The door shut in my face without a reply. I peered through the window. Zoey was still sleeping. Her parents sat on either side of her, both looked broken. Like they had aged ten years since I’d seen them last. It wasn’t surprising, she was their only child.
The anguish I felt knowing the woman I planned to spend my life with was on the other side of a hospital door that I didn’t have the right to enter was indescribable. I had to be with her, she was my air. I was seconds away from barging into her room when Mike saw me staring at them through the window. He shook his head, stood, and pulled the privacy curtain around her bed, motioning for me to leave. Then she was blocked completely from view.
I was shut out of her life. Again.
Chapter 31
ZOEY
My mind was floating. My arm hurt so bad. Where was I? I could hear someone saying my name. Was that Mom?
“Mommmm?” My voice didn’t sound right. How funny. I could hear myself giggling but it seemed like the sound was above me.
More voices. I didn’t recognize them. Where was Ty?
“Tyyyy.” Where was he? I needed him.
My dad’s voice mumbled above me.
“Dadddyyy.” I could see him hovering above me, but he was so blurry. My arm hurt so bad and I could feel tears dripping down my face, but I couldn’t move.
Where was Ty?
Why did my brain feel so funny?
So much chaos around me and suddenly the pain went away, and I was soooo tired.
Chapter 32
TYSON
It had been nearly forty-eight hours since Zoey’s operation. Forty-seven hours, twenty-two minutes, and thirty seconds to be precise. I hadn’t left the hospital. Mike and Olivia hadn’t let me in to see her yet. All I knew was that she was on some serious pain medication, so she hadn’t exactly been coherent. Until they could talk to her, I was banned.
So, I was going out of my mind. Literally.
Well, maybe figuratively. Not literally. I didn’t want to be one of those douchebags who started saying literally literally all the time.
Who the fuck knew, I was losing my mind.
I hadn’t slept since the night before the concert. I hadn’t showered. I was a mess.
I was also so incredibly pissed that Zoey’s parents were interfering in our relationship.
I should be in there with my future wife. The love of my life. My best friend. My lover.
By the second day of being relegated to the waiting room and only being fed piecemeal bits about Zoey’s status, I was living with a silent rage. The only thing that kept me from knocking the shit out of Mike Pearson was Zoey. She’d already been through so much, and I wasn’t about to add to her pain.
So I tried to put myself in his shoes. If what happened to Zoey had happened to my daughter, I’d do exactly what Mr. Pearson was doing. Protect his baby. Luckily, Olivia threw me a few crumbs and would sit with me for a few minutes now and then to fill me in on Zoey’s status. She was being weaned off the heavy painkillers and would be able to have a more coherent conversation by the next morning. I was counting down the minutes because I knew Zoey wanted me with her, I could feel it in my bones.
At about five in the morning, I was stretched out on the sectional couch in the waiting area trying to get some sleep. Zane had snuck in earlier and brought me some fresh clothes on the way to the jet strip, the band was flying back home to Seattle. A nurse had taken pity on me and let me have a shower. I was ready to see Zoey, I was biding my time.
“Ty, honey.” Olivia’s gentle voice startled me from my catnap.
“Olivia, is she awake?” I popped up, adrenaline pulsed through my veins.
“Yes, she’s asking for you.”
I sprung up and raced toward her room.
“Ty, wait!” Olivia called.
“You both have kept me from her for days, I need to be with her.” I whirled around, my voice too loud for the early hour.
“I just wanted to tell you what to expect.” She crossed the room to me and took my elbow. “She’s still pretty loopy, the pain meds are strong. She doesn’t remember the accident.”
“Okay.”
“Ty, it’s pretty apparent that something really upset her.”
“Okay.” Dread filled my gut.
“Mike wanted us to stay in the room, but I think you both need some privacy.” Olivia squinted, assessing my reaction.
“I’d appreciate that, Olivia.”
“We will be right outside,” she warned.
When I pushed the door open, my heart was beating ten thousand miles per hour. Zoey’s sweet face tilted up at the sound. When she saw me, it wasn’t the reaction I’d been hoping for. Tears welled up in her eyes. She was having a hard time looking at me. I took a deep breath and pulled up a chair.
God, there was nothing that mattered more than Zoey. She was everything.
I took her good hand, brought it to my lips, and kissed it. With my other hand, I smoothed her hair and stroked her soft cheek.
“I’ve been going out of my mind to get to you. No one would let me in.” My tears spilled down my cheeks. “They thought I hurt you and you were running from me.”
She just cried.
“Why did you run, butterfly?” I sobbed, I couldn’t help it. “What happened?”
“I saw.” Her eyes were squeezed shut. Tears flowed like rivers now.
“What?”
“You and her.” She pulled her hand away.
“Who?” My spine prickled with fear.
She shook her head. “Sienna.”
“Did Sienna show you that old picture? It was so long ago and only one time when I was high. It’s why I got clean, babe.” I babbled but I couldn’t stop. “It’s what I wanted to tell you before all hell broke loose. I’d forgotten, Jace found the picture—”
“I saw a video of her sucking your cock.” Her voice slurred by medication and sorrow.
The room began to
