Chapter 79: Too Late

Okay, so I've been working on this one for a while, because lets face it, in reality in this type of situation, there are a tone of emotions, and I wanted to explain them thoroughly and in good context.. so sorry for the wait.

Ty's POV

I sit there, starring at him. I knew he was up to something, but never in my right mind did I even think it would be something this extreme. I didn't even know he was capable of doing something like this. Hearing those words come from his mouth have me in a strange state of mind. I don't know if my main emotion is confusion, hurt, or just plain anger.

"I have never made a habit out of lying to you, and I'm not going to start now," he says sharply, almost as if he's worked this whole conversation out in his head. My grip on his hand gets tighter, and that's when I see the first look of panic on his face. This surprises me, because he of all people should know the best how determined and strong willed I am.

"Okay," I say while giving my head a little shake, but my reply comes out weaker than I intended. "Okay," I reiterate in a stronger voice that takes much more will to get out than I was hoping. "I don't care what you say, just as long as you stay here," I continue, going into automatic defense mode. I automatically regret my point of attack, because he gets just as defensive.

"You almost died, because of me." He says it slowly, deliberately stressing and articulating each word as his eyes stare daggers at me.

"But I didn't," I counter, using the exact same tone as I just stare back at him. His face looks eerily blank, so I continue in a much lighter tone. "Geno, you promised me you'd always be there for me, you put a ring on my finger, don't you remember any of that?" I almost plead, but I feel a little better as I see the indecision cross his face as he looks down at the ring on my finger of the hand he's not holding. I know I'm acting like a little needy child right now, and it's the strangest feeling, one I've never felt before. I know people always say you don't know how you are going to react to a certain situation until you are put in it, but that has never applied to me. I've always been in control of every single one of my emotions. And I have been in this particular situation before, but I've never felt so abandoned, used, or betrayed in my life, and I've been through hell and back.

"Yes," he responds with a deep sigh, pressing his eyes closed. This is exactly the actions I need; I need him to be indecisive and second guess himself right now.

"Yes," I whisper, closing my eyes as well before I use all the power I have to sit up in an attempt to be closer to him. "So why," I start while putting my hand on the side of his face, noticing how he still leans into my touch. "Why are you saying this to me?" I continue, but it comes out as more of a sob than anything.

"I got a phone call," he says while taking his free hand and rubbing at his forehead. "He said that he had been looking for you for a while, and it was an easy task after you were all over the news." He takes his hand away, and then stares at me intently. "With me." I shake my head, not wanting to believe any of this. "You were his target, and I made it easy for him to find you, and I'm not going to let something like this happen to you again," he says while gesturing to the bed I'm laying in.

"No," I say while shaking my head again. "No, I'm not afraid," I say, begging him to listen to me as my grip once again gets tighter on his hand.

"You were close to having to have a hysterectomy, do you understand that?" he barks, but I know he's not looking for an answer, so I wait a couple seconds for him to get control of his emotions again, and then he continues talking in a much nicer and calmer tone. "You almost had to have a hysterectomy because of an asshole that found you because of me. You want to have children some day--"

"No," I interject, trying my hardest not to cry. "I want to have your children someday. I want to keep living our lives together."

"I can't keep putting you at risk," he almost whispers before adverting his gaze to the floor.

"You love me," I say defiantly, but in as quiet of a voice as he had. "I know you do," I continue while my grip on his hand gets tighter one last time. He looks up at me, and the look of pure love in his eyes that I find present there finally makes the first tear trail down my face. Love isn't the only emotion I find though; pain, suffering, and maybe an ounce of dejection.

"I have never loved anybody as much as I love you," he whispers slowly, his eyes not looking away from mine for a second. I can tell in the look on his face that he's made up his mind. I'm too late.

Geno's POV

"Please," she whispers while closing her eyes as someone would do if they were trying to tell themselves this is all just a dream and things will go back to normal when they wake up. "Please," she begs on last time. "You don't have to do this," she continues as she tries to hang onto my hand as I start to stand up. "Not you too..." she whispers more to herself than to me as tears start streaming from her eyes. The statement alone is vague, but I know exactly what she's talking about, and as much as it hurts me to even think about it, I know I'm silently being added to the long list of people that have let her down.

"I'm doing this for you," I say in a barely audible voice as I choke back the tears that are wanting to betray me and slide down my face. I attempt to let go of her hand, but she hangs on with all the power she has left.

"Please, don't do this.. don't leave me," she sobs. I turn to look at her so she continues. "Geno, please," she pleads one last time.

I lean down, softly pressing my lips to hers one last time before taking a deep breath to calm myself and pry her hand away from mine and turn to leave without turning to look back, knowing that would just make me want to run back into the room and scoop her up into my arms and comfort her until she stops crying, just like I always use to.

It's as if a ton of bricks hit me when I reach the elevator doors just knowing that I'll never be able to do that again.

Chapter 78: Letting Go

So I've been working on this one for quite some time, but I felt like it needed to be perfect, so after days of reading it over and over again, I think it's finally how I want it.

New link up in the sidebar. Another story, I know. :-S But I couldn't help it.. It's not the first chapter, but it will be coming.. well, soon.

Ty's POV

She stands awkwardly in the doorway, almost looking like she's regretting coming back now that it's just me and her, and nobody else to help ease the obvious tension that exists between the two of us. She sighs before walking in the room timidly, coming and sitting down in the chair next to me.

"Hi," I say quietly, shifting my body weight around in my bed until I get myself into a sitting up position.

"Hi," she replies back calmly, looking like every part of her body is itching to reach out and help me, but knowing that that could push me too far.

"I'm sure this has all been pretty crazy for you," I say just as quietly, adverting my gaze down to my hands that I'm keeping busy by playing with the blanket resting around my mid-section. She sighs deeply, relief flashing across her face before she speaks up.

"You have no idea," she says with a small chuckle, once again looking like she would do anything to help me as I start coughing, automatically reaching for my sore ribs afterwards.

"I mean on one hand, we barely know each other," I start. Now I see regret and hurt flash through her eyes. I've been thinking about this ever since I've woken up. It's another thought that has been plaguing my mind. I never had the chance to get to know my unborn baby, do I really have the power to withhold the same from her? "And then on the other," I continue, her eyes finally looking up at mine again. "I'm your daughter, and here you've been waiting for days to find out if I'm going to live or not."

"I'm glad that you are," she says after we sit in silence for a couple of seconds. I look back up at her again, and what I find is sincerity.

"Thank you, for... caring," I finally manage to spit out, after carefully choosing my words.

"We have a lot of things to talk about," she says while nodding her head, tears now leaking from her eyes, and it's got to be one of the most beautiful things I've ever saw; her crying, at my expense. "But I'm so glad we have the chance to do that."

"Me too," I answer, catching her off guard. She smiles at me weakly, but I continue, knowing she needs to know the full truth. As I'm about to start talking, Geno approaches my room, but just stands outside the door, knowing that her and I need to have this discussion. "It's going to be really hard for me, but I've decided that I want to do that, that I want to give you a chance."

