Chapter 58
Lane
W hat the fuck is going on? Everything is a mess, and I'm trying so hard to keep the spiraling thoughts at bay, but they're relentless.
Tap your fingers on your thigh four times.
Tap your foot four times. Count to four in your head.
Bounce your head back and forth in sets of four. Four, four, four, fucking four.
The combination of counting to four is the only chance I have at combating all of these overly analytical thoughts.
None of it's helping like it usually does. All I can focus on is how I should have stayed in bed with her this morning. If I had, none of this would have happened. Instead, I was worried about whether or not River was going to have a nightmare and wake her up. I thought I was being helpful, but this is all my fault. Why didn’t we stay there?
"Lane." I hear my name, but I'm too deep in thought to acknowledge whoever it is.
I did this. She's going to go to jail. Our whole career is over. We should have stayed in her bed.
"LANE." A cool hand slaps me across the face.
"What the fuck?" My eyes snap toward the culprit .
"I've been trying to get your attention." River shakes his head. "We don't have time for you to have an episode. There's already enough happening. If you can't keep it together, you're going to have to stay here by yourself."
"Like hell I am!" He's not going to keep me from her. "We should have stayed in bed with her." I say the words out loud, hoping he can help rationalize my thoughts.
"It wouldn't have mattered," he tries to reassure me when I spot an older man on the other side of the room.
I recognize him from some of River’s pictures. Is that his dad? I haven't formally met his family, but I'm pretty sure that's his father.
"So you called them?" My eyes soften as they meet the gentle soul of the man in front of me.
"I had to. They're the only people who can help make this go away. You know that."
"I know, baby, but I'm worried about what this means for you. This is all my fault. They will expect something from you."
"It’s not your fault, Lane. We don't have time to talk about this right now. I'm not trying to be rude, but we really need to get out of here. Everyone is going to my family’s guesthouse for the night. We can talk more when we get there." River gently touches the side of my face.
"He can see you touching me," I hesitantly say, realizing they must have had a whole conversation right next to me without me even hearing because I was stuck in my thoughts.
“He knows about us. ”
“You told him?” My eyes tear up.
"Later, babe." He reaches down to grab my hand. "Let's go get our girl and make sure she's safe."
I nod, placing my hand in his. With that, he leads me to his father’s SUV, where we all pile inside and sit in silence.