Ty, I can’t take it. Don’t try to call me. Don’t try to find me this time. It’s really over.
Furious, I crumpled it up and threw Sienna out. I was repulsed by this disgusting person who I’d let manipulate me for years. She’d crossed every line to deliberately hurt the love of my life. I was angrier at myself because I’d let her. Raging, I tried to find Sergey to make sure she’d stay gone, but he was not at his post outside my room. All I saw was chaos. The rest of LTZ’s security guards were flat-out running out from the guys’ rooms for the stairwell. Right then, I knew deep in my heart something had happened to Zoey.
I had to get to her.
From where our rooms were on the 30th floor, I flew down the stairs, bursting through the door to an empty lobby, which shocked me. The press had been camped out there all night. That’s when I saw and heard the commotion outside. Then came multiple sirens. I didn’t have time to process anything, I just knew instinctively that I had to get to my girl.
Right now.
I managed to fight my way through the crowd only to see a glimpse of her crumpled on the pavement, her arm at a terrifying angle. She screamed in agony. The ghastly paparazzi swarmed against the band and hotel security, who were doing everything they could to hold them back. Luckily, police officers approached from all directions to help contain the madness.
Once I was recognized, the pap fuckers lost their minds in an attempt to get me to engage. It worked, I screamed and swore. It took every ounce of strength I had to fight my way to her. I didn’t care one iota about the millions of flashes capturing my reaction. Ever dutiful, Sergey was shielding Zoey as much as possible, despite the obvious pain he was in. I managed to break through and shelter her from the other side, clutching her good hand and trying to soothe her until the ambulance came.
Zoey was suffering so much that she was barely coherent. She wouldn’t look at me and kept trying to roll away. I was terrified for her to move because I didn’t know if she hit her head or had a neck or spinal injury. I begged her to keep still. Instead she just passed out. I nearly lost my mind and sobbed and begged for her to wake up.
When a sleazy photographer stuck his camera in my face to get a money shot of me weeping over her limp body, I whirled around to grab his camera like a wild, untamed lion determined to protect his lioness. Luckily, the police had arrived in full riot gear. Within minutes, they formed a circle around us and used riot shields to thwart the swarm until the ambulance could get through. When the EMTs finally had a clear path, she was still unconscious, and they expertly loaded her into the ambulance. They allowed me to ride with her to the hospital.
Now it was eleven p.m. I was sitting on a chair outside her room, alone in the eerily silent hallway. I hated the sterile hospital smell, it made me feel sick. All I could do was think about how I’d failed Zoey and how I’d failed myself. Not just today, but every day for the past eight and a half years. From the day and hour I met her, it should have been my duty and privilege to cherish and protect her. I’d been selfish. I’d fucked it up.
You didn’t deserve her.
You never deserved her.
At some point, I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew Mike Pearson was roughly shaking me awake. “What the fuck did you do to my daughter?”
Olivia Pearson pulled him back. “Mike, stop it. Let him talk.”
I stood and relayed the days’ events, ending with profuse apologies. Mike wrapped a weeping Olivia into his arms while they listened, his face set in stern indignation. His eyes bored a hole into my head.
“Have you seen what they are calling her?” he growled.
All I could do was hang my head in shame. It wasn’t the time or place to tell them that a new scandal would take the place of the old one. How could I when we were now worldwide breaking news? Hundreds of new photos of the accident and injuries were now circulating of Zoey and me. It all provided a backdrop for a new series of sensational but fabricated stories about us.
I didn’t have time to worry about that now.
After the doctors were consulted, the Pearsons signed a couple of forms and were led into her room. I tried to follow, but Mike wouldn’t have it.
“Tyson, we’ll take it from here. Go and get some sleep.” His voice commanded, not asked.
“Mr. Pearson, with all due respect, Zoey is my girlfriend. We may not be engaged yet, but we live together I need to be with her. I love her more than life itself.” I practically begged him on hand and knee.
Olivia stroked my back. “Ty, honey. Let us talk to her, we don’t know why she was running. In the photos she looked so scared. You have to understand as her parents we need to make sure she wants you to be with her.”
Oh, God. They thought that I did something to her.
“Olivia, I swear. I don’t know why she was running. I think our publicist said something to upset her, but I’ve been so overwhelmed with all of this that I just haven’t had the chance to get to the bottom of it.” I was frantic.
“We’re going to see for ourselves. Until then, you should go.” Mike dismissed me.
“I’m not leaving her.” I stood my ground. “After what we’ve been through you’ve got to know that I’ll never leave