"Thank you," she mutters softly before wiping at the tears under her eyes. She takes a deep breath to compose herself before continuing. "I'm going to let you talk to Geno," she says while pointing toward the door, and as if on cue he walks through it, his hands uneasily in his pockets as he watches her walk past.

Geno's POV

I don't know what made Ty change her mind, but I'm glad that she did. Now, I at least know she will have someone to lean on after I'm gone.

I approach Ty, leaning down and pressing my lips to hers for the first time since this whole fiasco was put into motion. I meant for it to be a quick peck, but the seconds her lips met mine, her hands tangling through the hair at the nape of my neck, I couldn't control myself, I just felt like I had to be close to her, had to have that skin connection between the two of us. Maybe it was just he feeling that this was the last time I'd ever have the chance to do this that was looming in the back of my mind. After taking it far further than I had initially intended, I compose myself and pull away, only to find a smile on her face. Oh, how it was going to hurt to see it disappear with the words I was fixing to say to her.

"Things seemed to be going smoothly between you and Victoria."

"Well, I think it will be nice for the two of us to be on the same side of things for a while," she says with a sigh, and I can almost see relief in her eyes that I've never seen before.

"How do you feel?" I ask while sitting down in the chair Victoria just vacated, reaching for Ty's hand which she gives over to me easily.

"Tired," she mumbles through a yawn, and I knew that's exactly how she probably would feel. She looks as if she could fall asleep in mere seconds.. "It doesn't make sense," she continues on. "I've been sleeping all the time."

"Well you've been through a lot. So much as happened," I say, knowing she will never know the full extent behind the words I just said, but knowing it's better to keep it that way. The last thing she needs to know is that there is someone out there, watching her every move.

"Just having you here," she says while closing her eyes and resting her head on the pillows behind her, "fixes a lot. It's the best medicine in the world," she says while a small smile crosses her face as her eyes open again, focusing on me as her grip on my hand tightens a little bit.

In the few seconds following that moment, I tell my heart to suck it up, that this isn't about me and what I want or need, it's about her. And even though she might fight me 100% of the way, I've always had her best interest at heart, and that isn't going to change now.

"I'm so sorry," she says, breaking up the silence we had fallen into, completely taking me back. What does she have to be sorry for? As if she can read my mind, so continues. "For everything you've gone through."

I know that this is my time to speak up, but I see her get this far off look in her eyes, and I know that she's think about something seriously, so I let he continue.

"I know what it's like," she starts with a deep sigh. "I know how scary it is," she says before pausing, looking down at where my hand is connected to hers and then back up into my eyes. "I sat by my dads bed, waiting and hoping for the slightest big of movement from one of his hands, even for a finger to flinch when he was in the hospital," she continues, tearing up like she always does when she talks about him. She doesn't talk about him often, and I've never pressed her for more information, partially because I see how every time she does, it's as if she's reliving that moment all over again. "I felt completely helpless sitting there, watching him breathe, and that was for a mere 3 hours. You," she says while taking her hand from mind and placing it on the side of my face in adoration as her other hand trails up to her face, wiping the tears that are evident there before she continues, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "You sat here for so much longer than that, so I'm sorry."

"You have nothing for be sorry for," I reply with a shrug of my shoulders before taking her hand in mine once again and kissing it lightly before laying it back down on the bed.

"I heard you talk to me," she admits after a couple seconds of silence.

"Really?" I ask, not really thinking the doctors were right when they said that she probably could. After all, she seemed so vacant during the time I had been put through while she was in a coma.

"Mhmm," she continues before shaking her head, and then cringing a little bit afterwards, the side affects of her concussion no doubt. "Well, at the beginning I could just hear your voice, but I couldn't really understand the words coming from your mouth, it was like it was a foreign language to me," she says while getting that far off gaze in her eyes again, as if she's trying her hardest to remember what that time was like before she finally shifts her eyes back down to me. "What did you say to me?" she asks while cocking her head to the side.

"I said that I loved you," I say with a deep sigh. "I said that I'm sorry for letting this happen to you. I promised to keep you safe, and said that I'd never let my life hurt you again." At this comment, she seems a little lost which is perfectly understandable. Aside from the police, I hadn't told anybody about the dreaded phone call that made everything so clear to me. I also know that Ty didn't know anything more than she was in a car wreck, unless she was starting to piece together the rest on her own. "I tried to tell you what you mean to me," I begin again, but the memories of that time come rushing back to me, and it's almost as difficult for me to talk to her now with her hand in mine as it had been when I knew I wouldn't be getting a response from the lifeless hand that was in mine when I first spoke these words. She sits and watches me patiently, tears forming in her eyes to match the ones in mine as I try to explain myself. "But I couldn't find the words," I manage to finally sputter out. "That's when I realized what you meant to me. I knew I loved you, but it was at that point that I realized how much, when I realized that there were no words to describe what I feel for you. But then I decided that none of it mattered as long as you pulled it out, because there's nothing I could say that would be enough." I glance up at her, and she's never looked so beautiful to me before; hair disheveled, eyes tired from a lack of sleep, tears escaping from her eyes freely now, her feelings evident in those breath-taking emerald green eyes of hers as her bottom lip begins to tremble. "You made my life so much better, and I almost got you killed,"I finish up while shaking my head from side to side in disgust.

"No," she says while reaching up and grabbing onto my face, stopping me from moving it anymore. "No," she repeats in a much more stable, stubborn voice. "It's not your fault," she replies defiantly. I glance up at her, and it's all it takes for her to understand what's running through my mind. "I remember it all.. being at the arena, being taken, none of that has anything to do with you."

I stare at the ground at my feet, not being able to look up into her vulnerable eyes, knowing how much emotion they would hold if I did. I take a minute to compose myself before looking up at her, my best poker face on when I do.

"You need to get some rest," I say quietly, but I see her go into panic mode immediately at my sudden change of topics. That's what I do when there is something wrong and I don't want to discuss it, I change subjects. She knows all of this far better than anybody else does.

"You need to stop worrying," she says with a small amount of venom in the tone of her voice. "The doctors said I'm going to be fine."

"That's all I wanted," I reply, looking up at her just in time to see that she isn't buying any of this.

"Geno, what's wrong?" she asks while sighing, leaning deeper into the pillows behind her, a sign that she's a little more tired than she's wanting me to believe. I shrug my shoulders to indicate nothing, but she pressed on. "Did something else happen?" she asks, her eyes begging me to give her answers soon. "Geno, just tell me," she says while raising her arms in the air, clearly aggravated. "Just tell me.. did they have to do another operation, a hysterectomy or something?"

"No, you can still have kids," I say quietly, knowing that I'm going to have to put an end to this pretty soon. "And some day, you're going to be a great mom."

"Okay, good," she say while relaxing a little bit, momentarily forgetting all of her problems as she looks up at me. "Because I want to get on that right away, as soon as we get out of this hospital."

"Ty.."

"I don't want to wait anymore, I'm tired of it. I don't want to wait to be your wife anymore," she continues after cutting me off.

