46. Sean
CHAPTER 46
SEAN
I meet Kenzie in the hallway on my way back to the waiting room. “How’s Ash?”
“She was sedated, but I felt her hand twitch in mine.” I can’t help the smile. “She’ll be okay, Kenzie.”
“I won’t relax until she’s awake and out of the danger zone. When are you getting your test results back?”
“I don’t know. Let’s see if they’re ready.”
We return to the nurse’s station, and Nurse Wilson is behind the desk now. “How can I help you?”
“I’d like to know if my blood test result came back.”
She frowns. “Yes, they were ready hours ago. Didn’t you speak with Doctor Murphy?”
“Not the first test, the second one,” I reply.
“Oh, I didn’t realize you had to retake it. Let me check.” She types away on her keyboard, and the sound gets on my nerves. I’m not sure why it’s bothering me now when I never had a problem with it before.
“Yes, I have it.”
“What does it say?” Kenzie leans over the counter.
“The same as the prior result.”
“She’s not my sister, then.” I step back, pressing a fist against my mouth. My heart is pounding so hard against my ribcage, I fear it might burst through.
“Ash is not your sister.” Kenzie repeats, then hugs me. “She’s not your sister!”
I don’t know how it happens, but we start to jump on the spot, chanting that Ashley isn’t my sister. From the corner of my eye, I see Nurse Wilson watching us with her mouth agape. She must think we’re crazy.
Kenzie steps back, then wipes the moisture from my cheeks. I didn’t realize I was crying. “Let’s head out to the waiting room and give an update to your friends.”
“Okay.”
She hooks her arm with mine and steers me in the right direction. I walk in a daze. My head is definitely stuck in the clouds. I can hardly believe this turn of events. I don’t care that I need to have a serious conversation with my mother and my dad. My mind is focused on the fact that there’s nothing keeping me from the girl I love anymore. Now I need to pray for her to get better fast, so I can spend the rest of my life worshiping her and making up for the three years we lost.
The entire gang is waiting for us—Darren, Alex, Logan, CJ, Noah, and of course, Ashley’s friends, Gia, Blair, Zoey, and Ash’s roommates. I open my mouth to tell them the good news that Ashley is in recovery when I notice someone who shouldn’t be here. Brian.
I advance toward him. “What the hell are you doing here?”
He jumps out of the chair and shifts backward. “Ash’s my girlfriend. I have a right to be here.”
“The hell she is. Leave now, before I finish what I started.” My hand is already balled into a fist.
Kenzie jumps in front of me. “What are you doing, Sean?”
“I’m not getting into it right now, but this motherfucker needs to get the hell out.”
Alex and Logan join us. “You heard Sean,” Logan says. “You need to go. Don’t make us drag your ass out.”
Brian glances at the girls. “This isn’t right. I need to be here.”
Alex gets into his personal space. “Hey! Don’t look at them. Just fucking go already.”
Brian looks at me. “Can you at least tell me if Ashley is all right?”
If he hadn’t done what he did to her, I might take pity on him, but I don’t feel an ounce of remorse when I say, “No. You don’t deserve to know.”
“Is there something wrong here?” A security guard approaches.
“Yes, can you please escort this man off the premises?” I reply. “He’s disturbing the peace.”
The security guard grabs Brian’s arm. “Come on now. Let’s go.”
“But I did nothing wrong! I’m waiting for news about my girlfriend.”
The guard hesitates.
“She’s not his girlfriend. This man is a stalker who’s been harassing my sister,” I reply, stretching the truth.
Brian’s eyes bug out. “That’s a lie!”
“It’s a not a lie, sir,” Logan tells the security guard.
Having a second person back me up is enough for the man. He steers Brian away, but I’m still fucking pissed that he was here to begin with.
“Who told him?” I ask through clenched teeth.
“I did,” Zoey says in a small voice. “I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to.”
I’m still angry, but it’s not her fault. “Ashley broke up with him tonight because she found out Brian was a piece of shit. You couldn’t have known.”
My answer seems to make Zoey shrink even smaller. Out of all Ashley’s friends, she’s the one with the sweetest disposition, and I feel like an asshole for putting her on the spot like that.
Out of the blue, CJ pipes up, “Hey, don’t feel bad. Thanks to your oops, now we all know Brian is anathema.”
Noah snorts. “Anathema? Look at you using big words.”
CJ scowls. “Bite me, Kingsley.”
“Guys, come on. Now’s not the time,” Darren interjects, then looks at me. “How’s Ash?”
“She’s stable, but still in the ICU. We’ll have to wait.”
“I can’t believe this happened,” Zoey murmurs.
Gia throws an arm around her shoulder, and the girl leans into her. “The important thing is that she’s out of surgery and resting. She’ll pull through.”
