“No, you haven’t even begun to hate me, Grayson Crowne—”
My voice faded into nothing as icy-cold fear seized my gut. Blood dripped down my thighs. Not a lot…but enough. Had he bit me too hard? Then I realized my shorts were stained red.
&
nbsp; “Is that blood?” My voice rose in fear, all of the earlier fire dead. “Why am I bleeding?” My voice got higher and higher.
“Hey. Hey.” Grayson stood up and gripped my cheeks between his hands, pulling my eyes to his. “Everything is going to be fine. You’re my girl, Story. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Thirty
GRAY
* * *
At the private hospital, I hadn’t let go of Story’s hand. She seemed to be deep in thought but hadn’t spoken a word. This was my fault.
Again.
I wasn’t good for her.
“I’m sorry I called you the bad B-movie version of James Dean,” she blurted.
I raised a brow. “You didn’t call me that.”
“I did in my head.”
More silence. More me wondering if she’d lost our baby, if I’d caused it.
“I’m sorry I—”
“Snitch?”
She lifted her head, and I leaned forward, thumbing her lip. Her breathing slowed. That calmed me.
“You can go,” she whispered. “You’ve done more than enough.”
Annoyance flickered, but all I said was, “Do you want me to go?”
She shook her head, and it eased the tension in my gut.
More seconds passed. I stroked her chin, holding her hand with my other.
“Maybe she’s…” Snitch started. “Gone and this will all be over and you can go back to how it should be.”
“Is that what you think I fucking want?” I growled, my grip on her chin tightening.
The doctor came in at that exact moment, so she didn’t have to answer. But it ate at me. Did she think I didn’t want this?
I wanted to clear all the obstacles in her way. In our way. But each day it became clearer and clearer… I was the obstacle. My life. My fucking family. Me.
As the doctor began to tell me to leave, that this was only for family, I stood up.
“I’m the father.”
Snitch glanced at me, a look in her eyes I couldn’t decipher. I stood by the bed, tall, shoulders square, one hand above her, letting everyone know they’d have to go through me to get to her. Even the doctor.
“What’s wrong?” Snitch finally asked the doctor, voice thready. I squeezed the chair above her head.