Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
A woman was standing near Rhys’s bed when he returned to the room, and Martin introduced her as Jill, the climber Rhys had been on the mountain with. She looked haunted as she recounted the accident.
Emerson imagined him falling, the line catching him midair as he hit the side of the mountain. It definitely could’ve been so much worse, except it felt pretty awful now with Rhys lying unconscious while they spoke of the incident. He stepped back, allowing Rhys’s friends more space to visit with him before they both said their goodbyes, promising to visit again tomorrow.
After hanging in the room for a couple of hours, watching him breathe, Emerson drove home to check on his siblings just as his aunt was loading them in her car in the driveway. “I was going to text you. I’m having them stay over at my place tonight.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. They love time with their cousins.” She placed her hand on Emerson’s shoulder. “Besides, someone else needs you right now.”
Could she see it? How he was undeniably cracking inside? Splintering into a dozen shards of emotions? Hope and grief and fear and worry… Could she tell how his feelings had shifted dramatically since that kiss in his kitchen last week?
Fuck, that seemed worlds away now. Had it really only been a handful of days since their lips and hands had touched so fervently? They were supposed to see each other for the first time tomorrow, and the wait had been killing him.
Just FYI, I’ll be away for a couple of days. Climbing at Acadia.
Cool. Have fun.
I still plan to be there Sunday for your birthday dinner.
Yeah?
Wouldn’t miss it.
See you then.
Those texts had felt somewhat promising, almost like old times, pre-kiss. So he hoped that meant their friendship would remain intact even though Rhys had run out of the house like it had been on fire. It was something to go on, even if he was slowly withering inside and painfully reliving that kiss every fucking minute and wishing for a different outcome.
He stuck his head through the back-seat window of his aunt’s car.
“Is Rhys gonna be okay?” Audrey asked, and Sam chewed on his bottom lip as he awaited the news.
He nodded. “Yeah. He just needs a few more days of rest.”
Fuck, his hands were shaking.
“Who’s ready for pizza and ice cream?” Aunt Janice asked as she slid into the driver’s seat, and that sent Sam chattering excitedly about his favorite flavor, but Audrey just stared at him, her heated gaze drilling into the side of his face. She knew he was worried, but he couldn’t go there right now. Distraction would be good for both of them.
“Thank you,” he mouthed to Aunt Janice. He didn’t know what he’d do without her.
Or his best friend.
He let himself inside the house to eat and shower and pace mindlessly before heading back to the hospital and setting up a vigil at his bedside.
When Rhys mumbled in his sleep, he wondered what he was dreaming about. Hopefully good things. He reached out to take his hand, perhaps providing a tether to consciousness for him.
Eventually exhaustion consumed Emerson, so he closed his eyes and got more comfortable in the chair, only to be shaken awake hours later by Carl, Mrs. Lancaster’s fiancé.
He watched as she leaned over Rhys and kissed his forehead. “Oh, honey,” she said in a weary voice.
“Thanks for staying with him,” Carl said, patting his shoulder. “You should go home to your family.”
Rhys is my family, he wanted to argue. But it was late, and they probably wanted time with him.
Emerson nodded as he stood up and stretched.
Mrs. Lancaster pulled him in a tight hug and whispered a thank-you in his ear.
“It’ll be okay,” Emerson said. “We’ll get him through this.”
The nurse came in to talk to Rhys’s mom and fill her in on the same information he’d been given, which wasn’t much.
“If he wakes up—” he said to Carl.
“She’ll call you.”
He looked back one last time from the doorway before making his way home.
3
Rhys
Rhys blinked open his eyes and felt something tugging at his wrist along with a sharp pain in his neck as he tried to move his head. He winced, his arm pulling at the IV line he now realized was taped to his hand. As the edges of the room became less fuzzy, the first thing he spotted was the worried expression on his mother’s face.
“Rhys, you’re awake. Carl, call for the nurse,” she choked out. “Oh, honey, you gave us such a scare.”
Her fingers stretched out to grasp Rhys’s shoulder while her other hand pushed sweaty bangs back from his forehead.
“What happened?” His voice sounded hoarse, as if he hadn’t used it in a while.
“Shh, let’s wait another minute for the nurse.”
Everything felt vague and indistinct around the edges of his memory, and his mom…why was she back in town?