Page 97 of While You're There
Panic started to replace every other emotion as Rhett realized what was at stake.No. This wasn’t happening. Hehadto get home to Tori. He had to be there, he had to hold her. He had to watch her sleep and make sure she got to her appointment tomorrow on time.
“Honestly? I think she’s getting used to it, being abandoned and disappointed by you. It’s only a matter of time before she sees your pattern. Before she sees you the way I see you.” Fielding stalked toward him, getting right up in his face and boxing him in against the alley wall. “I promise you this, Wheeler. Shewillsee you the way I see you soon enough. While you’re there, I’m here. And unlike you, I won’t abandon her. I’ll be here when you break her heart.”
Fielding pushed off the wall and chucked the car keys near his head.
“I’m not driving you home. Sleep it off in your car if you won’t call a ride, you stubborn alcoholic. And don’t forget to set an alarm. Tori has to be at the hospital by 7:15 a.m. tomorrow,” he clipped out over his shoulder as he exited the alley.
Fucking Fielding.
Rhett fumbled with his phone, turning on the flashlight to search the ground. He finally found the car keys in a puddle a few feet from where he stood. He bent down to grab them, nausea churning in his stomach thanks to the mix of alcohol and self-loathing coursing through his veins. He righted himself and tried to take in a slow breath through his nose.
He wasn’t going to let Fielding Haas keep him away from his wife. Not tonight. Not ever. He just needed a minute to collect himself, to get his head on straight, and then he would go home.
Chapter forty
Tori
“Baby.”
A familiar voice called to her through the fog of sleep. A strong grasp jostled her further into consciousness.
“Tori, I’m so sorry to wake you, but you have to get up.”
Jake was crouched low, his face hovering just a few inches above her when she finally opened her eyes. She squinted from the brightness of the lamp on her bedside table.
“What? What’s going on?”
“You have to get up. There’s been an accident. We have to go.”
She jolted upright, wincing as the quick movement sent a spark of pain through her abdomen. She reached out toward Jake, not even sure what she was reaching for until he took her hand. She tried to make eye contact through the darkness, tried to meet his gaze through the clouds of panic filling the room.
“Rhett. Is he…” She didn’t know which question to ask. She didn’t want to hear the answers to any of the questions racing through her mind.
“He’s alive. But my buddy Drew was part of the emergency crew that responded, and he thinks he’ll need surgery. They took him to City Hospital. I don’t know anything else yet.”
She let Jake pull her to her feet. She knew they had to go, but she couldn’t will her body to move. Her mind was racing, but all she could do was be still. Jake ran a hand over his face before letting out a defeated sigh.
“Grab your phone and your charger. Do you want to change your clothes?”
She nodded, grateful he had the clarity to know what to do next. He moved toward her and pulled her into a quick hug before giving her a gentle squeeze to set her in motion.
“I’ll go downstairs and make coffee. We’ll leave here in five minutes, ’kay?”
“I—I can’t have any caffeine,” she remembered out loud. She glanced down at her bloated stomach, at the physical reminder of why she was so tired and why she couldn’t have caffeine and why Rhett had come home in the first place.
“I’ll get you a water, then. And I’ll let Penny out. I’ll leave a note for your dad.”
She nodded. All she could do was nod. She had to get dressed. She had to get going.
She fumbled through her dresser for at least two minutes before giving up. Nothing in there would fit anyways. She ripped the door open to her closet, blindly grabbing for the first dress hanging in the front.
There had been an accident.
Rhett had been in an accident.
She had let herself go to bed angry. She’d been so unbelievably angry. But that anger was unwarranted: He hadn’t been avoiding her or delaying coming home like she had assumed. He’d been in a fucking car accident. She would never forgive herself for being angry while he was in agony.
They made it out the door in less than five minutes. Now that she was finally in motion, she was desperate to get to him.
