Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 110549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
With that, I stormed out of the hospital to go beat the fucking shit out of Lincoln.
32
Jessie
When I walked into Lincoln’s mom’s place, I wasn’t expecting the scene in front of me.
Lincoln had absolutely trashed the place, and he was just sitting in a pile of random shit he had broken as he silently cried. I knew he hadn’t had the best relationship with his mom. It was a love-hate thing. She got better, they were okay for a minute, and then she relapsed again, only for them to repeat the entire process over and over again.
“Go the fuck away, Jessie,” he growled, not even bothering to look up at me.
I grabbed him by the front of his shirt and threw him halfway across the room. He landed sprawled over the recliner, sending it crashing to the floor with him. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I shouted at him.
“I just lost my fucking mom!” Lincoln roared at me as he stood up, completely unfazed. “What the fuck do you mean what the fuck is wrong with me?” he barked at me.
“West just completely fucking shut down!” I shouted at him. He stopped in his tracks, his angry eyes locked on my face. I drew in a deep breath. Kicking his ass wouldn’t do shit but tire both of us out. “She’s being readmitted to the psychiatric hospital. She lost her ability to speak, and she completely shut her emotions down.”
Lincoln’s face paled. “Fuck.” He pushed his fingers through his hair, clearly distressed. “Fuck!” he roared. “I have to go see her, Jessie.”
I shrugged. “You can try,” I told him. “But good fucking luck.” I grabbed our engagement rings for her out of my pocket and handed him his. “She took both of our rings off, Lincoln—not just yours.”
He dropped onto the couch nearest him as he stared at the ring in his hand. “She’s not going back in that fucking center again, Jessie. I was hurt. I said shit to her I shouldn’t have—shit I didn’t fucking mean.”
“She almost miscarried,” I bluntly told him. Like fuck was I sugarcoating a goddamn thing for this asshole.
Lincoln jerked up to his feet. “I’m going to fucking save her from herself.” I scoffed. “You and I both know that when she self-destructs, she won’t fucking come back from it, and we’re not losing her. I’m going to fucking fix this, Jessie.”
There was nothing he could do, but he could try.
He rushed out of the trashed house, leaving me standing in the midst of his destruction—both figuratively and literally.
Lincoln
When I stepped into West’s hospital room, she didn’t even budge. She just continued staring blankly at the wall ahead of her. I quietly shut the door behind me and moved over to the bed. I took a seat in front of her, running my eyes over her beautiful face. Fuck, she hadn’t deserved this—any of this.
I gently gripped her chin, turning her head to face me. “I’m not letting you do this to yourself,” I said quietly. “I know I fucked up. I said shit to you I shouldn’t have, and goddammit, I should have never walked away from you.”
She stared unflinchingly at me. “I love you, West,” I told her honestly. I heard the door softly open behind me, and soon, Jessie was sitting behind her. He nodded once at me, a silent peace offering for a moment, both of us sitting there with only one goal on our minds.
To save West from herself.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Jessie said softly. “Neither of us, baby girl.”
“Don’t slither into that darkness, baby,” I pleaded. “You have a heart of fucking gold and a beautiful soul. Let your soul shine, baby. Don’t suppress it.”
“Y-you.” Her eyes flashed with emotional pain as she stared at me, unable to get her words past her lips. But hope still soared in my chest. We hadn’t lost her. She wasn’t too far gone.
I fucking hated myself for doing this to her, and I would spend the rest of my fucking life making it up to her.
“Hurt me,” she choked out. “You w-walked aw-away.”
I nodded, not lying. I knew I’d walked away. I’d broken my fucking promise to her. And I’d said shit to her I’d never be able to take back.
“I’ll never fucking leave you again,” I swore. “I know my word doesn’t mean shit to you right now, but I will spend the rest of my fucking life rebuilding your trust in me again. I lost myself in my grief today. The shit with my mom—it’s complicated, and I lost myself in all of that hurt and pain. For a moment—a split fucking moment—I wanted someone to hurt as much as I am.”
Tears welled in her eyes. Jessie wrapped his arms around her from behind as she reached up and grabbed my shoulders, pulling me down as Jessie pulled her back to lean back against him. Without a single word about how much I hurt her, she wrapped her arms around me, laying her body over mine.