Broken (39 page)

Courtney walked up to me and put her hand on my shoulder. “Whit, please come with me to the hotel. You can take a hot shower, change your clothes, and maybe even get a few hours of sleep.”

“You need to get something to eat, Whitley,” Reed said from across the room.

I turned and looked at them. I tried my best to give them a smile, but I barely had the energy to move.

“You know, when the nurse comes back in here, she’s gonna be pissed. Only two people are allowed in the ICU rooms,” I said as I winked at Reed.

Reed gave me a weak smile as he glanced up and looked at Courtney. Neither one of them had fought once in the last four days. I knew they were holding back for my sake.

“Courtney, you should go to the hotel. You look tired,” I said.

She shook her head and looked over toward Reed. “Um…Mitch is on his way into Austin now. I’ll probably head to the hotel when he gets here and sees Layton.”

I glanced over to the man I was so desperately in love with. He was lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to a number of machines.

Wake up, Layton. Please wake up.

I felt tears rolling down my face. I turned and looked back out the window. Every time I looked at him, I started crying.

Courtney began running her hand down my hair. “Can we at least take you out to eat for your birthday?”

I pulled me knees up to my chest, buried my face, and cried. Layton had told me he had something special planned for my birthday. The thought of it made me sick to my stomach.

What if I never find out what his plans were? What if he wakes up and hates me for being the cause of all of this?

What if he doesn’t wake up?

I cried harder.

“Whitley, stop this right now. This was not your fault, and you have to stop beating yourself up over it. You’re going to have to leave at some point,” Courtney said.

I snapped my head up and looked at my best friend, who had stood by my side for everything.

“I. Can’t. Leave. I’ve already told you, Court. I won’t leave him. I’ll never leave him alone. I can’t leave him alone. Everyone always leaves him. What if he wakes up, and no one is here?” I said.

Reed stood up and walked over toward me. He bent down and looked into my swollen red eyes. “Whitley, I’ll stay with him. We won’t let him be alone…ever. I promise you.”

I shook my head back and forth. “No! Reed, you know how he is with promises. I promised him I’d never leave him. I’m not leaving until he wakes up. So, would you both please just stop asking me to leave? I’m not going to leave him!” I practically shouted.

Reed looked up and over at Courtney as she nodded.

As he stood up, he kissed me on the forehead and wiped away my tears. “Okay, Whitley. No more asking you to leave. How about some food? Can you eat some food for me, sweetheart?” Reed asked.

I glanced over toward Courtney and noticed how she was looking at Reed with so much love in her eyes.

I was so hungry. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had eaten. I nodded and gave him a weak smile. “I could really go for some Chick-fil-A,” I said.

He smiled and nodded. “Sandwich or nuggets?”

“She likes the nuggets…but get her enough sauce to dip her french fries into also.”

We all snapped our heads over toward the bed. Layton’s eyes immediately caught mine. I threw my hands up to my mouth and started crying as I jumped up and ran over to him.

“Layton! Thank you, God. Thank you so much.” I began kissing him softly all over his face. I picked up his hand and began kissing it.

“Are you okay, baby?” He lifted his hand and rubbed the side of my mouth where it had been cut.

I grabbed his hand and held it against my face as I nodded. “I’m fine. No, I’m perfect now that you’re awake and looking into my eyes again. I’ve never been better. I love you so much, Layton. Please don’t ever leave me.”

He smiled that smile of his that made me weak in my knees—the smile he had given me when I first met him on the side of the road.

Then, his smile faded. “Where is he?”

I knew he was talking about Roger. “I don’t want to talk about him. I just want to sit here and thank God for bringing you back to me. Are you in pain?”

I turned and looked at Courtney. “Maybe we should let them know that he’s awake.”

She nodded and made her way out to find a nurse.

Reed walked up and smiled. “Jesus, dude. You scared the shit out of us. What in the hell were you doing, playing hero, when that asshole had a gun?”

“Is that why I hurt so fucking bad?” Layton tried to laugh but stopped himself.