“Where are your parents?” Blair asks.
“They were traveling in Europe. They should be landing in Boston in a few hours.”
“They must be so worried,” Gia chimes in, curling her arm around her belly. She isn’t showing her baby bump yet under those bulky winter clothes, but her maternal instincts have already kicked in.
Noah covers her hand with his. It’s a sweet moment for them, and it makes me hopeful that I can have that with Ashley one day.
“How did the accident happen?” CJ asks, snapping me back to the here and now.
“Deer on the road, she couldn’t avoid hitting it.” I take a seat across from him and rest my elbows on my knees.
“Why was she driving during a snowstorm? Was it because of Brian?” Logan asks, not hiding his aggressive tone.
As much as I’d love to pin the accident on Brian, he wasn’t the reason she was running away. “No, it was my fault. This was all my fault.”
I cover my face and lose my shit in front of all my friends. I thought I was done crying, but I feel the full weight of my guilt now.
Kenzie sits next to me and rubs my back. “Sean… come on. You have to stop blaming yourself.”
“How was her accident your fault?” Noah asks.
I look up and find all my friends staring at me with looks of compassion, and worry. In that moment, I realize I’m done keeping secrets.
“I kissed her.”
No one says a word for a couple beats, but their reactions are similar. I get a of lot of jaws hanging loose and brows arched.
“About damn time,” Noah replies first.
Alex snorts. “That wasn’t the first time, buddy.”
“What do mean?” Blair looks at him.
Alex rubs the back of his neck, looking hella guilty. “Uh….”
“Nice going, bro.” Logan crosses his arms, and smirks.
Darren chuckles. “You gotta admit that you two keeping the secret for this long was nothing short of a miracle.”
“What secret?” Zoey’s gaze bounces off Alex, Darren, and Logan.
“Ash and I dated briefly during freshman year. We kept our relationship a secret. Besides Kenzie, only Darren, Logan, Alex, and Ryder knew about it.”
At my mention of Gia’s ex, Noah’s spine goes stiff.
“Let me get this straight.” Blair glares at Alex. “You and my brother knew that Ash and Sean used to be a couple, and you never told me?”
Alex’s eyes bug out. “It wasn’t my secret to tell. If Ash wanted you to know, she’d have told you.”
CJ shakes his head. “I don’t get it. It was obvious you had a thing for Ash, and vice versa.”
“You noticed that too?” Zoey asks, surprised.
He nods and turns to me. “Yeah. So why did you break up?”
Fuck. Do I really want them to know I spent three years believing Ash was my half-sister?
When I don’t answer right away, Kenzie blurts out, “Our dad is actually Ash’s biological father.”
The silence that follows is so absolute, we could hear a pin drop.
“Whoa.” Logan finally speaks up. “You banged your own sister? That’s rough, man.”
“She’s not my sister,” I grit out.
“I’m so confused. Is anyone following this?” Noah chimes in.
“No, but where’s the popcorn?” CJ leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees.
Groaning, I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I just found out tonight I wasn’t related to Ash. It seems my mother was also keeping a secret.”
“Oh, so you thought you were related, and that’s why you broke up with Ash. But now you know you aren’t related, so you can be together again.” Zoey summarizes the fucked-up plot that is my life.
“It’s like a daytime soap opera,” Blair murmurs.
Zoey clasps her hands together and squeaks. “I know! It’s so romantic.”
I grimace. Romantic isn’t how I’d describe it, but I don’t want to burst her bubble.
“Did you ever tell Ash you thought you were related?” Gia asks.
“No. I didn’t want her to feel as wretched as I did. Trust me, believing I had fallen in love with my half-sister was horrible.”
Logan twists his face in disgust and shivers. “I’m glad I only have a brother.”
“Now you know everything,” I say.
No one makes a comment for a while, until Blair punches Alex’s arm. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”
“Ouch, woman. Take it easy.”
“Don’t be mad at him, Blair. He was just being a good friend,” I say.
“I know, but I’m still annoyed, and since I can’t be angry at Ash, Alex will do.”
“All right, but can you save it for the bedroom, babe?” Alex gives her an impish grin.
Blair’s face turns bright pink, and her jaw slackens. Her reaction is priceless, and it makes me chuckle. Gia, Noah, and Logan snicker as well. Darren is looking into the distance, and I guess he missed it, and CJ is too busy staring at Zoey.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I fish it out. Before I can see who texted me, Kenzie says, “Dad and Marnie just landed.”
Relief and worry mix together. I’m glad that they’re back, but at the same time, it means I’ll need to have a serious talk with my dad sooner rather than later, and truth be told, I’m worried how he’s going to react. The last time he discovered this big of a secret, he had a heart attack.