Losing Him (Mitchell Family #8)(39)

“Miranda isn’t talking to me. I may not like Heather, but I’ve known her since we were little kids. If loving me did this to her, I owe her an apology. For what it’s worth, I hope she pulls through. Every kid needs his mother.” As a parent, I could see how he was considering the repercussions of Heather’s accident. There was a chance that she wasn’t going to pull through.

“I realize that I wasn’t around when all of this shit happened, but isn’t enough, enough? Aren’t you tired of this fighting? I know I’m sick of it. It would be real nice if Heather could walk down the street and not worry about running into someone that hates her.”

“You’re right. It needs to end. I just don’t know if Miranda will ever get to that point. She has her reasons and I respect them.”

“But, you obviously don’t agree?” I was confused about his intentions. Why would he even show up here if it was going to cause a fight?

“Van is my best friend and sometimes she gets a hair up her ass and lets me have it. When Heather had her accident, Van went off on me. She said it was all my fault. It’s all f*cked up, but she was right. Against Miranda’s wishes, I decided to come here. I could tell you weren’t happy when you saw me.”

“You’re right about that. You were the last person I expected to see here. I think you made it clear that you wanted nothing to do with Heather. If you came here to start shit, I wasn’t going to give you the chance.”

Ty started laughing. “I don’t blame you. I ain’t a bad guy. I just did some shit that I shouldn’t have.”

“I hope she wakes up soon, so she can hear your ass saying that.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Dude, when she wakes up, I promise I’ll tell her what I just said.”

Ty left me standing there, in the empty hallway. I wasn’t sure if he walked back to Van or just left the hospital all together. All I knew was that it was time for all of this to stop.



Every single person involved had been through Hell. It had to end.

Chapter 21


Heather


When I woke up again, I could hear someone talking. At first, the voice was muffled and I couldn’t make it out, but as I focused, it became clearer.

“Please wake up, baby. I need to see those eyes.”

It was hard, but I managed to open my eyes. They seemed heavy, like something was holding them down. Before I could focus on Jessie, they closed again. I tried again and nothing happened.

It was so frustrating.

“I wish there was something I could say to make this all go away. I wish I could take back the things I said to you. I should have asked you to marry me years ago, but I let my ego get in the way of my true feelings.” I could hear him sniffling and wondered if it was possible for him to be crying. “I tried not to fall for you. It was just too hard to hold back. Love flows through you and I just wanted to feel it. I pushed you away because I was a *. It was never because I didn’t love you. I always have.”

I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t move. What was happening to me? Why couldn’t I respond?

“I’m going to make things right. Jacob’s not going to have to keep going back and forth. We’re going to be together all the time, the three of us.”

I felt him touching my hand, but still no result.

He rubbed my face. “I did this to you. I’m so sorry, Heather. Please be okay. Please wake up.”

Why couldn’t he see that I was awake? How bad was it?

Jessie continued to beg me to wake up and I just lay there unable to respond in any way. I didn’t know what to do to get his attention. I wanted him to know that I could hear him. He needed to know that I was going to be okay.

After a while the room became silent again. All I could hear was the beeping of the machines. Jessie wasn’t holding my hand or brushing my face. He wasn’t there anymore.

Had he given up on me?

I started to wonder if I was dead and this was some sick purgatory for putting people through Hell. Maybe I was going to spend my life hearing others and not being able to respond. That would suck.

I’m not sure how long I laid there contemplating my existence. Voices filled the room again and all I could do was listen.

“Baby, I brought someone in to see you. He isn’t supposed to be here, so we have to make this quick.”

The next voice shocked me. I knew I had to be dreaming. None of this could be real.

“Heather, it’s me, Ty. I uh, I’m not a perfect person. I did things to you that I didn’t mean to do. I hurt you so many times. I just came here to tell you that it’s my turn to apologize. I’m so sorry for what I did to you. I’m sorry that I never gave you a real chance. You deserved better, really. I couldn’t have ever been the guy you wanted, not when this guy was out there waiting to meet you. I know we’ll never be friends. I didn’t come here to reconnect. I need to make peace with myself and with you, because I’m tired of this bullshit between you and my family. It’s been years and we need to stop living in the past. If you need to move back to your moms, or even if you come back to town for a visit, I won’t be nasty to you or your family. You have my word.” I felt his hand patting my arm. “Look, Heather, I don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours, but this guy sitting next to me is a crazy mess. Wake the hell up and get that happy ending you always wanted. You can’t do that shit until you open those eyes.” He got quiet for a second. “This is where I have to leave. If you can hear me, I need you to know that I’ve never met someone so stubborn in my life. You don’t give up. Damn it, Heather, open your f*cking eyes. Yell at me, scream at me. Do something! Smack me. You know you want to.”