“Yeah. He shot you in the stomach, but you’re one lucky son of a bitch. It missed everything it needed to miss.”

Layton winked at me. “Good. I need to be ready for Wednesday.”

I tried to smile, but I felt a tear roll down my face. “Layton, it is Wednesday.”

His smile faded, and he closed his eyes. When he opened them, he had tears in his eyes. I leaned up and began kissing him on the lips. He reached his hand up, grabbed on to the back of my neck, and held me tighter to him. I wasn’t sure how long we were kissing before Reed cleared his throat. I pulled slightly away and smiled when I saw Layton smiling.

“Happy birthday, baby. I’m so sorry. I promise, I’ll make it up to you.”

“Layton, I don’t care about my birthday. The only thing I care about is you.”

“Excuse me, but I’m going to have to get in there.”

I looked up and saw the sweet older nurse who had been on duty since six this morning.

“Well, Mr. Morris, I’m sure you’re probably hurting.”

“Yes, ma’am. A lot in my stomach.”

She smiled the sweetest smile. “Well, let’s take care of that, shall we?”

Layton smiled and glanced over at me.

“Ma’am?” he asked.

“Please, call me Katie,” she said with a wink.

Layton smiled. “That’s my niece’s name, but we call her Kate.”

“It’s a good, strong name,” she said with a smile. “What can I do for you, Mr. Morris?”

“Please, it’s Layton. Can you please tell this beautiful woman behind you to go home, take a shower, and get something to eat?”

She threw her head back slightly. “Your friends have been trying for four days to get her to leave your side, but she wouldn’t.”

I smiled as I looked over at Courtney and Reed.

After a few minutes, the doctor came walking in. He told Layton everything about his gunshot wound, what they had done to fix it, and what he thought the recovery was going to be like.

I had to sit down. My head was spinning. It wouldn’t be long before the police came in to talk to Layton. They’d stopped by every day since the shooting, waiting for him to wake up, so they could take his statement.

“So, how long will I need to stay here?” Layton asked.

“Well, depending on how well you do, I’d like to get you up and moving around as soon as possible. I’m hoping to have you home soon, son.”

The doctor and Layton spoke a few minutes longer. Once the nurse and doctor left the room, I felt everything hit me all at once. I went to stand up and started to lose my balance. Reed ran over and grabbed me before I fell.

“That’s it. I’m taking you to the hotel, Whitley,” Reed said as he helped me sit back down in the chair.

I looked up at Layton, and his expression about killed me. His eyes were filled with worry.

Courtney walked up and leaned down. She whispered in my ear, “You’re causing him to worry about you, Whit. Please go with Reed. I’ll wait here until you come back.”

I nodded and reached for Reed’s hand.

I walked over and bent down to kiss Layton. “I love you so much. I’ll be back soon, I promise you.”

Layton let out a small laugh. “Baby, go get some food, and please get a few hours of sleep. I know you’re not leaving me. I’ll be here, promise,” he said with a wink.

I gave him one more quick kiss good-bye before walking out with Reed. As we walked by the nurses’ station, I saw the police officers.

“Oh wait, Reed—”

Reed grabbed me tighter and kept walking. “He’s fine, Whit. Courtney is there. Come on, let’s go to Chick-fil-A. I’m starving.”

I watched them walk into Layton’s room with the nurse. As the elevator doors closed, I let out the breath I had been holding, and I walked right into Reed’s arms and cried.

“I don’t think I could listen to him talk about what happened. Oh God, Reed. He almost died. What if he hadn’t gotten there when he did, and Roger—”

Reed began stroking my hair as he said, “Shh…Whitley, it’s over. Sweetheart, it’s all over now. You never have to worry about him again. Layton made sure of that.”

I sat down on the hotel bed and looked around. For one brief moment, I panicked. I jumped up, ran to the bedroom door, and pulled it open. Reed was sitting on the sofa, watching TV.

He got up and ran over toward me. “What’s wrong?”

