by Shayna B
“For everything. For trusting me with your story, for calming me down this morning and for forcing me to go out tonight.”
“Hmm, I seem to have done a lot for you. I’m thinking you might owe me in the future.”
He shook his head in amusement. “I was trying to be serious.”
“I know. But you don’t need to thank me for anything. I’ll be here for you no matter what.”
“And I’ll be there for you as well. I may not be the nicest person around, but even I’m capable of compassion.” He reached over and brushed his finger over my cheek. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
“Sure. Have a good night.” After he had gotten out of the car, I blew out a long breath and laid my head on the steering wheel. The few times he touched me today had set my body on fire, and that worried me. Was it possible I was falling for him?
Chapter thirteen
As I walked to Biology on Monday, I couldn’t help but be a little nervous. I knew that my friendship with Blake had changed over the weekend, but I wasn’t sure what he was going to be like in school. I had talked to him on the phone yesterday, and we had bantered back and forth, but I was still unsure of how he would act around me today.
I walked into the classroom and took my seat beside him. “Morning,” I greeted him.
He turned his head and gave me a small smile. “Morning,” he replied. He turned back to face the front.
I frowned a little. “What, you don’t want to talk to me today?”
He turned to me again. “What makes you think that?”
I shrugged. “You just turned away from me right away.”
“Did you have something in particular you wanted to talk about?”
I let out a frustrated sigh. “No.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“Nothing,” I grumbled, pouting a little.
He chuckled quietly. “You’re pouting now, aren’t you?”
I quickly made my face blank. “No,” I lied.
The teacher chose that moment to come into the room, saving me from listening to Blake’s response. The class went by fairly quickly, which I was grateful for. We were supposed to start dissecting things soon and the thought caused me to shudder. I was going to have to find a way to get out of that one.
After class, I grabbed my bag and linked my arm with Blake, but he refused to move. I looked at him questioningly. “Why aren’t we going?”
He held out his free hand. “Give me your bag.”
My brows furrowed. “Why?”
He sighed. “Because I know it must hurt your back to carry that thing around. So give me the damn thing and I’ll carry it.”
Wordlessly, I took my bag off my shoulder and handed it to him. He threw it over his shoulder and then waited until I had linked my arm with his again. We headed out of the classroom and down to his next class. Once we got there I led him back to his desk. He sat down in the chair and I leaned against the desk. “I’m going to see Jake after school tonight instead of Wednesday, but I’ll be at the park after that. Will you be there?”
“What time?”
“Probably just after five. Jared will be with me, which is why I’m going tonight, so we won’t stay there too long.” I’d decided yesterday that it might be a good idea to have Jared come with me. I hoped that maybe it would make it a little easier on me.
He laid his hand on my knee for a moment. “I’ll be there. Just send me a text when you’re on your way back from the hospital.”
I smiled. “Thanks.” I got off the desk. “I have to get to my class before I’m late. I’ll see you this evening.”
“See you later.”
I left his class and went to my own, just before the bell rang. I greeted Rachel and David and they both smiled at me.
At lunch, Rachel nudged my arm. “Hey, do you and Jared want to come out bowling with us tonight?” Jared had tagged along with me the last time I’d gone out with them and both Rachel and David really liked him.
“We have plans already, sorry. But we could do something this weekend maybe?”
“Sure! Why don’t you guys come over to my place? You haven’t been there yet.”
“He might have a date or something, but I’ll definitely come.”
“Great! We can have a movie night or something.”
I smiled. “Sounds like fun.”
After school, I went straight home and Jared was waiting for me in the garage. I jumped into his truck and we drove to the hospital. When we got to Jake’s room, we settled into the chairs on either side of the bed. “Hey buddy,” Jared said. “Hales and I decided to come together today.”
“Yeah, we figured you could handle the awesomeness of both of at us at once, since you’ve done it for most of your life.” I took his hand in mine like I usually did. “I don’t know if you remember me telling you about Blake, but I made a lot of progress with him over the weekend. I told him about the accident and we had a good talk about a lot of things. I feel lighter now than I ever have since the accident.”
“And I’m starting to think I might get serious about Laurel. I’ve been out with her a few times now and I really like her,” Jared stated.
I raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t tell me about this.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t want to say anything until I knew if I really liked her or not. There’s no need to subject the poor girl to your interrogation if she isn’t going to stick around.”
I made a face at him, but didn’t argue. “I want to meet her anyways.”
“Fine. But I want to meet Blake then.”
“I’ll see if he wants to come over after we’re done at the park this evening.”
“I’m going out with Laurel, but I’ll make sure to be back early if you’ll be there with Blake.”
We spent another forty- five minutes with Jake and then Jared and I got back into his truck and he drove me to the park. I had sent Blake a text already, telling him that I was on my way.
When we arrived at the park, I climbed out of the truck. I stuck my head back in for a moment. “Thanks for the ride, Jared. I’ll see you later tonight. Have fun with Laurel.”
