Page 48 of Ryder

Putting his hands up, Alex attempts to ward me off.

“Is that true?” a voice resonates from behind me.

Both Alex and I both spin around and come face-to-face with Travis. I see a fire in his eyes that tells me he believes me.

“No, this chick is insane. Probably just some crazed fan,” Alex chuckles nervously.

“I’ll let the cameras determine that. For now, get off the track,” Travis orders Alex.

I spin around, not caring to see the rest of the conversation pan out. Instead, I rush back over where the paramedics are now loading Ryder in the back of the ambulance.

“Wait, I need to go with him,” I cry out, but an arm reaches out and stops me.

“Sorry, only family allowed,” the paramedic says.

“No, I have to be with him,” I argue, tears spilling from my eyes and blurring my vision.

“Let her go,” Travis says, nodding his head to the paramedics.

I can see that they want to argue, but they think better of it and allow me to climb into the back of the ambulance with him.

I move to his side, taking my hand in his and praying for him to wake up. I need to see those sparkling eyes and that naughty grin that drives me wild. I need to hear his deep voice that causes my heart to flutter.

As the ambulance begins to drive off, I hold onto Ryder, refusing to let go.

Chapter 27

Scarlett

It’s been two days.

Two excruciating days spent in the hospital by Ryder’s side. When we arrived at the hospital, I refused to leave him. Even when the doctors and nurses threatened to call security on me, I held my ground.

I called Axel, and the rest of Ryder’s family and friends from Hollow’s Cove, and they were on their way out here to California.

Ryder was resting peacefully as the doctors told me he was in a coma. I had broken down and had a gut-wrenching scream that caused the nurses to have to sedate me.

When Allison arrived hours after me, she had held me while I cried. I felt like my life was spiraling out of control. How did everything go from being so perfect to this hellish nightmare?

I hadn’t showered and had only changed my clothes as Allison had brought me jeans and a sweater from my apartment. Honestly, I don’t know what I would have done without her.

The boys had been a mess after the wreck, and I had talked to them over the last two days to ensure that Ryder was ok even though I wasn’t sure if that was the case.

“Scarlett, don’t you want to go get something to eat?” one of the nurses asked me.

It was the same each time they came into Ryder’s hospital room to check on him. And, each time, my answer was always the same. No.

I just shook my head, no, as she offered me sympathy.

“I’ve seen him race before, he’s pretty great,” she said, admiring Ryder.

If I wasn’t so exhausted, I might have been driven by jealousy. But, I saw a tenderness in her eyes that told me she was just being polite.

“He’s lucky to have you,” she says before exiting the room again.

I hold onto Ryder’s hand and place a soft kiss on his palm. I hadn’t let go of him since we got here, and I didn’t plan on doing it anytime soon.

Over the course of time, we had been in this hospital. I had found plenty of time to think. I was beyond frustrated with myself for not giving my heart to Ryder sooner. I wished more than anything that I would have told him I loved him more. That the night he talked about running off and getting married, that I had just jumped at the chance. There were so many things I had wished I had done differently, that if fate gave me a second chance, I would never take Ryder for granted again.

---