Page 30 of Always. Forever.

“You bit—”

“Baaa, love you,” she says before hanging up and not letting me finish.

I laugh, shaking my head and placing the phone back down on my desk. That girl has some nerve, she is lucky I love her so much.

By 6:00 p.m., I’m done with work. I haven’t heard from Jace all day, but I know he had a few important meetings, so I’m guessing he’s tied up. I still feel like I haven’t slept a wink, and luckily there is leftover dinner from last night. I know Jace will not be back until late, so I may as well have an early night instead of trying to stay awake.

An hour later, I’m in bed, struggling to keep my eyes open. I had dinner, then a quick shower. I don’t remember the last time I went to bed this early, but hopefully I feel better tomorrow. I turn to my side, leaning up slightly to turn the bedside lamp off. I lay my head on the pillow, closing my eyes, knowing I will be out like a light within seconds.

Chapter Fourteen

I’mwokentomymobile ringing on the bedside table, and I see it’s 1:46 a.m. Jace isn’t in bed.What the hell?

I pick my phone up and see the caller ID.Why is Cash calling me?I answer the phone quickly.

“Cash?” I say uncertainly.

“Rylee. I-I need you to get down to Baltimore General, now. It’s Jace, he’s . . .”

I put the phone down, flying out of bed. I don’t need to hear anymore. Jace is in the hospital.What the fuck happened?I chuck on a jumper, leaving my pj pants on. I don’t care what I look like right now. I need to get to Jace. I step into my trainers, grab my keys, and run straight out the door.

I’m walking through the hospital doors, not even knowing how I got here, I don’t actually remember the drive. Jace is the only thing on my mind. I need to see him and make sure he’s okay. I can’t think about anything else until I’ve seen him.

I walk up to the reception desk. “Jace Stiles,” I say to the lady. “My boyfriend. Jace Stiles, he was brought here tonight. I-I don’t know what happened but he’s here, where is he?” I say, my hands shaking. I just want to see him.

“Bear with me a minute, miss,” the lady says while looking at her computer. I’m pacing up and down, waiting for what feels like years for this woman to tell me where Jace is.

“Miss!” I snap my head over to the woman. She’s observing me with a small but sympathetic smile that has my heart skyrocketing out of my chest and legs feeling like deadweights.

“He’s in the ICU,” she gently says.

I stare at her, not moving.

“D-did you?” I’m trying to take breaths but it’s hard to breathe. “Intensive care?” Tears run down my face.

This can’t be true. No, my Jace is not in the ICU, no way. He can’t be, they must have the wrong person. I glance up at the receptionist. “Sorry, I said Jace Stiles, I don’t think you got that right.”

Her shoulders drop as her features soften. She offers a small smile, then her eyes glance over my right shoulder. “Excuse me, miss” comes from behind me, and I spin around to a man standing there.

“Let me show you where you need to go.” I nod, following him on autopilot. I’m walking but I don’t know how. Everything feels like it’s moving in slow motion around me, but I’m anxious, my heart is beating in my throat, the sickness is sitting there waiting to come up.Am I in a dream right now?

“Miss.” A soothing tone breaks through my thoughts. I glance up at the man who has a hand out to the side, gesturing to two double white doors.

“The waiting room is through that door, you—”

I’m already walking away from the man, I need to see what’s going on. I burst through the double door and see their ashen faces, which highlights their red swollen eyes as they all glance up at me.

“Nooo,” I whisper, shaking my head.

Bridget comes running toward me. “I need to know what’s happened, please. Wh-where is he?” I ask, barely holding myself together.

Bridget wraps her arms around me, sniffling. Her body jolts as she cries into my shoulder.

“He was in a-a car accident, Ry. Jace,” she cries out. “He is in a coma,” she shrieks not being able to control her sobs.

The floor crumbles beneath me. Everything around me goes lopsided as my vision goes fuzzy. I claw at my neck, trying to rid of the invisible rope binding its way around my throat, cutting off my oxygen. Two hands grip my arms and sit me down.

“Breathe, Rylee.” Bohdi’s voice grounds me, bringing my vision back. I stare into his bloodshot eyes that make the blue stand out more, his tears welling, ready to drop with one blink. Boh kneels in front of me, not saying anymore, but the pain in his eyes is too much to bear, so I look to the floor, focusing on a smudge mark.

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