He flashed me a smile. “Oh, I’m sure I will.”
I made a face at him and then shut the door on his laughter. I headed straight for the benches and saw that Blake was there already. I also noticed a group of five girls around our age standing a little ways off. I saw that they kept glancing at Blake every couple of minutes and I frowned a little. Had he always attracted this much attention and I just hadn’t noticed?
I shrugged it off as I reached the bench where Blake was waiting and sat down. “Hey,” I said to Blake.
He turned to me. “How’d it go?”
I shrugged. “It was actually a little easier because Jared was with me. It was still hard to see Jake like that, but having someone to share it with made it more bearable.”
Blake lifted his arm and put it around my shoulders. “I can only imagine what it must be like.”
I laid my head on his shoulder. “I like it when you’re nice like this,” I admitted.
He chuckled. “I kind of like having someone to be nice to,” he replied.
My eyes were drawn back to the girls who were about thirty feet away. They were still looking over here occasionally, but they seemed disappointed now that I was here. “Did you know you have some admirers?” I asked him.
He groaned. “How could I not know? They’ve been standing there and giggling for the last ten minutes. They keep on daring each other to come say hi to me.”
“Let me guess. You were scowling the whole time, so they were all too afraid to actually do it.”
“Am I that predictable?”
“No, you’re just that cranky normally,” I replied with a grin.
He shrugged. “Can’t argue with the truth, I suppose.”
I shivered slightly as the breeze picked up. “I think winter is about ready to make an actual appearance,” I stated. The weathe
r had been getting steadily colder over the past week and a half.
Blake removed his arm and shrugged his jacket off. He put it over my shoulders, then put his arm back around me. “Better?”
I nodded, a little shocked. “Since when are you a gentleman?”
“Since you’ve become one of the few people I care about,” he replied nonchalantly.
“Aww, you care about me? That’s so cute!” I fake gushed, while inside I was actually feeling all warm and fuzzy because of his words.
I swear I could almost hear him roll his eyes. “You sure know how to ruin these serious moments, don’t you?”
“Yeah, it’s a gift.”
We sat together and chatted for almost an hour before he told me he’d walk me home. His admirers had left a while ago, obviously losing any courage they might have had before I showed up.
We walked back to my place in companionable silence, Abby trotting along beside him. When we got to my place, I invited him in for a bit so he could meet Jared, and he agreed. I made us both some hot chocolate after texting Jared and we sat in the kitchen waiting for him.
Liam surprised me by coming into the kitchen a few minutes later. “Hey, I didn’t realize you were back from the conference already.”
“I got back a few hours ago,” he replied, going to the cupboard to grab a mug. He made himself a cup of hot chocolate and then turned back to us. “I’m assuming that’s Blake?”
“Yeah. Blake, this is my Uncle Liam, though he hates it when I call him uncle.”
“Nice to meet you,” Blake said.
“You too. This is going to sound a little weird, but I could actually use your help with something.”
Blake’s brows rose. “Help you?”
“Yeah. I don’t know if Hailey mentioned to you that one of my companies actually creates technology to help people with disabilities. I started it after the accident and I could use your input on some of the things we’re in the process of developing.”
“Wait, you’re Liam Michaels?”
It was Liam’s turn to raise his eyebrows. “You’ve heard of me?”
“Yeah. I knew who you were before you started the new company. My father is Robert Adams, though I don’t necessarily like admitting that.”
Liam grimaced. “I’ve dealt with him a few times when he was looking for support during elections. He is not a very… pleasant individual.”
“He says the same about you, but that’s because he’s pissed that you refused to support him. That automatically made you one of my favourite people, though I’d never met you.”
“So does that mean you’ll help me?”
“Sure. I use one of your computer programs already and I really like it.”
“Great, you can come by this weekend if you want. I’ll run some stuff by you then.”
I shook my head in mild amazement. “Liam, you’ve just gotten him to talk more to you in five minutes than he did in the first two weeks I knew him.”
Liam grinned at me. “That’s because I’m a wonderful person.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m surrounded by cocky males,” I muttered.
Jared chose that moment to walk in. “Who’s cocky?”
I introduced him to Blake and we spent the next twenty minutes chatting before an alarm went off on Blake’s phone. He got to his feet with a sigh. “I should get home. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, Hales.”
“Do you want a ride home?”
Before he could answer, Jared interrupted. “I can take him home. I know you’re probably dying to go play on the piano.”
I smiled. “You know me so well,” I told him.
Blake frowned. “When do I get to hear you play? You heard me.”
“Next time you come over, I’ll play for you.”
He nodded. “Good.”
“I’ll be waiting in my truck out front when you’re ready, Blake,” Jared told him, and then he walked back out the front door.
I handed Blake the jacket that he had leant me earlier. “Thanks for letting me borrow this.”
He took it from me. “No problem.” He whistled for Abby, and a moment later, she appeared around the corner. He put her harness on and then turned to me. “Have a good night.”
