Ah. That explains the immense pain I’m in.
“I literally broke you when I…” The words die on his tongue. He flattens his lips, his eyes shifting to the other side of the room where the single sink sits with some cabinets.
I drag my bottom lip between my teeth and shake my head. “I don’t understand,” I say, not following.
The words get lodged in his throat. “I broke you when I gave you CPR.”
“The CPR you gave me when you saved my life?” A tear falls over his bottom lash, and it breaks my heart watching it trail down his flushed cheek and the dusting of hair on his jaw that looks like it grew overnight from his stress and worry alone. “Colten, my truck went off a cliff, and my body smashed into the wheel.” He winces, his eyes darting to a corner of the room to avoid my eyes. “Please look at me,” I plead, a near whisper. His eyelids slam shut and he exhales a shaky breath before pulling his gaze back to mine. “I drowned. You saved me. Even if it wasn’t the fall and impact that caused it, rib fractures can happen even when you’re doing CPR correctly—”
“But I was so hard on you,” he murmurs.
“‘Breathe so I can get on my knees and lay my heart at your feet and beg for your forgiveness,’” I repeat his words. He glances up, eyes scanning mine as his brow furrows in disbelief. I wasn’t sure if he said it, but now I’m sure. “I don’t need you to lay your heart at my feet, Colten, because yours is the reason mine is beating again.”
The column of his throat works as he swallows. “You heard me?”
“I’m not sure how…it was almost like a distant voice in a sea of nothingness. I didn’t feel pain at that moment. Everything was dark and lifeless, but the one thing I heard clearly was your voice.”
His head falls between his shoulders, his body physically shaking. He picks up his head, his cheeks flushed as he peers at me. “So, I’m assuming you heard the rest then?”
My lips tug upward, and I nod, the tears stinging behind my eyes.
“Goddammit.” He rakes his other hand that isn’t holding mine through his hair. I don’t think there is any circulation in my fingers, but I am perfectly okay with it. “I didn’t think you’d hear me. I didn’t want to tell you that way…”
“Then tell me when you’re ready,” I say genuinely.
“Taryn—”
I squeeze his hand. “I’m serious, Colten. I don’t need to hear it today. I don’t need to hear it tomorrow. Hearing you say it at all—even if it was your distant voice in that unforeseen moment—is all I need right now. You are all I need right now.”
Standing, he leans over my bed, his head dipping to mine. Colten’s lips brush over mine so softly. He’s not close enough, so my left hand drifts behind his head to tug the hair at the nape of his neck, bringing him closer. He groans into my mouth, and I swallow the sound. Tilting his lips, he deepens the kiss, his tongue entering my mouth and flicking against mine, injecting sparks back into my bloodstream, making me feel even more alive. If he keeps kissing me like this, I’ll be healed by the end of the day.
Colten makes me feel high. A pain relief method I would happily overdose on. Again. And again.
“Fuck,” he feathers across my lips. He kisses the corner of my mouth. “Thank you—” His lips press into my nose. “—for coming—” He peppers his mouth against my cheek, and I whimper. “—back to me. My beautiful little ghost.”
“Always,” I exhale as his forehead rests against mine. Moving my spine, I hiss at the agony. He quickly stands up, looking at me with concern. “I’m okay,” I reassure him. He nods. “And thank you for calling my parents. I haven’t seen my mom and dad in over eight months; I didn’t realize how much I needed to see them after all this time.”
He leans into the bed, rubbing a lock of my hair between his pointer finger and thumb. “Your parents love you, Taryn. It’s evident. They may have their own way of showing it, but the moment I called, they instantly bought tickets to fly out here to make sure you were okay.” I peer at my red-painted nails, pulling my lower lip between my teeth. “Cameron and Brennan are back at the house, but I told them you’re awake, so they are bringing everyone here to see you. They were the ones who got the helicopter and first responders to us.”
My frantic eyes meet his. “Are they okay? What about Elena and Tristan—”
“They sat them down and told them what happened. They were shaken up, but they want to come see you.”
I smile.
He rakes his fingers through his hair. “Oh, and your parents are going to stay with us for a week. Your mother insisted on getting a hotel since she said she wasn’t sure of their plans after this, but I insisted they stay with us. I hope that’s okay.”
A vibration of movement deep in my memory begins to bounce gradually off the inside of my skull. Tapering my brows, I focus on the recollection, the images playing behind my eyes, dragging me back down to drowning in my truck. I couldn’t breathe. It was dark. But I looked out the window one last time before my eyes closed and saw something in the distance. It was metal.
My hand flies to my mouth, tears pooling in my eyes.
It was her. He said they never found the car. That her vehicle disappeared when she did.
“Colten, your mom,” I stutter through the tears, the burning image of the silver SUV coexisting with my truck underwater.
His eyes fall to the impeccable white tile flooring below his shoes, the fluorescent light catching his Adam’s apple bobbing.
His eyes glass over, the look terrifying me more than I thought possible. “You said something about her before you passed out,” he swallows. “I felt it in my gut. I knew you wouldn’t mention her out of nowhere like that.”