"Ty.." I warn again, but she continues.

"I mean, it's about time I become your wife, it's--"

"Ty," I reiterate for a third time, but much more forceful than any of the previous two.

"What?" she asks quietly, innocently looking up at me, but the look on her faces tells me everything. She knows that the next sentence that is going to come out of my mouth will defiantly not be one she wants to hear.

"I can't.." I start, but lose the words when I look up at her eager face, at her beautiful green eyes that are begging me to quit talking. "I.. I can't marry you."


----------- P.S. - pl, don't hate me!!! lol

Chapter 77: The Secret

Okay, so I got an email the other day, asking why I chose the songs I did, so I figured I would explain. :-)

Never Say Never by The Fray - For starters, you should never say never about anything, because nothing is a for sure thing. When you find something as close as it gets to a sure thing, you need to hold onto it.. hence the saying in the song "don't let me go" Obviously, Geno and Ty have a good thing going, which is why I've gotten so many "Stop being stupid!" comments referring to Geno. lol My only reply is... sometimes love makes you do stupid things.

Use Somebody by Kings Of Leon - Well, Ty needs somebody to look after her, take care of her, and appreciate her. She's never had someone to do all of that for her in a long time, and now that she has she's latched on and depends on Geno immensely. And obviously.. Geno could use somebody to hit him upside the head and tell him he's being a dumbass. :-)

Ty's POV

I wake up to the lingering pain in my knee that has been waking me up every so often during the night when my pain meds are wearing off. I glance at the clock by the side of my bed, finding out it's a little past 8 before sliding up in my bed slowly, trying to ignore the throbbing pain that is residing in the temple region of my head. I look around the room for Geno, but don't see him anywhere. Reaching to the bedside table beside me, I grab my glasses and put them on, finally able to see him standing in the hallway, talking to my doctor. He looks as if he's just asked a serious question, and he is at least a little content with the answer he's receiving.

He's been acting so strange here lately. I keep telling myself that it has everything to do with what he's been put through the past couple of weeks. I couldn't imagine standing by his bedside for days, weeks really, waiting to see if he was going to pull it out or not.

And then there is still the fact that he has barely laid a hand on me still lingering in the back of my mind. I've thought about it often, only to come up with the answer that he's obviously still worried about the amount of pain I'm in. Yes, there are times that it is excruciating, but that's only when I try to be tough and not take my medicine like I'm suppose to. And besides, I'm suppose to be able to actually get out of this bed in the next couple of days. That's progress, right? Even though I'll have to use crutches, which irritates me like no other.

Over the past few days, I've had time to think and reflect on a lot of issues, the main one being how bad my knee is messed up. The doctor told me it would be a while until I could walk or even put pressure on it again. In the back of my mind, I kept telling myself that I could be alright again sometime soon and be able to play college ball still, but with each day, that hope dwindled when I realized it wasn't getting any better, so I finally asked the doctor to give me his honest opinion one day, and he replied by telling me he thought it was a far chance, and I'd probably walk with a limp for the rest of my life, no matter how much physical therapy I went through.

Lovely, because there is nothing sexier than a limp, right?

On top of worrying about all of that, I've been worrying about Geno since our heart to heart talk a couple of nights ago. It's like his words are saying one thing, but his body language is screaming the exact opposite. And he can hardly ever even look me in the eyes anymore, what is that about?

He finally notices I'm awake, excusing himself from the doctor and heading back into the room. He sits down by me, and it looks like he's got something on his mind, so I wait for him to talk, hoping what he says will solve all the questions I have, but somehow assuming it won't.

Geno's POV

After talking to her doctor, I got the news I was almost hoping would never come. She's almost completely stable, and after they get the pain from her knee to go down, she's going to get released. I dreaded the day I heard those words, because it just means that its getting closer to the time where I tell her that we don't have a future together, and I don't know if I can handle her reaction.

"I think I'm gonna drop by the arena today," I say quietly, feeling bad for leaving, but knowing that I need to see some of the guys, one in particular. I drop my eyes from her, not needing to see her be disappointed at me.. I'll see plenty of that later, after.


"I think that's a good idea." Wait.. what? I was for sure she would be mad that I was leaving her..


"Really?" I question, looking up at her only to find her smiling back at me.


"Yeah," she replies with a shrug of her shoulders like it's nothing. "I think it'd would be good for you."


"Okay," I say while getting up, relieved that she feels like it's a good idea. I always second guess her on stuff like that. I wonder if I'll ever stop.. "Do you want me to call Vero or something so you're not sitting by yourself?" I ask on my way out the door. She nods her head yes, so I pull out my phone on my way to my car.

Ty's POV

I watch his disappearing form as he leaves my room as I look at him suspiciously. Something is up, I know it.


He's never acted like this before, this distant, this quiet. In fact, he hasn't really showed any emotion except on a few rare occasions since I've woken up. He's been a completely blank canvas so to speak. I try to shake my mind free of all of these thoughts as I see Vero and Jodi making there way down the hall toward my room. They walk in, and Vero automatically hands me a cup of something to drink. I take a whiff of it, and a smile crosses my face as I smell my regular drink from our normal coffee shop.


"Oh my gosh," I say while taking the first swig, "I love you." She smiles contently at me as Jodi places the bag in her hands down next to me on my bed. "What's this?" I ask while opening it and looking inside.


"Magazines, lotion, shower gel, hair spray, body spray, you know.. the essentials," Jodi says with a laugh while sitting down on the bed next to me. "So how are you?"


"I'm good," I reply, nodding my head a little bit. Obviously my act isn't too good though, because they both just stare at me and give me the 'Yeah right..' look and wait patiently for me to continue. "What? I am... " I lie, taking a sip of my coffee to distract them from the unsure look I know they would find on my face.


"Well, you seem to be preoccupied with something," Vero starts, prodding for more information. Damn her and her super senses..


"It's Geno," I sigh, knowing she won't give up until I tell her, and there is no way to lie to her. I wonder how Marc ends up getting away with as much as he does, because she's like a human lie detector.


"What about him?" Jodi asks, now completely engrossed in the conversation. If there is one thing Jodi loves, it's playing cupid. I swear, you can almost see her eyes light up when someone starts talking about their relationship problems. Not in an evil way, but in an oh boy, I want to help sort of way.

"He's so distant anymore, unfocused and quiet, almost in a dismissive sort of way," I blurt out, not knowing how to describe how he's been acting any better than that. They both kind of look at me, rolling what I've said around in there heads and probably trying to figure out why.

"Well," Vero finally speaks up, "he's been through a lot here lately. He went from an emotional high--winning the cup, you being pregnant, actually getting you, someone who runs away from commitment, to agree to marry him," she offers with a large smile that makes me smile as well. She has always seemed to have this affect on me.. "And then in the blink of an eye, one of those were gone, and another was hanging on by a thread," she finishes while looking down at me. This is the same reason I had come up with earlier, but I feel a little better knowing that someone else feels the same way I do. "I was with him the night it happened, he was a wreck. He might just need a little time to process all of this."

