CH 47 - #stay
Rhys
Song: “Highway Don’t Care” by Tim McGraw
(feat. Taylor Swift and Keith Urban)
RILEY HAD LEFT Cypress Hills, heading west, and Rosalie continued showing me where I needed to turn. When I reached I-20, I pushed on the gas, searching for Riley’s car somewhere ahead of me.
I tried calling her several times, but she didn’t answer. She just kept sending my calls to voicemail. When my cellphone rang, I jumped and looked at the screen. It wasn’t Riley. It was Jackson.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“On I-20, outside of Longview.”
“No sign of Riley?”
“Not yet. Brother, I really fucked up.”
“It’s going to be alright. You’ll get Riley back. She loves you.”
“God, I love her too. More than life. Hang on! Hang on! I think I see her!”
I sped up even more, trying to catch up to a silver Camaro in the distance. I was going well over the speed limit and still struggling to reach it, so I pushed on the gas even more, weaving in and out of traffic. Finally, I got close enough to the vehicle to read the license plate: RXR4EVR. It was Riley.
“I found her, Jackson! I’ll call you back!”
“Okay!”
I’d just glanced to my right, seeing the exit sign for Loop 281. The second I looked back at the interstate, a flood of brake lights hit my eyes. Then I saw why.
An 18-wheeler ahead of me was swaying back and forth, out of control. At that point, everything went into slow motion. The truck side-swiped Riley as she came up beside it, sending her spinning in circles across the lanes and crashing into the concrete median.
“Noooo! God, noooo!” I screamed.
Traffic came to a dead stop, and I jumped out of Black Betty, running toward Riley with all my might. Her head was resting against her seat, and her eyes were closed when I reached her. Then she started spitting up blood.
I cratered and pleaded with God again while trying to open Riley’s door, but it was locked. I pounded on the window, hoping it’d get Riley to come to and open her door. It didn’t work, though.
“Dammit!” I yelled as other people approached Riley’s car, trying to open her door as I’d done.
I grabbed my head, not knowing what to do, and then I saw them. Rosalie and Joseph. They were standing on the other side of Riley’s Camaro and motioned for me to come to them. Could anyone else see them? Fuck, what did it matter?
After I ran over to them, Joseph pointed at Riley’s passenger-side window. Then he balled up his right hand and pointed at me. He wanted me to bust the window, but my hand was still in a cast. This was going to hurt, but never as much as losing Riley forever.
As I pulled back my arm, Joseph did, too, and we shattered the window together. I reached inside, unlocked the door, and opened it, immediately unbuckling Riley afterward, pulling her out of her smoking car, and holding her in my arms on the interstate.
“Mia bella, don’t you leave me!” I cried, kissing the side of her head.
She opened her eyes and looked up at me. Then she heaved, spitting up more blood and spraying my face with it. Seconds later, her body went limp.
When the ambulance showed up and the paramedics saw Riley, they called Flight For Life. As the helicopter took off, I looked around for Rosalie and Joseph. They were gone, but I didn’t know how long that’d been. Once I pulled Riley from her car, she was all I could focus on.
After running back to my truck, I slowly made my way out of the traffic pileup, exited the interstate, and sped to the hospital where Riley was being taken. On my way there, I called her family, mine, and Macie to tell them about Riley’s wreck. They were all on their way to see her now.
Standing in the hallway next to the waiting room, I noticed Noah walking toward me.
“Hey, Rhys! Macie called me and told me what happened,” he said. “Do you know what Riley’s injuries are?”
“Yeah, one of her ribs punctured her right lung. They’ve already taken her back for surgery.”
“I’m really sorry about all of this.”
“So am I. It’s my fault that it happened.”
“How is it your fault?”
“If I hadn’t confronted Riley at her parents’ house earlier and upset her, she wouldn’t have taken off like she did. No, I can go back even further. If I’d just put aside my ego and pride when I went to her duplex and saw her talking to Chad in her front yard, she and I would still be together, and none of this would’ve happened.”
“Don’t do that to yourself.”
“I can’t help it because it’s the truth.”
I heard a rush of footsteps and looked to my left. Mr. and Mrs. Martin, Riley’s grandpa, Rachel, Jackson, my mom, dad, and Macie were here. Riley’s parents hugged me, and then Mr. Martin asked if I’d received word from Riley’s surgeon, Dr. Abbott.
“Not yet, sir,” I told him.
He rubbed his forehead, visibly upset like all of us. “Okay.”
“Is that what I think it is on your shirt?” Macie asked me.
“Yes.”
“There’s some still on your face.”
I dragged my hand across my right cheek, seeing a tiny bit of Riley’s blood on my fingers. Then I started breaking down.
“Pastor Martin, Mr. and Mrs. Martin, and Rachel,” I said, looking at them. “I’m sorry. I’m so very sorry.”
“About what?” Mr. Martin asked.
“Riley’s wreck. I caused her to have it.”
“Rhys, you’re like a son to me, and I’m going to talk to you like I’m your father, and I want you to listen to me. Riley’s wreck is not your fault. It’s the truck driver’s. It’s just how things timed out with Riley driving beside him when he lost control. It could’ve been anybody that he hit.”
“But—”
Mr. Martin held up his hand. “Stop. It isn’t your fault.”
“Mr. Silverman?” I heard someone say. It was Dr. Abbott.
“How is Riley?” I asked.
“She’s good. I expect her to make a full recovery.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, as did everyone else.
“Thank God,” I said. Then, I introduced Dr. Abbott to Riley’s family.
“When can we see Riley?” Mrs. Martin asked.
“After she gets out of recovery. A nurse will come get you.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Riley was still out from being sedated when we were allowed to see her. Afterward, everyone returned home except for Mr. and Mrs. Martin and me. I wasn’t leaving Riley’s side.
“Rhys, we’re going to get some coffee. Would you like some or anything to eat?” Mr. Martin asked.
“I’ll take some coffee, please.”
“We’ll be back as quick as we can.”
“Okay, thanks.”
When they left the room, I looked back at Riley. She hadn’t woke up yet. Unsurprisingly, she still looked beautiful despite all she’d been through.
I pulled a chair beside her, sat down, laid my head on the edge of her bed, and closed my eyes. A few minutes later, I felt Riley run her fingers through my hair, and I looked up.
When our eyes met, we both started crying. Then I stood up, leaned over, and gently kissed Riley.
“I love you,” I said.
She nodded and pointed at herself and me.
“I’m so sorry about all of this. It’s my fault,” I continued.
Riley gave me a sympathetic smile and shook her head no. It was a struggle for her to talk, so I continued.
“Deep down, I knew you were telling me the truth about you and Chad. My pride and all of my insecurities when it comes to you got in my way. You’ve always shined so brightly—like a beautiful star—and I believed you’d eventually get bored with me and our hometown again and want to leave. That’s why I ended things, Riley.”
She took a ragged breath and whispered, “I don’t shine without you, Silverman.”
I stared at her, wanting to crawl into her hospital bed and hold her in my arms, but I couldn’t. Then I thought, I damn sure can. So I did. I didn’t care if I got into trouble for doing it.
“Mia bella, you’re going to leave this hospital in a few days, and when you do, you’re coming home with me. Once you’re fully recovered, I’m marrying you,” I told her.
She held up her left hand, looked at the engagement ring I’d given her, and smiled at me. Then she reached for my left hand, ran her fingertip over the tattoo on my ring finger, and said, “You’ve always held the key to my heart, and I can hardly wait to be your wife.”