Page 92 of Love Collided

“I feel like I am taking advantage of all of you having to be here, and for making the guys do this.”

“You all once ran to save me when I needed you. Do you think we would ever hesitate to help you?” Quinn said.

“You’ve been our best friend since day one, Scout. For each one of us,” Ash said. “You’ve also beentheirbest friend since day one. Don’t forget that those guys need you just as much as you need them. This isn’t a burden, babe. This is what you have told every single one of us that we do. We are there for each other, even when it’s not fun.”

“And there’s no reason to feel guilty for what Jesse did. You don’t control his actions, and you better not apologize for him,” Carly said. “He’s an ass, and it’s not your fault he did that to Chase.”

I tried to calm myself, taking deeper breaths again as I leaned against Quinn. The guys filed out, Kye slamming the door behind him.

“Do we need to call the police or something?” Ash asked.

“Maybe an ambulance?” Carly added.

“No to both. He should be fine in a few days, and he didn’t exactly call one for Chase. Nothing catastrophic. Come on, let’s get home,” Fox said, waving us all to cars.

“I don’t know that I can drive,” I said, still trying to calm down and make sure the tears didn’t start again.

“Come on,” Ash said. “I’ll drive your car back, and you ride with me.”

I nodded, heading to my car, but Kye stopped me.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I mean, he didn’t hurt you more than what we saw, right?”

“Yeah, that was the worst of it. I’m okay now. I mean, as good as I can be.”

“Alright,” he said. And then he hugged me, pulling me tight and making me cry harder. Kye rarely hugged any of us. I could probably count it on two hands how many times he hugged me in our entire lives. “You did good, Scout. How about a movie night?”

“Yes, please,” I said, forcing a smile as I pushed more tears away.

Five minutes later, Ash pulled out, winding her way back into town without a word.

“Where are you going?”

“You know by now that I feel responsible for Fox’s scar.”

“Of course, but it wasn’t your fault.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t think that at the time, and I don’t think you do either. The one thing that kept me awake for days was not knowing how he was. I should have gone back to the hospitalthat day and checked in on him. I should have stayed that night with you guys, but I was scared.”

Fifteen minutes later, she parked in the hospital parking lot and parked the car near the door. “Run inside and check on him. Just for peace of mind. Even if he is mad at you, do this so you can sleep tonight.”

“Thank you,” I said, pushing the door open and heading inside.

TWENTY-FIVE

SCOUT

Chase was lyingon the hospital bed still but had changed into jeans and a t-shirt. The minute I walked through the door, he sat up and looked ready to attempt to stand.

“Don’t get up. I’m already coming over to you.” I made it to the bedside, and he didn’t hesitate to grab my hand.

“I’m glad you came back, and in one piece. I’ve been trying to get a hold of one of you for what felt like hours.”

“It was a little over an hour, not hours. Did you think I was going to ignore you again?”

“No, I thought you would be in jail,” he said, giving me a small smile. “I was worried.”

“Not in jail quite yet. You seem to know what happened, and aren’t surprised.”

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