Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
B rielle was ready to jump out of her hospital bed and wring her skinny sister’s neck. “Get out.”
Aurora jerked back. “You can’t be serious! I’m your sister!”
“You’ve never been a sister to me,” Brielle growled, her fists clenching the hospital bedding. “And I’m done. Get. Out. Or I’ll get security to throw you out.” She knew the smile on her face was anything but friendly. “Wouldn’t that look good on the evening news next time you’re in a pageant?”
Aurora’s face turned red, and her nostrils flared.
“Before you go,” Ryan said coolly. “I want answers.” His hand landed on Brielle’s neck, massaging gently, and she forced herself to ease up on her anger.
“Answers?” Aurora scoffed. “About what? About how ungrateful my fat sister is?”
“You know what?” Ryan’s jaw was tight. “I don’t even care about answers any more. You will leave, and you will never speak to Brielle like that again. ”
Breath whooshed out of Brielle’s lungs, and she collapsed against her pillow. Those stupid tears, which had been way too prevalent in the last week were back. So this is what it felt like to have someone stick up for her.
Her friends had been here and done great work in ticking her family off, but no one had stood up to Brielle’s family quite like this and she felt weak at the joy circulating her system.
Aurora rolled her eyes and tossed her stupidly perfect hair. “Ryan…enough with this. You need to just tell Brielle the truth.”
“I already have,” he argued. “What we haven’t been able ot figure out is why you keep lying. Why you lied about us dating in high school and why you lied about orchestrating our kiss. Or why you’re lying now about me two-timing Brielle.” He shook his head. “Is anything you say truthful? At this point, I’m starting to doubt that Brielle is even your sister.”
Brielle could see a vein starting to pulse in her sister’s forehead, a sure sign that she was losing control.
“You can’t really believe him over me, can you?”
Brielle gripped Ryan’s hand. “I absolutely do.”
Aurora pinched her lips together, and her face turned purple.
“But he’s right.” Brielle shocked herself and apparently the whole room by speaking softly. She was so angry with Aurora, but the horrible woman was Brielle’s sister . “Why?” Brielle whispered hoarsely. “Why did you do it? Why are you still trying to come between us? What in the world have I ever done to you?”
Aurora twitched a few times before a horrible, broken laugh slipped between her lips. “What have you done? You can’t be that dense.”
“Dense?” Brielle’s temper was rising again. “I’ve spent my entire life in your shadow, being told how ugly, fat, and unworthy I was, and you think I’m the dense one?”
Aurora shook her head. “And it still didn’t work, did it?” Her voice was low and dark, giving Brielle a weird shiver. “No matter how many times I tried to break you, you still came out on top. Every! Single! Time!”
Another nurse came to the door. “What’s going on in here?” This one was younger than the previous nurse, and she looked worried. “Do I need to call security?”
Aurora sneered. “Go ahead. Call security. You can tell them that my sister’s the world’s biggest idiot and yet has so much dumb luck that no matter what I do, she always lands on her feet.”
Brielle had no words. Her mind was utterly blank, and she could only blink at Aurora’s rant. “I…don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t,” Aurora hissed. “You with your grades and your records in sports. You, who took all of Dad’s attention. Do you have any idea what it was like to have him completely ignore me? I did everything I could to be just like the woman he married, I mean, he had to like her at some point, right? And yet he wouldn’t hardly look at me?”
“You…were jealous?” Brielle asked incredulously. “Of me?” She rubbed her forehead. “That can’t be it. I think I’m delusional.”
“Jealous.” Aurora huffed and folded her arms over her chest, shaking her head. “I wasn’t jealous. I just hated that you were good at everything you tried. Running, school, getting attention… No matter what it was, you were at the top of the group.” Her lip curled. “It still makes me sick.”
“So you sabotaged her,” Ryan said, relaxing his hip against the bed. “It wasn’t because you liked me or that you even wanted to be a runner. You just couldn’t stand to see Brielle win.”
Aurora’s glared tightened, but she didn’t respond.
“What about your pageants?” Brielle asked. “You’ve won dozens of them!”
The color drained from Aurora’s face, and she swayed slightly, causing the nurse to step in her direction. “Stop.” Aurora’s voice was weak, but she stiffened her spine and held the nurse off. “I’m done.” Without another word, Aurora walked out, leaving the conversation far from over .
Brielle scoffed and waved at the door. “Why does she get to just walk away like that? She’s delusional! I just can’t…” Squeezing her eyes shut, Brielle pressed fists into her sockets. Her head hurt, her heart hurt, and she was beginning to feel nauseous.
What was wrong with her sister? How could two girls, raised in the same household, have such differing perspectives of their growing up years? Brielle felt like no one, not even her dad, had given her attention, and yet Aurora felt like Brielle got all the attention.
Brielle had turned to alternative activities when she couldn’t match up to her mother’s standards, and yet Aurora had felt like Brielle’s actions were a threat and declaration of war.
