to do?”
“Just make sure I don’t topple over when I stand. My head feels a little…heavy.”
She swung her legs toward me and put her feet on the floor. I could tell she was in pain by the way she moved as she carefully stood.
“Don’t worry, I have a decent hospital gown,” she smiled. “They make ‘em cover both ends these days.”
“Bummer,” I replied.
With a quiet laugh she slowly walked herself to the bathroom. I walked with her until she closed the door.
“I’m turning the water on so you can’t hear me pee,” she announced from behind the door. Sure enough, the water turned on.
I smiled to myself, thankful that nothing kept her sense of humor down. I wandered to the window to look outside, noting that it had stopped raining and the sun was beginning to shine again. I wondered where her dad was, and if he was going to come back.
Jayden came out of the bathroom a minute later, so I met her to help if she needed it.
“While you’re up,” she smiled, “and I’m up…” She slid her arms around my waist and laid her face against me. “Mmm, this is where I’ve wanted to be.”
I was hesitant to return the embrace. “Uh, is it okay to touch you? I mean…I don’t want to hurt you…”
She lightly laughed. “It’s perfectly fine. Just don’t squeeze me,” she added quickly.
“Okay,” I smiled. As I held her I again thought about how life would be if I ever lost her. I loved her more than anything, and as my longing to be with her grew, a feeling of desperation settled in as well.
At the same time, her father entered the room and glared at me.
“She shouldn’t be up,” he said crossly.
“Oh, relax Dad. Ty made me get permission first. I had to tell the whole world I needed to take a leak.”
I didn’t wait for his reaction. I pretended he wasn’t even in the room and helped her onto the bed, covering her legs with the blanket. She reached for some water and took a long drink. Everyone was quiet until Joe was the first to speak.
“Chris is here to see Jayden,” he said to me. “I think it’s best if you aren’t here.”
“Dad! You’re being rude.”
“No, it’s fine,” I told her. I stood up and kissed her on the forehead. “Just give me a call; I’ll be close.”
She winced as she reached for my arm. “Ty, please don’t leave. I don’t want you to go.”
“Just for a few minutes, okay? I won’t go far.”
I walked across the room and opened the door, shutting it behind me. But I was still able to hear Jayden say, “That was totally uncalled for!”
I headed down the hall and saw Chris sitting in a chair in the waiting area. He looked up at me and stared, maybe waiting for me to say something. But I had nothing to say to him and just gestured that the coast was clear for him to go see his dream girl.
I took the elevator downstairs and found myself in the cafeteria. I was hungry and it was the perfect way to pass the time. But it couldn’t have been more than five minutes before Jayden was already calling me.
“We have the room to ourselves,” she said in a teasing voice. “Wanna come sleep with me again?”
I laughed at the remark, but I was more concerned about why the room was empty. I could only conclude that she was upset with her father and Chris, and had sent them both away. It didn’t matter if I did what they asked or not, I would still be the one for them to blame. If she did tell them to leave, I decided it was better to give enough time for them to clear the building. I didn’t want to be confronted by either one of them, so I told Jayden I was just getting something to eat and I would be back up in a few minutes.
“Do you want anything while I’m down here?” I asked her. “I know you get room service but…”
“Nah, I’m not really hungry. But if you happen to get a fruit smoothie I might consider sharing it with you.”
I chuckled and replied, “Okay, that sounds like a plan.”
Once I’d returned to her room and a few minutes of small talk had gone by, I asked, “So why did you send them away?”
She looked at me and sighed. “Because my father is being a jerk, and Chris is being an ass.”
I thought about that for a second. “What’s the difference between a jerk and an ass?”
She scoffed with a little smile. “They’re the same, but I don’t think I’m allowed to call my dad an ass.”
I laughed and shook my head at her. “What am I gonna do with you?”
She laughed as well and said, “I don’t know, but why don’t you start by finally giving me a kiss on the lips? I taste like pineapple.”
I sat on the bed next to her, careful not to bump any of her injuries. I gently ran my fingers through her hair and kissed her.
“I love you, Jayden.”
Her smile was either sleepy or content—or both—but she replied, “I love you, too. And I’m sorry about my dad.”
“It’s not your fault; don’t worry about it.”
“And if Chris has said anything to you—”
“Nah, he pretty much just avoids me.”
She sighed. “I need to ask you something then, and I want you to be completely honest with me.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Has my father said stuff to you—without me knowing? You know what I mean… Has he been pretty rude to you behind my back?”
Oh, great. She wanted me to be completely honest? I couldn’t see this going anywhere good and I felt like I was doomed either way.
“Jayden, it’s not gonna to do any good.”
“I have a right to know what he’s said.”
“I think you should just ask him. I’m sure he would love the opportunity to share his opinions—if he hasn’t already. I’d rather not ‘tattle’ on your dad. I don’t see that improving anything.”
She looked at me with an expression of hurt. I felt horrible, but I really thought it wasn’t a good idea.
“Jayden, your dad doesn’t like me. I already know that. I don’t think his feelings are going to change anytime soon, and I’ve accepted that because of how much I love you. It bothers me, yeah, but it’s just the way things are. And this thing with Chris… I have no idea what’s going on with you two because I try not to meddle, but if there’s something I can do to mend your guys’ friendship, please just let me know.”
“There’s nothing. He’s become too much for me to handle and I can’t take it anymore. I can’t even talk any sense into him. Even Cali hasn’t been able to talk to him lately. She says he’s too—”
“He’s in love with you,” I had to say.
The silence in the room was powerful, and I instantly regretted being so blunt about it. But I was hoping we could clear the air, and possibly find some way to resolve the issue.
Jayden watched me carefully without expression. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking, but I was pretty sure that what I said wasn’t a surprise; she was only surprised to hear me say it.
“Has someone told you that?” she asked softly.
I shrugged. “Actually Aaron mentioned it, based on how Chris behaves around you. Once you think about it, it’s kind of obvious.” After another few seconds of silence I asked, “So is it true?”
Hotbox Page 13