“Um…nothing. For a second, I just thought I was alone, and I don’t want to be alone.”

Reed smiled and sat back down on the sofa. “I’m not going to leave you, Whit. I promise.”

“Reed?”

“Yeah?”

“Would it be inappropriate if I sat on the sofa with you and slept? I just don’t want to be in a bed all alone, and…” I felt my throat tighten up as I tried to hold back my tears.

Reed smiled as he moved over and grabbed the blanket sitting at the end of the sofa. “Come on, baby girl. I made my own promise to Layton to always protect you when he wasn’t around. He’d kick my ass if he knew you were scared, and I let it go.”

I giggled as I sat down and curled up next to Reed. I started to think of Courtney and how she was in love with Reed but wouldn’t admit it.

“Can I ask you a question, Reed? And you can tell me to mind my own business.”

He let out a small laugh. “Go for it.”

“How do you feel about Courtney? I mean, what are your feelings for her?”

I felt him take a deep breath and slowly let it out.

“I’ve never in my life met a girl like her. She’s so confident in herself, yet she seems unsure of herself sometimes, too. She’s so damn beautiful, inside and out, but she makes me madder than hell. She’s stubborn, and she’s a smart-ass. But I lie in bed every night and wonder how I could have let her slip away from me. I hate that my pride kept me away from her. It kept me from just telling her that I…” His voice trailed off.

I looked up at him. “That you, what?”

“That I love her. I think I’ve loved her since the moment I laid eyes on her. It’s just that I’ve made so many mistakes in my life, Whitley. I’m no angel, and I just feel like I’m not good enough for her. She could do so much better than me.”

I pulled back and sat up. I crossed my legs and just stared at him. “Reed, first off, no one is perfect, and we’ve all made mistakes. I can tell you that Courtney is no angel herself, but she has a good heart, and she tries her damnedest to be a good person. I know you’re the same way. I’ve never met anyone who would do anything for his friends with no questions asked, like you do. Reed, if I asked you right now to give me the shirt off your back, I know you’d say okay and not think twice about it. Don’t let your past stand in the way of your future. What’s in the past is meant to stay in the past. Trust me…I know.”

He smiled and pushed my shoulder back. “Layton is one lucky son of a bitch. I’m so glad y’all found each other. But I think it’s too late for Courtney and me. Too much has been said between us. Besides, she’s with Mitch, and she seems to be…very happy with him.”

He frowned, and I swore I saw tears in his eyes.

“Reed, don’t give up. Trust me, I know Courtney cares about you…a lot.”

Reed’s eyes lit up, and he smiled. “Yeah?”

I smiled as I nodded. “I’m probably breaking some kind of sisterhood code by telling you this, so you have to swear this stays between us.”

Reed sat up straight and nodded as he used his index finger to cross his heart. “I promise. My lips are sealed.”

I took a deep breath and let it out. “Courtney is confused, really confused.”

He tilted his head and scrunched up his nose. “Okay…about what?”

I rolled my eyes.
Men—everything has to be explained in full detail.

“She’s confused because she has feelings for both you and Mitch. She loves you, Reed…but she’s also slowly falling in love with Mitch, and that confuses her. Mitch is her safe choice.”

Reed’s face fell. His eyes filled with sadness, and a part of me was wondering if I should have just kept my mouth shut.

“Her safe choice? She thinks I’m going to hurt her? How?”

I took another breath. I wished to God I had just fallen asleep and not started this conversation. “I’m not really sure, but I think she thinks you’re a player. Something happened to Court in high school, and she changed. She began not trusting any guy. I mean, none. I never could get her to tell me what happened. She’s so scared of being hurt that she’ll never give her heart fully to anyone. But with you…I think she would hand you her heart in a second, and that scares the shit out of her.”

Reed looked away for a few seconds. “What do I do? She’s with Mitch, and he’s a friend. I won’t do that to him. And then, there’s Anna.”

“Do you have strong feelings for her?” I asked.