"Thanks for letting me add my two cents," Jodi sighs while rolling her eyes, making us all laugh. My laughter is short lived though as I see Victoria frog marching down the hall in our direction. They see the smile on my face fade, and turn around to see her too before their smiles disappear as well.

"Oh," Jodi says, her face scrunching up as if she'd just tasted something foul.

"You know what, we'll come back later," Vero says while patting me on the leg and then getting up and leaving, Jodi following her lead, leaving me alone to face the monster in front of me.

Geno's POV

I make my way toward the locker room, not being as happy about being here as I probably should be, but the real reason I came is plaguing my mind, which is probably what has the sour look on my face. I open the doors, only to find the one person I needed to talk to along with Kris, who is sitting in his stall, still lacing up his skates before practice.

"Hey big guy," Max says while walking toward me. "It's nice to see you around here again," he adds with his famous 'up to no good' smile before walking past me and toward the door to head to the ice.

"Actually, can you wait a minute Max? I needed to ask you something." He turns around, looks at me suspiciously before walking back toward me, and then over to his stall, which is next to Kris's, and sits back down, both of them starring up at me with confused looks on their faces.

"What can I do for you?" he asks while glancing over at Kris, who just shrugs his shoulders at him.

"I need to know how you do it, what's your secret," I say quietly, not really believing that the day would come that I'd be asking for his advice.

"Do what?" he asks innocently, as if he has no idea what I'm talking about.

"You know, turn down or break up with all the girls you lead on."

"Why do you need to know?" he asks with a laugh, looking up from the tape he was fixing on his stick and up at me. Him and Kris just continue to stare at me, and when I don't respond, they both finally understand why.

"Geno, don't even begin to tell me you're contemplating breaking up with Ty, because if you are, you're completely crazy," Kris says in his even toned voice, a voice that is almost so soothing it could talk you out of jumping off a cliff, which is partly why I cringed when I saw the level-headed defenseman still sitting in his stall. If there was one thing I didn't need, it was for him to try to talk me out of this.. I've already made up my mind, and I'm either going to do it with their help, or without.

"Can you please just answer the question," I ask, trying not to lose my temper as I take my thumb and first finger and pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to ease the tension I've been feeling for a while.

"No, I can't," Max answers, catching me off guard. I look down at him, and he must see how serious I am, so he continues. "It's a completely different situation."

"How is it any different?" I reply in a harsher tone than probably needed.

"He doesn't care at all about those whores he picks up at bars, and you love Ty" Kris answers quickly. "The mans a complete pig!" he says while waving his arm Toward Max for emphasis. "That's how it's different." Max whips his head toward Kris and gives him the evil eye, but doesn't say anything because he knows it's true, even if he's a little offended at hearing it put that bluntly. "Come on Geno, you know you don't want to do this," he continues, and I can almost see myself backing away from the ledge. But then, I close my eyes and the replay of the crash comes into my visions, just like it always does when I close them, which is why I haven't been sleeping much. Every time I close my eyes, it's what I see.. her laying there, bloody and helpless. As gruesome as it sounds, the picture in my mind is far worse.

"Don't tell me what I do or don't want to do," I snap, opening my eyes almost shooting daggers at Kris, but he doesn't back down for a second.

"Some body's got to," he barks back, standing up and getting up in my face as much as he can with our slight height different. "You're acting like a complete dumbshit right now. You love Ty, Ty loves you" he continues, not backing up a step, even with Max pulling on his arm, obviously worried by the blank stare on my face. "You don't have any reason--"

"I have my fucking reasons, okay?!" I yell, shoving him until he's sitting down and heading for him in an attempt to do more, but Max jumps in between us and starts pushing me toward the door.

"Okay, you obviously need to cool down, so get out of here, okay? Maybe go home, sleep this phase off," he says while still pushing me toward the door. I glance down at him, so he continues. "And it is a phase," he says defiantly. Completely aggravated, I start heading toward the door under my own power. "And Geno?" he continues. I stop with a hand on the door, and barely turn my head to show I'm listening. "Don't do anything stupid."

I stand there a minute, and then walk through the door.

Chapter 76: Together

Okay, it's a really short one, but I couldn't leave it at a cliffhanger that long. I'm not that mean.. lol More to come either tomorrow or the next, I'm sure. I'm really enjoying writing this story right now, which is why I've been neglecting my others. :-S Sorry if one of the others is your favorite, I'll try to get those updated soon as well. :-)

Geno's POV

"No," I say softly, trying to reassure her at least that that is not what I want, but I know the words coming from my mouth are a lie, not true in any sense so I continue to look at where her hand lays resting in mine, not able to look her in the eye as I force myself to say these words, this lie, to her. "I'm not going anywhere, and I'm definitely not trying to push you away," I start, finally looking up at her. She still seems a little apprehensive, and I don't blame her. She's not stupid.. and she's always been able to pick up on my body language, and as much as I'm trying to make my shoulders relax, make the tension ease from my face, I can't. Lying to her is turning out to be the hardest thing I've done, by far, and I've faced many sneaky defensemen on numerous occasions. "I promise," I add, and I finally see some of the fear leaking from her eyes, but she's definitely still curious and she definitely still knows that something more is going on than what I'm leading her on to believe, but I've never broken a promise I've given to her before, so I can see her trying to rely on that fact alone, but I'm also not so sure that that idea has exactly won over in her mind yet. I reach one hand up to push her hair out of her face, but she doesn't lean into my touch like she normally would, her icy response making guilt rush through my body. She sighs before taking a deep breath, and that tells me that for tonight, this conversation is over. For tonight, she might believe the words I said to her, but she definitely knows I'm hiding something.

"Okay," she finally says while shaking her head, probably in an attempt to erase whatever uneasy feeling I know she has in the pit of her stomach. You just.." she stutters, finally opening her eyes to look at me, and for the first time I see exactly how vulnerable she is. "You can't do that to me, say things like that to me," she continues as tears start to slide down her face. "I'm not use to people sticking around, so when I hear things like that, I--"

"I know," I cut her off, not needing her to explain anymore. I know all too well how hard it is to win over her trust, and it hurts like hell just to even consider throwing that all away, but I know I have to. "Why don't you just try to get some sleep, okay?"

She shuts her eyes, and for a minute I think she's going to listen to me, but then I feel her grip on my hand tighten.

"Every time I close my eyes, all I can think about is her," she sighs, tears once again falling from her eyes.

"Her?" I question, knowing she's referring to the baby, but in no sense did we know it was going to be a her..

"It would have been a her, I know it," she answers, opening her eyes to where I can see them light up at the thought about it, but then filled with pain once again as she thinks more about how we'll never know now. "But thinking about things like that just makes the pain worse."

"Your life," I start, looking her straight in the eyes, "is never going to be like it was before." She looks at me intently, and I know that she understands the reasons why it won't, but I'm almost pleading for her to take it as a warning, to put her guard up like she has so many times before, because it would sure make it so much easier for me if she threw me out than having to walk out on my own. "But you're alive right now, when you could be dead," I continue, trying to make one of the most important parts right now be the pure fact that she is alive. "And I know that you're in pain, and that you're angry, but you're strong."

