31. Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-One
Dallas
M y phone rings for the third time and I press ignore, wanting to sit and wallow in my own created misery. The look on her pretty face is on repeat—the fucking devastation, the shock, the heartbreak. She’ll never believe me or understand why I had it. Having no fucking idea how to fix this, I toss back a long pull from the whiskey bottle, not registering the burn. I know how skittish she can get, why the hell I kept that file is beyond me. I should have deleted it the moment it came in.
My phone rings for the fourth time and I jam my fingers onto the ignore button. Sawyer’s fucking issues can wait. I just destroyed my fucking life and have to find a solution to put it back together. I can’t imagine a world where Blaire isn’t in it with me. I know running after her while she’s heated like this will be like cornering a wild animal. I’m bound to get my eyes gouged out. I set the bottle on my desk and notice the manila folder that wasn’t there earlier. Opening it, my eyes scan over a proposal to change the current dynamic of the events operations. She’s suggesting we move the tours to only seasonal in the fall, and focus on hosting major scheduled events on the property like weddings, limiting how many assholes are parading around my space every day, with the financial projections to back it up. It’s brilliant. She fucking did this for me. The pressure in my chest tightens further.
My phone vibrates with a text, and I pick it up to throw it across the room when the words flash by my eyes.
Sawyer:
Answer your fucking phone NOW
My phone rings again with an incoming call from my twin. This time I pick it up, letting my rage out on him sounds like as good a plan as any right now.
“What? What the fuck do you need so bad that you can’t give me five fucking minutes to myself? I’m always there for fucking everyone else. I need a goddamn minute!”
“It’s Blaire, motherfucker. I just got a call from the hospital; she was in a car accident. You’re sleeping with her, any fucking idea why they called me and not her grandparents? I’m heading there now; they won’t give me details over the phone. I don’t know how to reach her grandparents, do you?”
I blink twice, registering what he just said, and fear takes over, taking root deep inside me and spreading through my body like a parasite. My heart clenches painfully in my chest as it gnaws at my insides, my body not able to form a sentence or thought.
All that’s there is fear.
“Dallas? You there? Do you know how to reach her grandparents?”
Blaire.
Accident.
Hospital.
She’s all alone.
“I’m on my way.”
I hang up on my brother and grab the keys to my Audi, running through the building and peeling out of the distillery parking lot on autopilot. Now I understand what Sawyer felt when Ivy was abducted. Pure, unadulterated fear. This is all my fault, if I hadn’t gotten that stupid fucking file on her, she never would have found it, we never would have fought, none of this would be happening. Now she’s hurt, all alone in a fucking hospital because of me.
I spin into the Aspen Ridge Medical Center faster than is legal or morally right for being an emergency room parking lot, and run into the building. My brother is already at the nurses’ station and turns to face me as I approach.
“She said the doctor will be out shortly to talk to me. She’s in surgery.”
I fucking crumble. Sawyer grabs my arms to keep my weight from slamming me down to my knees.
“Sawyer, I’m in love with her. I haven’t even fucking told her yet. She has to be okay. I can’t fucking breathe without her.”
I don’t register my brother’s reaction to the news, just that he hauls me up to my feet and takes my weight, moving us into two waiting room chairs.
“She’s going to be fine. It’s a good hospital, she’s in good hands. We’ll get through it. Mom’s on her way.”
I can’t take a full breath. Sawyer pushes me forward, his hand on my back, urging me to put my head between my legs. I work on steadying my breathing, knowing that I need to have my shit together to be strong for my girl. My mom walks in a moment later, taking a seat next to me and rubbing my back.
“Hey, my boy. She’s going to be just fine. I feel it. You doing okay?”
“I need her to be okay, Mom.”
“She will be. Hang in there. We’re here.”
I just need to know that she’s going to be okay. What feels like hours passes before a doctor walks into the waiting room. The images of her and our last conversation are playing on repeat in my head, the guilt eating me from the inside out.
“Sawyer Hayes?”
My brother and I stand together and walk over to the doctor. He’s dressed in surgical scrubs and my heart sinks further. I’ve never felt so out of control, so scared for anything in my life. My hands shake uncontrollably at my sides.
“That’s me, this is my brother, Dallas.”
“I’m her boyfriend.”
My brother looks at me and nods but doesn’t say anything else.
“I’m going to get straight to it, she was in a major accident. It was a hit-and-run. She took damage to the tail end of her car that forced her to spin out of control. Her car flipped three times before it hit a tree.”
Nausea rolls through me in heavy waves, my gut churning acid around on a spin cycle, and I’m forced to bend over and brace my hands on my knees.
“Lucky for her, an off-duty police officer was not far behind, saw the smoke, and was able to call in help quickly. She’s still in surgery and not out of the woods yet. She has major abdominal damage from her seat belt, but that’s what saved her life. There are some things I feel like Blaire should hear first and share with whom she’s comfortable with, but I will tell you that because of the complexity of the damage across her lower abdomen, she’s going to need support to face what’s ahead of her. Otherwise, we’re optimistic she’ll make a full recovery.”
“Thank you, doctor,” my brother says.
“Hang tight. Someone will be out to get you as soon as she’s out of surgery and stable.”
Sawyer grabs my arm and pulls me to stand, but the bile rises with me. I run to the nearest trashcan and flip the lid off, purging the contents of my stomach.
“She’s going to be okay, brother. We’ve got you,” Sawyer’s voice rushes through the buzzing in my head. My mom joins us, handing me some tissues. I stand slowly, taking them to wipe my mouth when I see Liam, Carter, and Kinsey walking into the waiting room, eyes sweeping the area, looking for us. My mom ushers us over to join them in a section of the room that has enough seating for everyone. I’m met with hugs from each of them, Kinsey holding on to me the longest.
“I need her to be okay. She has to be.”