“She’s never won.”
Brielle opened her eyes to Ryan. “What?”
He gave Brielle a sad smile as he smoothed a hand down her wild curls. “I actually looked her up, trying to see if I could put the pieces of her life together, and she’s never actually won any pageants.”
“That…that can’t be right.” Brielle shook her head. “I saw her trophies.”
He shrugged. “She must have faked them. Did you ever go watch any of them?”
“Only one.” Brielle winced. “And she didn’t win that one. I hate pageants and didn’t want to go again.” Groaning, she slumped. “Maybe if I’d taken a stronger interest?”
Ryan shook his head. “No. Don’t go there, Bri. While I doubt you were a perfect sister, Aurora has made her own choices. No one pushed her to lie or say horrible things about you. That’s on her. She has to own up to those.”
Brielle didn’t answer. Her heart felt like it was being ripped out of her chest. She hadn’t liked her sister for a long time, why did this hurt so badly?
Warm fingers brushed away a tear that Brielle hadn’t even noticed. “It’s gonna be okay,” he whispered, kissing her forehead. “I’m here, and we’ll get through this together.”
Brielle sighed. She loved that about Ryan…Her eyes shot open an d the despairing beat of her heart suddenly changed rhythm. She loved that about Ryan. Only she didn’t just love how supportive he was…Brielle loved him.
Her heart fluttered, and her stomach quivered at the look on his face as he bent over her slightly, bracing himself on the railing of the bed.
“I have an idea,” he whispered, his face still coming closer.
“Oh?” Brielle squeaked, her mouth felt too dry to talk. What was going on with her? One moment she’d been crying over her sister, and the next she was realizing she was in love. It seemed insane that she’d spent the night in the cold and wet, sitting on Ryan’s lap, and now she was ready to faint like a schoolgirl? “What brilliant idea is that?”
Ryan’s mouth quirked up on one side, and Brielle had to bite back a sigh. “I think we should have our first kiss.”
One eyebrow automatically quirked up. “First kiss?” Brielle scoffed. “Uh…I think maybe you’ve lost your memory, Ry.”
His grin grew into a full smile. “The others don’t count.”
Brielle forced a frown when she wanted to grin like a loon at his teasing, the ugliness with her family completely forgotten. “Pray tell,” she said in a formal tone. “Why don’t they count?”
“Because we were both underage with the first one.” He drew closer.
Brielle narrowed her eyes. “Okay…”
“And the others were under duress.”
Brielle pursed her lips, ridiculously pleased when his eyes went down to the movement. “Are you saying that you didn’t want to kiss me? You only did it to save my life?”
Their noses were practically touching. “If I did, does that make you a princess and me a prince? Because I’m pretty sure our love story could absolutely be a fairy tale.”
Brielle sucked in a breath. “Love story?” His thumb landed on her cheek and began to caress her too warm skin. This all felt so fast. She’d just basically broken up with her family, her foot was in a cast, and she was barely figuring out how deep her feelings for Ryan really were. How could their story happen this quickly and be real?
“Yeah…love story.” His voice was deep, quiet, and husky and was causing chills to break out over Brielle’s skin. “I knew, Brielle. I knew when I found you in that storm that my relief had nothing to do with you being a teammate.”
“But you said?—”
He nodded, their noses rubbing. “I know what I said,” he admitted. “But I didn’t want to scare you off.”
“You’re scaring me now,” she whispered, barely able to breathe.
Ryan backed up just the tiniest bit. “Don’t deny it,” he stated. “Please don’t. I saw the way you were reaching for me right before you fainted. And the look on your face when I was here when you woke up…” His voice trailed off. “No, Brielle…you might be scared, but it’s not because you don’t love me and I’m moving too fast. It’s because you’re afraid that it’s not real. That I’m not being true with you.”
She took a shuddering breath. “Are you?”
His thumb was absolute magic, and Brielle could have closed her eyes and let him rub her face for hours.
She nearly went cross-eyed as he grew impossibly closer, his lips lightly brushing hers as he spoke. “You know the answer to that, but I’ll tell you anyway. Yes, I’m being true. Yes, I love you. Yes, I knew it while I was holding you that night in the storm.”
Brielle’s breathing was growing sharp and shallow, and her eyes were filling with tears. Ugh! Those stupid tears again!
“And just to hold off any more questions before I take control of your mouth,” he said, his lips still brushing hers, “No. I never wanted your sister. No, I won’t let them treat you like that again. And no, I don’t like your family, and I won’t apologize for it. All it’s gonna take is one word from you and I’ll make sure you never have to talk to them again. Ever.”
His wandering fingers made their way through her hair and cupped the back of her head, only adding to the anticipation thrumming through her system.
“And now I’m going to kiss you until your heart monitor goes off and the nurses have to come in and pull me away from you.”