"No, I'm not," she sobs while shaking her head side to side, tears now frantically pouring down her face. I move from my position in the chair to the side of the bed, placing my hands on both sides of her face and making her look me in the eyes.

"Yes you are, Ty," I say while starring down at her, making her believe every word I'm saying, which is much easier now since it is truthful. She closes her eyes tightly, probably trying to tell herself this is all a dream, but I need her to listen to me now more than ever. "Look at me," I command in a soft, but firm voice. "You're the strongest person I know," I add once her eyes are open again, almost needing her to believe that, because if she does, it will be a lot easier for her to make it on her own. "You could give into the pain," I continue, knowing that I've often wanted to myself, and now that I'm not as worried about Ty, the loss of our baby is hitting me pretty hard as well. "And nobody would ever blame you for that, not ever. But you're a fighter, and we can pull through this."

"Together? she asks in a voice so quiet it's barely audible, her eyes once again looking into mine intently, gauging my reaction. I once again see the need to be taken care of in her eyes, but knowing that this is what I have to do to keep her safe, I take a deep breath and tell myself that its worth it before I open my mouth one last time, another lie leaking out. If lying to her now is what will keep her alive and out of harms way, I'd do it a million times over.

"Together," I whisper softly.

Chapter 75: Something New

Whoo, Chapter 75. Can't believe I finally made it this far. :-) I finally had some time to myself today, so I actually got to write a full-length chapter, yay.

Ty's POV

He stands to the side and waits patiently as one of the nurses removes my IV and runs over the rules that are to be followed. Don't push myself, if I feel dizzy quit immediately, blah blah blah.. After she leaves, he walks over to where I'm sitting on the bed, probably wondering to himself what way is going to be easiest as he timidly stands in front of me.


"You aren't going to break me," I say with a small smile before reaching for his hand. "Promise."

He reaches down just as timidly before he gently lifts me from the bed, one are supporting my back as the other slides under my legs. I slowly raise my arms, ignoring the pain subsiding in my rib area and wrap my arms around is neck, my head falling into place on his chest as he walks the short distance to the bathroom that is connected to the side of my room.

Once inside, he sits me down on my own two feet so that I'm standing. The amount of pressure put on my bad knee automatically makes me raise it, opting to stand on one leg and hang on to the sink to my side instead.

"Are you okay?" he asks, hovering close by just in case I were to collapse to the floor in a heap of pain. I simply nod my head, but he still gives me a questioning stare as he proceeds to shut the door behind us.

Geno's POV

After shutting the door, I walk back over to her, putting her hands on my shoulders so I can lift the standard hospital gown she had been wearing up and over her head easily. It's only then that I see the full extent of the accident, things that had been hidden from public eye sight by that frumpy gown they had her in.

She turns to look in the mirror, her hands reaching up to softly run over the scratch on her temple that is the result of stitches, her eyes narrowing in on the bruise on the left side of her chin.

That damage I can handle, because I've come to terms with it. I haven't accepted it, no I'm far from that, but I've at least grown accustomed to seeing it there. What my eyes are narrowing in on is the massive bruise that covers her right shoulder. I step toward her, wrapping my hands around her stomach before lightly kissing her shoulder, a new set of tears threatening to fall from her eyes as reality obviously sinks in for her.

"Just stand here, okay?" I say, only letting go of my grip on her after she shakes her head in response. I reach into the shower, turning it on and testing the water temperature, making sure it's just right before walking back over to her, slipping her panties down her legs and then picking her up, carrying her to the shower and setting her down under the mist. "You got it?" I ask, questioning her stability one more time, but feeling slightly better as I see her reach out of the hand rail on her right side, shaking her head at me once again as she slowly tips her head back, letting the water run through her hair.

I step away from the shower, only to shed my clothes as well before stepping back in with her, pulling the shower curtain closed behind me. I grab for her immediately, probably being a little too overprotective, but I can't help it.

She rests her head on my shoulder as I reach for the soap, lathering it up and rubbing it across her back. It's only then that I realize how frail she really feels, obviously loosing quite a bit of weight during her stay here.

I trade the soap for some shampoo, and after rinsing that out the shampoo for some conditioner. As I'm working the conditioner through her hair, I feel her hands slide down to the sides of my hips, stopping there and absentmindedly drawing lazy circles with her thumbs. I tell myself that that is the last thing I should be thinking about now, and I almost think she doesn't realize how hard she's making it for me to be as gentle and caring as I had first intended on when first getting into this shower, but then I feel her lips press lightly to my neck, and I know for a fact now that she does know what she's doing, the little giggle she emits telling me she's enjoying making me squirm as well.

Ty's POV

His hands still and he takes a deep breath, two things that make me laugh quietly before I leave a line of kisses from his neck to his jaw line. When there, I stop and pull back a little, just enough to look at him. When I do, the hungry look I find there makes my body ache, but it's a good kind of ache.

His composure is almost sickening as he takes another deep breath, the look gone when he opens his eyes again and focuses them on me before tipping my head back and rinsing it free of conditioner.

He's just as sweet at helping me out of the shower as he was helping me in. He's the perfect combination of helpful, but not pushy. I knew he would be.. that's why I insisted that he help me instead of a nurse. I have no doubt in my mind that if that would have happened, I would have told her to get lost and would have tried to do it myself, probably just hurting myself worse in the midst of it all. I don't know the difference between what they would have been doing and what he's doing now as he helps me put my clothes on, but I've always had a weak spot for him in situations like these, situations that I need help even when I like to act as if I don't. And besides, this view is far better than hers would have been I decide before smiling up at him. He just smiles back at me before shaking his head and rolling his eyes, obviously not going to even try and figure out what is going through my mind.

One thing that has been plaguing my mind though, is the simple fact that he has yet to kiss me. I mean a real kiss, not a peck on the cheek or a sweet kiss dropped on the forehead. There has been plenty of those. No, I'm talking about his lips connecting to mine..

He once again picks me up and takes me back into my room, where he lays me down on my bed and pulls the chair up close by before sitting down. It looks as if his attention is turned to the TV, but I can tell by the blank look on his face that he's still deep in concentration about something.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask quietly, but as if he's expecting me to say something he looks up at me right away before grabbing my hand in his and leaning forward in the chair in my direction.

Geno's POV

It was there again, the connection that is always present between the both of us when we're alone. I had almost wished that when she woke up, it wouldn't be. It sure would have made all of this easier as I sit and ponder of a way to drop the bomb, so to say, easily.

"I think you should go to London," I say quietly before looking up at her. After hours of deliberation, I figured this was the best way to start out. She would never believe the 'it's not you, it's me' line or 'I don't love you anymore' either. At least I hope she wouldn't believe that last one, because there is no way that could ever happen..

"Why?" she asks, completely confused. Of all the things she can't remember, I was wishing that this wouldn't be one of them.

