Page 5 of Crash into me

“I wrecked the Rover?”

Two small, relieved laughs escape from Kate and Mom. “Don’t worry about any of this right now.” That’s the older nurse. She’s checking my vitals.

It’s all becoming too much, too overwhelming. “I want Dad.”

Mom’s eyes widen a bit, and she looks around the room. “He’s a—”

“No!”

The nurse tenderly grabs his tattooed arm. “The girl wants her father.”

I stare at the speckled ceiling, tracing shapes with my eyes as everyone shuffles around.

Before I know it, the room is empty, aside from Dad.

I take a deep breath, steeling myself. I look to a sleeping Sophie for strength, then to my father.

“I remember everything,” I tell the monster, and watch as a sinister grin spreads across his face.

“Why did you lie?” he wonders.

“For her.” I nod my head in Sophie’s direction. “I’ll go with you, but I need you to do something for me.”

“And if I don’t?”

“I’ll make it my sole mission to destroy the family name,” I snarl. “I’ll tell the cops everything, and even if they don’t believe me, the rumors could ruin you.” I wince as the ultimatum spills from my cracked lips.

“What is it then?” he asks with pinched brows.

I cough, desperately needing water. “You’re going to pay for her medical bills, whatever she needs. Money will buy her a transplant. I’ll go home with you; I will be the perfect daughter.” My stomach clenches. “I’ll marry Warren.”

He pulls out the checkbook from his suit, caving.

“But dad?”

“Yes?” He doesn’t look up as he signs his name.

I graze my hand over one of the bandages on my arm. “Don’t let Foster know I remember him.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” he responds, peeling the check apart. The edges separating from the perforated tab creates the no-turning-back sound of making a deal with the devil.

A few silent moments pass by, and he waves everyone back inside. “She’s coming home, darling,” he tells Mom.

There are few things that Kent Johnson believes in. But I know without a shadow of a doubt his main goal in life is to stay wealthy, have the perfect looking family, and to showcase to others that we have it better than them. That’s how I know this is the perfect plan.

“The fuck she is,” Foster sneers, his long legs quickly guiding him beside my bed.

My father, who really doesn’t even deserve that title, lowers his head, stifling a laugh. “She doesn’t even know who you are. She’ll have proper care with us,” Kent casually tells him. He’s methodical, always thinking about the end game of every situation.

Foster takes a threatening step forward, looking much less like Foster and more like the underground racer Ghost as he towers over him, raising his fist. “If you attempt to take her home, it will be the last thing you ever fucking do.”

A tear attempts to escape my tired eyes, but I hold it in. “Don’t talk to my father that way,” my voice nearly cracks, but I hold my ground. Foster turns to me with the same dangerously broken expression he made when I lied about not remembering him.

But this is the only way to save Sophie.

Foster lunges for me, wrapping his strong arms around me carefully but protectively. “Don’t do this, Sky.”

I allow myself to feel his touch for a fleeting moment before attempting to push him away. “I don’t know you.”

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