“I won’t,” I vowed, because it was my fault. Just like everything else.
“Can we go play now, Gabe?”
“Yeah, sweetheart, we can.” I folded the blanket around her legs and pushed her wheelchair out of the room, knowing full well that I was choosing the wrong path — with every step I took.
I jerked awake in a cold wet sweat. It wasn’t real. It was just a dream, but why did it feel so real? I really did believe all those things.
Sick to my stomach, I barely made it to the bathroom before I lost my dinner and those four shots Wes had fed me.
As the water flushed down the toilet, taking the remnants of Wes’s good idea with it, I grabbed a towel and wiped my face, then sank down onto the cold tile.
I missed Saylor.
I also missed Princess.
I didn’t want my choosing Princess to make it so that Saylor left me. How selfish could I be? I wanted both? Did I even deserve both? I knew I didn’t, but that didn’t make me want her any less. It didn’t make the cravings for her kiss, for her touch, go away.
“Damn.” I wiped my face again, stripped off my soaked clothes, and jumped into the shower. I’d only gotten six hours of sleep, but at least I’d slept.
Today was the day I had to decide whether or not to call hosp
ice, and I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do.
After my shower, I walked numbly across the cold slate floors that led into the kitchen.
The sun was just starting to peek over the city.
It was beautiful — I wished Saylor could be there to watch the sunrise with me. I wished so badly that I was whole for her.
Just as I was getting ready to turn on the coffee pot, the doorbell rang. Curious, I walked over and prepared myself for some low-life reporter who’d somehow discovered my secret house.
I opened the door.
It wasn’t a reporter.
Saylor stood smiling at me. And Princess was with her, all cuddled up in her chair with blankets spread over her, an oxygen mask on her face.
A pretty woman in scrubs stood behind Princess, beaming.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, after finally discovering my voice again.
“I came here to bring Princess home.” Saylor smiled.
“Home!” Princess shouted then started coughing. “Ashton, it’s my home. From the picture!” She coughed some more as her chest rattled.
I knelt down on to meet her face to face. “Do you like it?”
She nodded. “Because you know why?”
“Why?” I asked.
“It’s a castle,” she whispered.
“Fit for a princess.” Saylor finished.
I couldn’t talk even if I wanted to. Without saying anything else, I opened the door wider and helped them pull the chair into the living room.
“The doctor’s okay with this?” I asked.