"You don't remember?" I ask, just in case. She innocently shakes her head no, which makes me sigh in response. "You got an internship in London.." I start, but she just shrugs her shoulders, not even the slightest bit interested. I stare at her, so she explains.

"I'm sure I had good reasons not to go. And besides, you're here," she says with a smile. I just continue to stare at her, not smiling back or moving the slightest bit and then her smile starts to fade as well. I can see her begin to panic, but don't know where to start. After all, this is not what I need for her to be doing right now, she's suppose to be resting and getting better. "Unless, you.." she stutters, once again a new set of tears starting to form behind her endlessly green eyes. "You're trying to put some distance between us?" she asks quietly, looking intently at me for an answer as the panic starts to increase, so much that the look on her face is tearing me apart inside.

So, I do the only thing I can think of at the time, something I won't be proud about tomorrow and something I've never done to her.

I look her straight in the eyes, and I lie.

Chapter 74: Bad Vibes

Omg, yes I'm a UNC fan! Tyler Hansbrough is my man.. okay so I guess he's really just one of many. lol I'm gonna miss him this year!! One day, I will be at a UNC/Duke game. It's on my list of 'Must happens.' Why I form bonds with teams halfway across the U.S. I'll never know... haha

So I'm having a sleepless night, and I don't think my room could get any cleaner. Yes, I'm so bored I resorted to cleaning, ha. So I figured why not write a little.. I also had another idea, so it turns out that this story is actually not getting closer to coming to a stopping point.. yay. :-) lol Ugh, sorry about the spacing at the end, idk why it does that..

Ty's POV

I wake up to the gentle caresses of his hands absentmindedly raking through my hair. I look up at him, but he doesn't seem to notice my slight movement, so I just continue to look at him, at his furrowed brow and far off gaze. He looks lost in thought, obviously thinking about something deeply, which is what worries me. The first thought that runs through my mind is that he didn't tell me how serious of a condition I'm in. I know him though, and pretty well. He wouldn't lie about something like that, would he? Totally disregarding that thought, I reach up and rest my hand on his chest, finally getting him to look down at me.

"Hey," he says while smiling at me, but it's not a real smile.

"What time is it?" I ask, taking a deep breath as his scent fills my nose, trying to forget about how distant he's being.

"A little after 7," he answers quietly, starring off toward the direction of the window. I nod my head in response, not wanting to force conversation. Silence is something we use to fall into all the time, but there is a certain amount of tension between us right now that has me feeling uneasy. The way he's holding me, but not really just adds to my worry.

"Wait," I say, trying to not let these bad vibes get to me. After all, I think after everything I've been through, losing my touch a little wouldn't be a far fetch at this point. "Didn't training camp start a couple of days ago?" He nods his head, still not looking down at me. "Then what are you doing here? You need to be there, getting ready to defend your title this year," I continue while starting to get up. Pains once again throb throughout my body in the various spots he described earlier, but I mask it as well as I can as I still all the way up, bracing myself with my arms as Geno quickly sits up as well, holding onto me for support.

"Like I could concentrate on that with you here," he says while hopping out of the bed quickly, prompting me to lay back down, which I do without any fight. It hurts less to be laying down..

He holds my hand in his, biting his lip nervously as he rubs his thumb over the back of my hand in a soothing manner.

Geno's POV

I know that I'm going to have to tell her about the baby sooner or later, but I don't know how much she remembers, which has me biting my bottom lip in frustration. After all, how do you tell a woman she lost her baby she might or might remember even being pregnant with? She hasn't been asking questions about it, so I can only assume that she doesn't remember that part.

"How much do you remember? I ask, avoiding her gaze that I have been most of the morning. When she first woke up, I made the mistake of looking down into those emerald green pools and the hope and trust I saw there made me almost breathless, and definitely made it harder for me to want to stick to the plan I've told myself over and over again is the right thing to do.

"I remember you," she says quietly while squeezing my hand, holding onto it tighter. I look up at her, and the need for comfort I see flash through her eyes now makes my knees weak, so I look away immediately.

"What about me?" I prod, needing to know exactly up to what point she remembers. "Describe the last moment you remember between us." Her eyes roll back in her head a little as she looks up, the typical 'thinking' face most people make when they are trying really hard to remember something.

"It was right after you guys won," she starts while a smile crosses her face. "You walk over to me with this big shit eating grin on your face and pick me up in your arms, holding me tightly. You ask me to go out, and I tell you I can't because.." she breaks off, trying to remember the rest of the scenario forming in her mind. "I can't because I'm.. because I'm.. pregnant," she stutters, her eyes dropping to mine intensely as her free hand automatically slips to her stomach, that is now flat again. I see the tears start to well in her eyes, making my eyes do the exact same as she comes to the realization that there is no baby anymore. "There is no baby anymore, is there." It is said in question form, but it comes out like more of a statement as she asks for reassurance. I simply shake my head no, suddenly not being able to find words that can accommodate or be adequate enough for the meaning behind my actions.

As the tears start to roll down her face, I take her head in between my hands and kiss her forehead as I sit back down on the corner of the bed. I cradle her head against my chest, and after a couple of minutes the tears stop. I back away a little bit, whipping the last tears that fall with my thumbs as I hear the footsteps of somebody entering the room. I turn around, only to find Victoria standing in the doorway again.

"You're awake," she says a little to happily before smiling brightly.

"Yeah," Ty answers awkwardly before returning her smile with a fake one of her own that I think I've ever seen. "Who is that?" she whispers in my direction, obviously not wanting her to over hear, but she does anyways and I have to try my hardest not to chuckle at Ty.

"I'm your mother," Victoria answers while taking a couple of steps in our direction, but upon seeing the death glare I'm giving her she stops, and once again smiles.

"Oh, sorry I don't remember you," Ty answers innocently while shrugging her shoulders.

"That's okay sweetheart, you've been through a lot," she answers while stepping aside to let a nurse in. "I can see you're quite busy though.. I just wanted to stop in and make sure you were doing okay. I'll come back by later," she says before turning around and leaving. I look down at Ty, who now has a devilish grin on her face.

"You remember her," I laugh, getting up so that the nurse can make her way over to Ty, automatically starting to do her normal check up routine.

"I do," she says with a laugh of her own. "Who wouldn't remember that," she continues while scrunching up her nose. "I just couldn't help myself, it looked like so much fun." I shake my head at her before the nurse speaks up.

"We thought you'd probably want a shower, so someone will be in in a couple of minutes to come help you," she says before smiling and nodding her head as she makes her way to the door.

"Wait," Ty says, making the nurse stop in her tracks. She turns around, listening intently to what Ty has to say. "Can't he just help me?" she asks, pointing my direction. The nurse looks over at me, dare I say it a motherly smile crossing her face before just just nods her head.

"I'll tell the nurses station not to worry about it then," she answers before turning around once again to leave.

I look over at Ty who is looking all too proud of herself, which makes me wonder what exactly she's up to.

