I gasp. “Oh my God. He did it. He shot Casen?”
I must have said it loud because Casen’s father comes over and snatches the phone from Trinity’s hands. His tired eyes grow furious. “What the fuck is this? Megan, call the police.”
He walks away with the phone, leaving Trinity and me in shock.
***
I sit beside Casen’s bed, still waiting for him to wake up, mid-morning the next day and think about everything that has occurred in the past twenty-four hours. Trinity was able to get a hold of Reece and convinced him to go to the police. She left around five o’clock this morning to pick him up and take him in. When she called me an hour ago, I stepped outside and listened to her tell me everything that Reece confessed. It rocked me to my core.
With sadness in her voice, I listened as my best friend told me Reece not only shot Casen but that he killed Ian. Ian and Reece had gotten into an argument and Reece, who was carrying his gun for protection, decided to use it on Ian. He wouldn’t go into detail on the argument but for him to shoot his best friend it had to be something bad. Trinity also said that there were some things about me that Reece admitted. Those she would rather sit down, face to face, and talk to me about when she felt the time was right. She said it would have to be soon unless Casen told me when he woke up. I don’t understand why she couldn’t tell me over the phone, but right now I want to focus on Casen and getting him back up and healthy.
A bouquet of flowers are brought in by one of the many nurses that work here. I don’t remember her name, which makes me feel awful because nurses work so hard and probably only get a quarter of the credit they’re due.
“Thank you,” I tell her, and she smiles back at me.
Casen’s arm lies at his side. It only has the blood pressure cuff on it and nothing connected to his hand so I grab a hold and lay my head on top of it. He’s warm, alive, and I’m so thankful for that. The doctor said to his mom that just a centimeter to the right would have killed him. He would have left this world heartbroken and I would have lived my life the same way. I slammed a door in his face. I let him go, but I won’t make that mistake ever again.
“My mom told me who you are.”
I lift my head up and find Megan, showered and changed, hair pulled back into a bun. “She did, huh?”
Walking to the other side of Casen, she takes a seat. “Well, I already knew. I spoke to Kate. She’s my best friend, but my mom filled me in on the gaps.”
I nod not knowing what else to say.
“Listen, Embyr.” Her face morphs into sorrow. “I’m not without blame. I should have stood up for you.”
I shake my head no. “I’m finished blaming anyone for the things that happened long ago. We were all dumb kids. Some may have known better but I’m done trying to guess who. We all made mistakes.” I look at Casen. “Mine was to use Ian to make Casen notice me.”
She laughs. “Oh, he noticed you. As much as he tried to hide it, everyone except you knew, and it’s just so funny…” She trails off for a moment, looking up in thought. “After high school, Casen wasn’t the same but then a few months ago, all of a sudden he started acting like the lovesick puppy he was back then. Which is saying a lot because my brother likes to be the alpha male. The tough guy.”
I blush thinking about how alpha Casen really is. It’s one of the things I love about him. He gets what I need sexually but then he can be so sweet, which is exactly what I crave outside of the bedroom.
“A lovesick puppy?” I ask. “I would never think to call him that.”
She shrugs. “But don’t tell anyone else what I’m about to say…kudos to you for going after them. I mean they were all pieces of shit. Patrick cornered me in our hallway one time. I never told Casen because he would have killed him but he deserves the sentence he got.”
Last week was Patrick’s sentencing. He pleaded guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence. I believe he got five years in prison and to pay back the rest of the money that hasn’t been returned yet.
“Not some of my proudest moments.” I look at the monitors, willing Casen to wake up soon. Guilt consumes me. “I just can’t help but feel like all this is my fault. It all started with that bet. Then when things were finally calming down with them, I pop back into the scene and all hell breaks loose once again.”
“I thought we weren’t playing the blame game anymore, Embyr? Stop worrying about the past. Focus on the here and now. Start with fixing what’s going on between you and Casen.”
My head snaps up. “How did you know?”
“He texted me earlier. Asked me all the ways to woo a woman.” She giggles. “His words. Not mine.”
I laugh right along with her. The first time in days and it felt good. “And what did you tell him?”
“That if I got shot by my best friend she would come running back to me,” a deep, groggy, all alpha male voice answers.
Both Megan and I jump up but she runs out of the room and I just sit there and stare.
“Hi,” he finally says.
I swallow, trying to relieve the dryness of my throat. “Hi.”
He reaches for me and I take his hand in mine, lean in and kiss him. I pull back slightly to stare into his eyes. “I love you, and I was coming back for you, even before I got this phone call.”
