The One Nighter
Page 8
Maybe because he had fallen for a girl he couldn’t have a year ago?
Because he’d never forgotten the woman who walked away?
Looking into her eyes, he saw so much more than the manic behavior that had taken over.
He saw pain.
Pain that he had caused.
And deep down, he knew there was no way to make it right. No matter how much he wished he could change the events that led up to this moment, the dice was cast.
Miranda had made choices that had sealed their fate, choices that couldn’t be undone. He glanced up, knowing that no words could undo the pain he had caused her, no words would satisfy the fury that resided inside of her. What he saw in front of them made him cringe inside. A school bus lay directly ahead of them.
Leaning over, he yanked the steering wheel as hard as he could in an attempt to avoid it. Miranda fought him, clawing at his arms as she screamed wildly. The car narrowly missed the back of the bus. He felt her nails dig into his skin as he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he saw what they were heading for.
“No!”
It was the only word he could get out before the impact. The sound of crunching metal and devastated groans filled his ears.
Melanie…
As long as she was okay, he didn’t care what happened to him.
It was his last thought before everything went black.
* * * *
Melanie sat in the waiting room, twisting her hands together in her lap. A glance around the room confirmed that it was a busy day for the hospital. People were huddled together as they waited to be treated. The sounds of coughing and talking filled her ears.
She still couldn’t believe what had happened. In all the time she had lived in the complex, the nosiness of her neighbors had annoyed her.
But today it had been a real blessing.
After what happened today, she would never again complain. Hearing strange noises and seeing unfamiliar faces had alerted them that something was wrong. They had come to her rescue only minutes after Connor had left with Miranda.
As she was being treated in the ambulance for minor surface wounds, the police had put out an all points bulletin for Miranda. Despite the fact that she had come to with an earth-shattering headache, Melanie hadn’t needed any stitches.
To quote the medic, she had been lucky.
Still, sitting in the ambulance, wondering if she would ever see Connor again was far from lucky.
It had been hell.
She had just reached the hospital when they were bringing them both in.
Taking a deep breath, she glanced over at the circular desk where several nurses were working. In all her life, she had followed the rules. But today she had seriously considered breaking them when the nurses informed her that she couldn’t see Connor because she wasn’t a relative.
No amount of convincing had swayed them.
She was stuck out here.
At least the police had been more informative, filling her in on what happened after Connor and Miranda left. Despite the fact that Miranda had nearly avoided several accidents on the highway, she hadn’t been so lucky with the telephone pole she crashed into. The police theorized that Connor had probably tried to take control of the car to avoid an accident.
A chill raced up her spine. She could only imagine what went on in that car. If the horrible images she conjured in her mind were anything to judge by, it had been hell. She didn’t know what she would do if anything happened to him.
The fact that she still didn’t know his condition was making her crazy. All she could do was be grateful that he was alive when they brought him in. She sent up a silent prayer for God to keep him alive so that she could tell him how she felt, so that she could get another chance.
A single tear escaped the corner of her eye to slide down her cheek. She quickly brushed it away. She had been so stupid, spent so much time fighting him, fighting herself. The thought that she may have wasted the only time they had together made her stomach roll.
“Miss Brighton,” the nurse said as she tapped her on the shoulder.
“Yes,” she answered.
“He’s asking for you,” the woman explained.
“Is he okay?” she asked.
A sympathetic smile slid across her mouth. “He’s going to be fine.”
The nurse led her down a long hall before pointing to a room on the left. “He’s right in there,” she instructed.
Melanie turned the corner to find Connor lying in the bed, one leg covered in a cast and held upright in a sling. When she entered the room, he turned, his eyes lighting up.
“Hey,” he greeted.
Her eyes filled with tears at the sight of him. She came around to the side of the bed. Her gaze trailed over the welt on his forehead and the scratches on his arms. A bruise was beginning to form on his cheek. In truth, he looked like he had been through a war. But to her, he had never looked better. She still couldn’t believe how lucky he had been, how lucky they both had been.
“Hey,” she answered.
He reached out to take her hand in his, his thumb caressing her knuckles. “Are you okay?” he inquired, his eyebrows drawing together on a worried frown.
Her lower lip trembled as she let out a nervous laugh. “Am I okay?” she chided. “Are you okay?”
He gave her hand a squeeze. “I’m made of pretty strong stuff. I don’t break easy.”
Tears slid down her cheeks as she nodded. “Good to know,” she croaked in an attempt to match his lightheartedness.
Reaching up, he brushed away her tears. “Hey, I’m fine.”
She tried to stop her trembling, but emotion overwhelmed her. He was the one in the hospital, and he was trying to comfort her.
“You’re incredible,” she said, her eyes glittering with tears.
His thumb stroked her cheek as he tilted his head to the side to give her a cocky grin. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” he joked.
Her smile wobbled as she tried not to break down in tears. “I’m so…” she began, but he cut her off by placing his forefinger on her lips.
“You know what I thought about before the crash?”
She shook her head.
“You. All that I thought about was you. All I cared about was you. I love you, Melanie.”
She took a deep breath as her heart swelled with emotion. “I love you, too,” she confessed.
He held her hand as his eyes met hers. “If anything had happened to you…” He trailed off.
She grabbed his hand, pulling it up to place a tender kiss on his knuckles. “It didn’t. You saved me,” she said softly.
He lifted her hand to his lips. She watched as he kissed her fingertips before raising his gaze to meet hers.
“No,” he replied. “You saved me.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I decided that I wanted to be a writer at an early age. I think it all began with the movie Romancing the Stone. I wanted to be Joan Wilder. But, more than that, I wanted to write about all of the adventures that she was going to have. I must admit those first few drafts were pretty rough. But the more I wrote, the more I learned. All through school, I was writing. Each class I went to, someone was waiting for a new chapter.
As I got older, I did what everyone does. I got a nine-to-five job to pay the bills. But writing was still my passion. A few close friends at the office began reading my books, and soon I had other co-workers coming up to ask for chapters.
When I’m not writing, I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, playing video games and watching movies. I love to travel. My husband and I were blessed to be able to take a cruise through the Mediterranean for our honeymoon. I have been to Italy, Greece, Spain, Sicily, France, Bahamas, Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Curacao, Martinique, and various states in the United States. I would love to go to Egypt, Ireland, Scotland and England.
I love to meet readers and other writers, so feel free to drop me a line.
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