Chapter 73: Explaining

Sorry for blowing up last night, but it's just that sometimes, as Becky and I discussed last night lol, I don't think some of you (NOT ALL.. I'm not saying that..) realize how much time/effort/dedication and so on writing demands. And you know if I promise an update before the night is over, it might be up at 11:59, but I'm going to try my hardest to get it up as promised. And sometimes it just is a little disappointing when you know we're trying our hardest to get updates up on a regular basis and people get demanding and seem a little unappreciative. And Aeryn, it's not you. :-) I love your witty comments.. very insightful since I'm know to be a smartass.. haha, it's all in good fun. :-) But anyways.. the next update..

Geno's POV

I sit on the floor by the door, sitting across from Ty's bed as I thumb through today's paper, well what I thought was today's paper. Turns out, it's actually from last week sometime, but I've been out of the loop for so long now that I've decided it's all going to be new to me anyways, so I continue to look though it.

As I turn to the second page, I automatically wish I would have decided to watch late night TV instead as I read a title around the middle of the page that reads 'Malkin's fiance in critical condition.' They even have a picture of the two of us hugging in the locker room after the SC win, which is rather distasteful in my opinion. She's here fighting for her life, and the media is having fun with it.

I sigh, knowing that this is the kind of stuff that has to be avoided, and can only be just that by one way. I also know that if she doesn't take it well, it's going to tear me apart. It probably will anyways.. but I know it's something I have to do, for her sake. That asshole was right, she is too accessible now, and I only know one way to make that all disappear.

Getting aggravated just looking at the hideous article, I toss in on the ground beside me before getting up and walking over to Ty's bed, sitting down on the edge of it like I do on any other night that I can't seem to let sleep elude me.

"When you wake up," I mumble softly to her while placing her hand in mine, "I'm going to make this go away. I promise," I continue before placing my hand on the side of her face, running my fingertips lightly across the scratch I find there. I'm about to get up and return to my chair, but I swear I feel the slightest movement from her hand.

I turn around, still holding her hand in mine as I look down at her hopefully. I sit and wait, wait for her to even make the slightest movement again.

As I feel her fingers slightly tightening around mine, I almost fall to my knees I'm so excited. When her eyes finally flutter open, I don't think I've ever been so relieved in my life.

"Oh God," I whisper, bending down and pressing my lips to her forehead, savoring this moment as I feel her arms and fingers on the back of my neck, something I haven't felt in the longest time now.

I pull away from her, watching as she looks up at me inquisitively, and it's then that I replay all the stuff the doctors said to me, and I realize that she might not even remember who I am.

Not being able to help myself anyways, I pick her hand up and bring it up to my lips, kissing it lightly. When she smiles up at me weakly, I know that she does in fact remember me at least.

Ty's POV

After finally succeeding to get my eyes to open, I see it. Finally, the face that matches my voice. I take a slight moment, just holding onto him before all the questions I've been forming in my mind over the past couple of days come rushing back to me.

"What happened?" I ask, finally realizing how tired and worn out I am. Odd.. since I've spent the last who knows how many days just laying here.

"You're in the hospital," he says while brushing my hair out of my face. I want to say things like 'Oh... really?' or 'No...seriously?' but I keep all sarcastic comments to myself, starring up at him instead. My memory did him no justice.. he's beautiful. "You were in an accident, you've been in a coma for the past 11 days now."

11 days!!! No wonder I was bored out of my mind.. that's a lot of time left for one to think. I start to sit up, but find when I do that my stomach area starts throbbing with such an immense amount of pain that it catches my breath.

"No, don't move," he instructs while gently pushing me back against the pillows. I move my left leg the slightest amount, only to find that it throbs in response as well. I look up at him, and he knows that I must be wanting an explanation because he continues. "You broke some ribs, tore your knee up again, and have a concussion."

"So that explains why the room is spinning and my head is throbbing," I answer with a small chuckle, before allowing him to pull my covers up for me.

"Is the pain bad?" he asks, his voice so full of concern that it's cute. I start to shake my head no, but even that small amount of movement has me clenching my teeth. He sees my reaction, and starts to panic immediately. "Here, I'll go get a nurse," he says while turning for the door.

"No, it's okay," I answer, not wanting to let go of his hand or let him out of my sight. He's face has been absent from my view for too long now, and I'll be damned if it's going to happen again so quickly. He turns to look at me, wanting to listen to me I know but also wanting to make sure I'm not lying. "Can you.." I stutter before looking up at him. "Can you just lay with me?"

"That I can handle," he says with a smile before laying down on the side of the bed next to me, allowing me to snuggle close to him as I rest my head on his chest, allowing his heartbeat, a sound I've missed these past few days, to slowly lull me to sleep.

Chapter 72: Have To..

Geno's POV

For 9 days, the only movement she had made was from the ICU ward to a normal room.. no finger wiggling, no eye blinking.. absolutely nothing. My schedule had become a lot of the same everyday. I sit, and I wait for something to happen, only to come up empty handed, with her still remaining motionless.

I know what the doctors have said, about how the longer she doesn't wake up, the more worried they become.. but I remain hopeful. I have to.

After talking to the police about the mysterious phone call I had gotten what seems like years before now, they tracked it back to a pay phone in downtown Pittsburgh outside a local convenient store. They asked the store for the tape to the video camera they had hooked up pointing in that very way, but there was some kind of malfunction and the footage didn't get recorded. Typical..

I hate to even think like this, but with her still not waking up, it's given me a lot of time to think, to think about why this happened, to think about how it could have been prevented, and all of those answers all turned back on me, this is my fault. If it wouldn't have been for me, Ty would have never have been found by this asshole, she wouldn't be targeted with a constant threat of him finding her, and she sure as hell wouldn't be here fighting for her life.

Ty's POV

Over the time I've been uselessly laying here, my hearing and sense of awareness has gotten even better and even more on point. I can now clearly distinguish voices and understand what they are saying.

My voice, that's right--the soothing one, is almost always present. Instead of just hearing the soothing sound to his voice, I can hear the words coming from his mouth, and it tears me apart almost every time.

I find myself pushing myself to try to move a hand, to try to wiggle a finger, just for that voice and the tenderness it carries, just to give him a little hope and show him that I'm okay. Hearing the sweet, thoughtful, caring things that voice says is what is driving me to fight, even though every time I come up empty. But even with that, I know that it is only making me more determined, pissing me off, and making me want to overcome this.

That's another thing that has changed in my mindset. I use to think that I was trapped like this, and as true as that is, I know that I.CAN.DEAL.WITH.THIS. I have to... for the voice, my voice.

My memory has also almost completely came back to me. I know who the voice belongs to, and I know why he is so consistent with his soothing and alluring words.

It's Geno.. the man that I love deeply, and I know that he loves me, just proven more by the late night soliloquies he has been taking part in for the countless number of nights I've been like this. The man I live with, the man who protects and takes care of me, the man I'm getting married to sometime soon, I hope.

He is all of those things to me and much more. He is the reason I am trying so hard to get back to him. I'm doing it all for a simple reason.. I have to.

Geno's POV

I sit, starring at her much like I do every night. Normally, I would be hoping and praying that she is going to wake up, any second now. And even though I'm wishing for that tonight, my mind is wandering elsewhere. As if I need more on my mind to think about, I see a massive distraction walking my way.