There was no more teasing because Ryan absolutely made good on his promise, though Brielle was thrilled that her heart monitor didn’t alert the nurses. She wasn’t sure how she would have handled having someone separate them. It had already been too long. Somehow, in all their time together, he’d become a part of her and she didn’t just want him around, she needed him around.
Her family had had over twenty years to decide whether or not they wanted her in their lives, and apparently the answer had been in front of her all this time…she’d just been too busy protecting herself to see it.
When Brielle’s hand tugged on the back of his neck, Ryan nearly lost his balance and fell on top of her in the hospital bed. He chuckled and pulled back a little, loving the fact that she was just as eager as he was.
“I have an idea,” he said, kissing her again without finishing the sentence.
“Another one?” Brielle sighed and tilted her head when his lips moved to her jawline.
How was her skin so soft? How could a woman who spent so much time running through the wilderness feel so untainted and perfect?
“Ry?”
Hospital or not, when she gave him that nickname, Ryan had almost thrown her over his shoulder and run to the nearest church. As it was, he was barely containing himself, and it was only because he was worried about her ankle. He wanted her well and whole so he’d curb his caveman desires, at least for now .
“Ry?” she said, pushing slightly against his chest.
“Hm?” He nuzzled where her neck met her shoulder and sighed at how good she smelled. He had missed this and wasn’t sure if he would ever get enough.
“What was this big idea you had?” she asked.
It took several seconds for the words to penetrate through his brain, but Ryan finally came back to himself and backed up, chuckling sheepishly. “Sorry.” He cleared his throat when she laughed. “Uh…”
Brielle reached up and ran a finger along his bottom lip. “What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?”
Ryan grabbed her hand, but was careful not to squeeze since she was still covered in bruises. “I can’t think when you do that.”
Brielle’s eyes widened and her smile grew. “Oh, the power. I can just feel it.”
He hung his head and laughed before looking back up. “You, my dear, are the best of distractions.”
She only smiled. “I’m still waiting for that idea.”
“Oh yeah…that.” Ryan leaned down, having to brace himself to not kiss her again. “I thought that maybe we should do two things.”
“Uh huh…” She gave him an impatient look.
“One…as soon as you can walk again, we’re going to elope.”
Brielle’s jaw fell open and her face paled. “What?”
“And two…as soon as we get back from our honeymoon, we’re going to visit your friend Riley.”
Brielle’s jaw snapped closed, and her bottom lip started to tremble. “You want to go to the shelter?” she whispered thickly, her eyes becoming glassy.
Ryan nodded slowly. “We’re going to walk through, and you can pick up a new running buddy,” he explained. His fingers wiped more tears from her cheek. “You’ll need to recover and your new companion will need to be trained, so it’ll be perfect to do it together so you’re both ready to go as soon as the doc gives the all clear.”
“What if I want a cat?” she asked, taking a shuddering breath .
“Sweetheart, I don’t care if you want an iguana. You can absolutely pick any pet you want, and we’ll take it home for you, okay?” He winked. “I’ve got a deal with the nearest vet, and I promise he’ll take good care of you and whoever you choose.”
The tears were really rolling now and Ryan couldn’t keep up with wiping them away, but he prayed fervently that they were happy tears because he couldn’t bear to think of the alternative.
“I love you,” she whispered hoarsely. “I love you so much it hurts, and I’m sorry for my crazy family. I’m sorry about my sister, and I’m sorry about my mom?—”
He put a finger to her lips. “No sorries,” he said with a quick shake of his head. “Their choices have nothing to do with you, and I would never blame you for them.” He tilted his chin down. “Understand?”
She nodded mutely.
“The only thing I need from you is permission to get us tickets to Vegas.”
Brielle pinched her lips between her teeth and hesitated only a moment before nodding once.
“Oh, it’s on now,” he said, leaning down for another kiss that left him without the ability to think clearly. Life with Brielle was going to be amazing, and he couldn’t wait to get started.
It wasn’t the heart monitor that brought the nurse back into their room, but Ryan took it as a sign to let Brielle breathe anyway, while the worker took Brielle’s vitals.
Instead of leaving, however, he grabbed a chair and sat close, pulling out his phone and searching for airline tickets. The surgery was over, and surely she’d be released soon. Then Ryan would give her a couple of weeks to recover, but after that, she was his, and no one was going to change that. Not now, not ever.
And if her family wanted to be part of their lives, Ryan was going to lay down some ground rules. And the first one would be about how they spoke about Brielle. He still couldn’t imagine how she’d managed to come out as strong and wonderful as she did, but he was going to make sure she was strong because she wanted to be, not because she was trying to protect herself against her jealous sister.
The future was going to be amazing. Ryan refused to consider anything else, From the flush on Brielle’s cheek and the happiness in her eyes, Brielle would be on board with anything he planned. And he was going to plan something really, really good.