I stepped closer to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He seemed surprised at first, but then his arms wound around me and he pulled me into a hug. I laid my head on his chest for just a moment before pulling away. Butterflies were fluttering around in my stomach and I silently cursed them. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He gave me a breathtaking smile, and then went out the door. I leaned against the wall after he left and blew out a breath. Oh yeah, I was definitely falling for him.
Chapter fourteen
Over the next week, Blake came over twice more and hung out with me as well as helped my uncle. I hung out with Rachel and David over the weekend and had a lot of fun with them. On Tuesday evening my phone beeped, signaling that I had a text. I assumed it was from Blake, but when I checked the number, I didn’t recognize it. I opened the message and when I read it, the phone slipped out of my hands.
Baby, I need to talk to you. I miss you so much. Love, Marcus
Jared glanced up from where he was sitting and he jumped to his feet when he saw my face. He snatched my phone off the floor and read the message. His face became a mask of fury when he realized who it was from. “I’m going to go beat the hell out of that little prick,” he snarled.
I moved to the couch and sat down with a thud. I dropped my head into my hands and a moment later, I felt Jared sit next to me. He put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him. “Why does he think I would actually talk to him?” I asked.
“I don’t know, Hales. But I’ll deal with him, I promise.”
I shut my eyes and leaned my head against him. “No, I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of acknowledging him. What I don’t understand is why he keeps changing his number so he can get around having his number blocked.”
“I’ll talk to Liam in the morning. We may end up having to change your number so that he can’t get in touch with you anymore.”
I nodded. “I hate to do it, but you might be right. I’m going to go to bed.” I got off the couch and walked to the doorway. I went to my room and changed into my pajamas quickly. Tonto watched me closely, obviously sensing that something was wrong. I gave him a quick pat before climbing into my bed and turning my lights off. Sleep found me quickly.
“So Jake, have you met any new girls lately?” I asked my brother.
He turned to grin at me. “Always, little sister. No girl can resist my good looks.”
I rolled my eyes and looked him up and down. His hair was the same color as mine, but he had gray eyes instead of brown like me. He was tall and built, and he never lacked for female companionship. “Whatever, I still think you were an idiot for letting Amanda get away.”
His smile dimmed a little. “Yeah, maybe you’re right,” he replied softly. “I actually went to a jewelry store a few days ago to look at rings,” he admitted.
Before I could comment on that surprising piece of news, my dad cursed from the driver’s seat. “WATCH OUT!” my mom screamed.
My dad jerked on the steering wheel and then the car was suddenly spinning wildly. I screamed when I saw the tree we were heading for and a moment later, the car slammed into it. The sounds of crunching metal and shattering glass filled my ears, and then everything went deathly silent. “Mom, dad?” I called out. No answer. “Jake?” I turned my head to look at him and saw that he was unconscious.
My breath caught as I realized the severity of what had just happened. My body started shaking and I was on the verge of passing out when I heard the sounds of the sirens. I tried to shift my position, but realized I couldn’t. It was only then that I became aware of the excruciating pain in my back. A scream ripped out of my throat as the paramedics approached the wreckage that had been my dad’s car.
My eyes snapped open and
I struggled desperately to breathe. My throat was raw and I was covered in sweat. I tried to wiggle out of the blankets, but I realized that I was unable to move. Tears streamed down my face as I tried again to move my legs, with no luck. My back felt like it was on fire and I whimpered.
The door to my bedroom burst open and I shifted my eyes to it to see Liam standing there in only a pair of boxers. He looked around the room wildly, although I’m not sure what he was looking for. When he realized there was no danger, he turned his eyes to me. As soon as he saw the state I was in, he rushed over to me. “Hailey? What’s wrong?”
“I can’t move my legs,” I gasped.
Liam’s eyes widened and he immediately ran out of the room, presumably to get Jared from the guest house. A minute later they both came running back in. Jared crouched beside the bed. “What happened?”
“Nightmare. Now my legs won’t move.”
Jared immediately pulled the blankets off of me and ran his hands over my back, causing me to cry out in pain. I heard Jared curse violently and he turned to my uncle. “Go get me some of her compresses out of the freezer. Her whole back is inflamed and it must be rubbing on some nerves, which is why she can’t move her legs.”
I saw Liam nod and then he bolted out of the room. I closed my eyes and concentrated on getting my breathing under control.
Liam returned a minute later and handed the cold packs to Jared. Jared then placed them on my back and I flinched slightly at the temperature, my eyes opening. Once they were in place, Jared pulled back a little so he could look at me. “It’s going to be a really bad day for you, Hailey. I’m sorry.”
I nodded. “I know. Just please do something about the pain,” I begged.
“Liam, can you get her some painkillers? There should be some in her bathroom.”
After I had taken the pills, both guys sat on the ground beside my bed. Tonto sat between them, his eyes never leaving me. I knew he sensed that I was going to need him all day. “What time is it?” I asked them.
“Just after five,” Liam answered.
