“Don’t mention it again. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
Suddenly, the past hour hits me, and my heart physically crumbles. I cover my face with my hands and scream until my voice is hoarse. She crawls in and cradles me to her, rocking us both as I fall to pieces. I don’t know how long she holds me, but I finally pass out from the pain and shock. My last thought is that Bryce has managed to crush me for the second time in my life.
Chapter 27
Warmth surrounds me, and I snuggle closer, breathing in the undeniable scent of Bryce. His arms tighten so hard that I start to take off my sweatshirt. Then it all comes crashing back to me, and I bite my tongue to hold back the tears.
His hands rub up and down my back, and his chest vibrates against my cheek. He lowers his head and kisses my head over and over again. When he moves to my temple, his teardrops wet my skin. It kills me, but I remain still, faking sleep.
“Please, baby, wake up and let me explain.” His voice cracks. “God, I need you to wake up. I’m dying here.”
There’s a knock at the door, and he stiffens. I hear the muffled sound of my brother’s voice.
“We need to talk.”
“Not fucking now, Nate. I’m not leaving her until she wakes up.”
“Jamie will sit with her. We need to discuss this now. You owe it to me and to her.”
“No—”
“Not gonna ask you again. I’ll drag your ass out of here, and that will definitely wake her up.”
“Bryce, I’ll be right here,” Jamie says, laying her hand on my shoulder.
Without another word, Bryce slides from under me and rolls me into another pair of waiting arms. A chill runs up my spine when he transfers me. The second the door shuts, Jamie speaks.
“You okay?”
I wipe my hair out of my face and roll over, looking up at her. “How’d you know I was awake?”
“Woman’s intuition.”
I recognize the pictures on the nightstand and realize we’re in Bryce’s room.
“He moved you to his bed the second he stormed in the door,” she tells me without my asking. “Nate let it slip you were here when he found him. From what I heard, he broke every speeding law to get here, scared you’d left.”
Loud voices come through the door, and I strain forward to listen. As if she reads my mind again, she goes to the door and cracks it open. We both crouch down next to the opening.
“I’ve calmed down, but I’m going to ask you once again WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?” my brother is enraged.
“Nothing!”
“It doesn’t sound like nothing! You weren’t here. You didn’t see her. Saying she was a wreck is an understatement. Something was said, something fucking whacked. She not only looked tweaked, she looked dead, like she was literally dying.”
“Jesus, what the fuck did I do?”
“That’s what I keep asking. What did you do?”
“Nothing, I swear. I was trying to be nice. I’m always trying to be nice. Liza took it the wrong way. I had no idea what she had planned. This is a fucking disaster.” Bryce sounds resigned, and I feel him hurting.
“I’m waiting to hear, man, and losing the last shred of patience I have. It will suck, but I’ll knock your ass to the ground again if you don’t start talking.”
There’s a loud sigh, and I can picture Bryce running his hands up and down his face. “I think I need to talk to Devon first. She deserves to hear it from me.”
“Listen, you’re my brother. You know this. I’ve told you for months to shut that bitch down. It’s obvious to everyone but you, and now she’s caused pain to someone I love more than anything. You didn’t hear it, but from the first time that cunt spoke to Devon, she’s been planting seeds of doubt.”
I suck in a deep breath while Nate tells him about my breakdown last night. Jamie holds my hand and gives me a weak grin I can’t return.