Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
“We’ll find a way,” I said weakly. “We have to. You and I, Nicole. We can do this together…”
“No,” she snapped. “We can’t. Wake up, Brighton. This is going to end badly. We both have to get out now while we still can.”
“I can’t get out,” I croaked. “But you’re right, Nicole. You should. Maybe you should take some time off. Go stay with your family for a while.”
I saw how much this weighed on her, and I didn’t want to see her broken. She’d been through enough already, and this wasn’t her battle to fight.
“I can’t just go.” She sobbed. “You have to come with me, Brighton. That’s the only way I’ll be able to do it. We could get a place together, in another city. Anywhere, I don’t care. Let’s leave…”
She wasn’t being rational but judging by her face, she hadn’t slept in a while.
“We can talk about this later,” I told her in a gentle voice. “I think you should get some rest.”
Her shoulders slumped, and she nodded before rising on shaky legs.
“I guess you’re right,” she agreed. “Rest sounds like a good idea.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
After tossing and turning for half the night, I felt even worse than the day before. I was anxious to see Ryland, but I also wanted to check on Nicole before I left.
It was past eight already, and she was usually up by now. I chalked it up to her being exhausted from the stress. When I paused outside of her bedroom door, I thought about letting her sleep. But I was going to be at the hospital all day, so I decided to wake her up instead.
When I opened the door, any rational thoughts about what I should do fled.
Nicole was sprawled out across the floor, a half empty bottle of whiskey and a pill bottle lying beside her.
A wave of dizziness threatened to overtake me as I knelt down beside her. She was face down on the carpet, and I couldn’t tell if she was breathing.
“Nicole! Wake up!”
She didn’t respond to my voice.
I flopped her onto her back and checked her pulse. When it thumped against my fingers, I let out a huge breath. I pulled out my cell phone and fumbled with the buttons when she blinked open her eyes.
“Shwhat are you doooing?” she slurred.
I brushed the hair away from her face and gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m calling an ambulance.”
She batted the phone out of my hand with surprising speed as her eyes flared with panic. “No. No hospitals!”
She tried to sit up but ended up slumping back against the bed as she shook her head frantically.
“No hospitals!”
She was becoming hysterical, and I didn’t know what to do.
“Okay,” I relented. “No hospitals, Nicole. But I’m calling Matt.”
“Matt?” she blinked.
His name calmed her, so I repeated it again as I reached for my phone.
“Yes, see?” I showed her his contact. “Matt. I’m going to call him, okay?”
She nodded and wrapped her arms around her knees, looking very much like a small, fragile child. And I hated myself for not seeing it before. For not seeing how vulnerable she really was. I’d completely underestimated what she was capable of dealing with.
“It’s going to be okay,” I said again, edging towards her slowly as I dialed Matt’s number. “It’s all going to be okay.”
***
Matt’s pounding on the door sent Nicole into another bout of hysteria, and I cringed as I ran to open it.
“Where is she?” he asked, his eyes wild as he looked around the room.
“She’s in the bedroom.”
He tried to bolt to her, but I grabbed him by the arm.
“Matt, she’s… she’s seriously traumatized. I think she’s having some kind of breakdown, but she won’t go to the hospital.”
His shoulders fell, and he nodded as though he understood.
“It’s okay,” he explained. “I’ve seen her like this before. I know how to help her.”
“You do?” I felt like the world’s shittiest friend. How come he had all the answers, and I didn’t.
He strode to the room without answering and cradled Nicole against his chest. He rocked her in his arms, whispering soothing things into her ear while he rubbed her back.
The tension dissipated from her body, and suddenly I understood. It wasn’t about having the right answers. It was about being the right person. Nicole needed Matt because she loved him whether she wanted to admit it or not.
There was a hollow pain in my own chest at the sudden epiphany. Ryland needed comfort too whether he wanted to admit or not. His pain was four-fold what Nicole was going through, but he’d never let on to it. He’d never allowed himself to be vulnerable in front of me. He took his pain and twisted it into anger, and it was the only thing holding him together.
Would he ever accept my help, even if I were to offer it?