Nothing made me crazier than being kept in the dark. “Did something happen to Ty?”
“What do you mean?” My dad stood to come help me to the couch.
“I’m feeling pretty clearheaded now. I’m grateful for both of you, but I don’t understand where Ty is.”
My folks exchanged glances; an entire silent conversation passed between them.
“Ty is in Los Angeles.” My dad guided me to the couch.
I was so confused. “Why?”
More glances.
“Just tell me what’s going on.” I plopped down. “He hasn’t been with me and I’m freaking out. I’m feeling better, you can’t keep me prisoner here.”
“Zoey!” Dad was stricken.
“Where’s my phone?” I frantically begged, feeling more agitated. “I know you’re trying to protect me from something, but you have to understand that not knowing is making it worse. Did something happen to him?”
“Calm down, honey.” Mom rushed to my side.
My dad’s voice was barely over a whisper. “Ty has been here every day, but he didn’t want you to know. He had to leave for LA for some meetings this morning.”
“What? Why didn’t he want me to know?” My heart hurt so bad.
“When you were in the hospital, you told him there was no future together. He planned to bring you to his house, but you wouldn’t go. And, well, we wouldn’t let him.” Mom stroked my hair like a little girl. “He’s blaming himself for all that happened to you.”
“I don’t remember any of that.” My mind raced, trying to find some memory of the conversation. “I’d never want to be away from him.”
“Well, you were very upset by a video—”
“Yes, I remember the video.”
“Honey, you’ve been very out of it,” Mom soothed. “You weren’t retaining much information because of your surgery and the painkillers have made you discombobulated.”
“I was upset that she did that to him. We can’t go through another separation because of miscommunication again.” I was anguished. “Help me remember.”
“Sweetheart, when you tried to get away you ran out into the street. Sergey saved you from being hit by a taxi. Ty flew us to New York, you were in the hospital for three days until we came home on a private jet and got you set up here,” Mom explained. “Ty brought in the Seattle Mariners’ orthopedic specialists to oversee your care.”
“I want to see him.” My heart raced. “It wasn’t his fault about Sienna. Ohmygod. I said horrible things to him before I ran out.”
“Zoey, you have to understand. That woman set up horrible press articles about you. Whenever you’d wake up, you’d be agitated and crying about what happened. We couldn’t really get a clear picture, and at first, we didn’t know if Ty had hurt you.”
Hearing that my parents believed that Ty had harmed me was unbearable. “I was really mad at him and the situation, but deep down I knew he’d never hurt me, Mom.”
“You have to understand, your accident made headlines around the world. We had news cameras and photographers outside the house around the clock. Thousands waited outside the hospital for news of your condition. When we first got there, I was furious at him.” Dad sat on the other side of me. “We kept him away from you until you asked for him. He never left, he made sure you had everything. He even hired some crazy secret-service paramilitary security to keep you safe. They have our entire street blocked off.”
“How long has it been?”
“Three weeks ago, yesterday.”
“Seriously. Get me my phone, please Dad,” I implored.
“Zoey, you need to be prepared.” Mom cradled me gently. “Ty has managed to get a lot of the stuff down, but I can’t be sure there aren’t things out there that will hurt you.”
“You mean Jace got the stuff pulled down.” I took my phone from him.
“No, it was Ty.” Dad handed me the charger. “He has been giving interviews and hired his own crisis management team to help change the narrative. It’s beginning to work.”
“Are you sure you’re feeling up to this?” Mom’s concern permeated her face. “At least use my laptop, sweetheart.”
It was hard to figure out how I felt. All I knew was that I needed information so I could analyze it and try to put my life back together. For the next few hours, I poured over every article, every interview, every video. I found some of the salacious stuff that had been printed. There were websites devoted to Ty and me as a couple and websites devoted to breaking us up. After such an intense download of material, my head felt like it would explode. I was getting sleepy.
But I had what I needed.
As I was shutting down the computer, my dad brought me a sandwich. He sat across from me but remained silent. A look of understanding passed between us.
“He’ll be back, he usually comes by around eleven p.m.”
“I hurt him, didn’t I?” I sighed. “Again.”
My dad leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, thoughtfully considering his words. Then he spoke. “Zoey, in every relationship there will be times when you hurt each other without meaning to. Some people work through it and some don’t. I’ll admit that I have always had my reservations about Ty. He came from a difficult background and no dad wants his little girl to give her heart to a rock dude.”
Dad took a pause, a lawyer trait that I emulated often.
I waited patiently for him to continue.
“Throughout this nightmare, he’s shown your mom and me who he really is.” Dad had tears in his eyes. “I don’t want to influence you, honey. Neither does he. He’s willing to step aside. I’d say he’s almost resigned to it. His only wish is for you to be okay. Happy.”
“He always makes me happy.” I smiled. “I’m the best version of myself when we’re together.”
“That’s all a dad can ask for.”
“Why has he been coming over so late?” It was the last piece of the puzzle.
My mom brought me my newer, less-potent painkillers and a cup