"Why didn't you notify me when this happen?!" she barks, throwing the door open, making her entrance far more dramatic. On a normal day, I'd probably be offended, but I'm so drained emotionally at this point, I think why even bother. I also watch as Evan, her whipped boyfriend, timidly enters behind her, just standing by the door and doing nothing more.

"Victoria, do you honestly think she would have wanted you here anyways?" I ask simply, remaining completely calm, not stepping away from Ty's side for a second or looking away from her.

"You have no right to say what she does or doesn't want. We have been getting along great here lately, for your information. I'm her mother, I should have been notified first, even before you," she says while narrowing her eyes at me.

Once again, even on a good day for me this woman makes my skin crawl, but I can't seem to find enough reason to really care about her now.

"Victoria," I once again reiterate calmly, "you are nothing to Ty. She's said it many times. If you care about her like you say you do, you would respect her wishes."

I see Vero peeking around the corner, probably wondering if she should even come in with Victoria here. Everyone knows that her and I aren't exactly fond of each other, after all. She looks at me, to Victoria, to Evan, before finally looking back at me and then finally slinking around the corner and into the room just as Victoria is turning on her heel to leave, he high-heels clicking on the tile floor as she does. I know that isn't the last I'll see of her, but I'm glad she's gone for at least now.

Vero hands me a coffee before sitting down in the chair across from me, starring silently at Ty as I do. Just about all my teammates have came and visited, but Vero seems to be stopping by every 5 hours or so, probably checking on me just as much as she is Ty.

With the new silence that fills the room, I finally have time to think about the 20 million ideas and reasons this happen.

I know it's my fault, but it's just now that I've realized what I need to do, even if it will be damn hard.

I know that after Ty wakes up, and she will wake up, I can feel it, I need to leave her alone. I need to let her be by herself. My heart is already aching at the mere thought of it, but I know it has to be done. It's the only way I can keep her safe. I have to make this sacrifice.. I have to.

Chapter 71: The Phone Call

You guys and your comments, it's totally cool. When I logged in and saw that I once again had a ton of comments, I was smiling like an idiot. No joke.. And then the next thought to my mind was.. oh my gosh, have to start writing chapter 71.. haha I actually pulled an all-nighter, working on updates for my other stories too, that's how excited I was. lol This chapter is kind of short, but I'll probably start working on another one soon that should be up tonight sometime.

Ty's POV

Throughout the night, I do a lot of thinking, one of the only things I can still do. As time passes, my hearing becomes more fine tuned, and I can pick up on sounds like footsteps, or the TV that is playing in the room somewhere, but as far as voices go, it's still a blur.

One thing I have noticed though, is that my voice, the soothing one, has seemed to disappear and it has been replaced with a woman's now. I don't know what caused this change, but all I can hope for is that it comes back, because strangely enough, I miss it. It's like a little bit of sunshine on an otherwise gloomy, cloudy day.

Also as I've sat here through the night, I've come up with a reason as to why the voice is so soothing to me. It is obviously saying soothing things, and such things would come from someone who deeply cares about me, no? I know that my father is gone, something that will probably be embedded in my memory forever, and after some deep thought and concentration I've ruled out the idea of a brother, so that leaves one last option.. a boyfriend. Yep, the voice belongs to my boyfriend, which is also probably why it's soothing.

In fact, as the night has progressed, I can even make out his figure, body frame if you will. Strong shoulders that support equally strong arms, leading down to a well defined mid-section and even further down to once again an equally well defined tushie. I've tried to put a face to the mystery man I've created, but it hasn't came all night so I stopped that quite a while ago, going back to wishing the voice would come back, it's far more appeasing to think of positive things than dwell on what I can or can't remember at this point.

Geno's POV

I unlock the door to the house, and the silence I find there is deafening. It's never been this quiet around any house I've lived in since.. well okay never. Even when I first moved here I moved in with the guys, and well, there was definitely no quiet with them.


I head over to the couch immediately and don't even bother turning on the TV, toeing off my shoes before grabbing the blanket off the back of the couch and calling it a night.


Surprisingly, I sleep somewhat soundly, waking up early the next morning and getting a quick shower and change of clothes before heading to the kitchen to get some food. When I get all the way down the stairs, I see my cell phone lighting up from where it sits on the bar, and the first thing that comes to my mind is that its Vero and something is wrong with Ty. I sprint over to it, only to find that it's not Vero at all. In fact, it's a number I've never seen before.


"Hello?" I answer in what I imagine is an unsure voice. I wait, and wait but nobody ever answers. "Hello?" I reiterate a little more sternly this time.


"You just made it too easy for me.." a voice I've never heard responds, catching me off guard.


"Excuse me?" I inquire, not having any idea what this stranger is talking about. In fact, I'm about to hang up when he starts talking again.


"Ty," he says quietly, as if he knows I'm about to hang up, and that word alone will give him my full undivided attention.


"What about Ty?" I bark, maybe a little too aggressively, but I can't help it. The first thing that comes into my mind is that this is the asshole that did this to her..


"You just made it all too easy for me," he says once again before laughing. I'm about to respond, but I stay quiet, wanting to hear the rest of his story. "I hadn't seen her since I knew her dad, she disappeared right off the face of the earth, but then she met you." By now I'm holding onto the edge of the counter top, looking at the way my knuckles are turning white because of the tightness of grip, only adding to the way I'm grinding my teeth in frustration. "You're little media friends couldn't help it, they just loved the both of you.. photographing you walking out of the Mellon hand in hand, catching the two of you together during all star break.. All of these things lead me back to her. The only problem is she hasn't figured out that her and I belong together, but she will, I'll show her."


"Who the fuck is this?" I shout as anger rushes through me.


"Don't worry about it.. this is just a personal thank you for bringing her back into my life." And with that, the line goes dead.


"Fuck!" I yell, grabbing the bar stool next to me, the closest thing at hand, and throwing it across the room, watching as it shatters against the wall across from me. I rake my hands through my hair, not knowing what to think about what I've just been told, or how to deal with it.

Chapter 70: Little Bit Of Paradise

Okay, I got as creative as I could with this one, since I really have no experience to base it off of it's what I would imagine it would be like.. so before you get to reading, I would just like to say I tried my best. lol

Geno's POV

After finally convincing the nurse to let me stay the night and eventually falling into a restless sleep in the chair that was still at Ty's side, I couldn't wait until the doctor came in the next morning and told me exactly what was going on.

Apparently, Ty has two broken ribs that punctured her lungs, but was fixed he reassured me, a pretty ugly looking concussion that could possibly hinder her memory for a while, and the knee that she tore her ACL on is all messed up, once again. I asked how long she was to be expected to be unresponsive, but he practically gave me the same reply as the nurse had the night before.

All day long, I sit and watch as nurse after nurse come in, giving her medication and checking to make sure everything is normal before they give me a weak smile and disappear through the door the same way they came.

I sit, starring at her like I have been all day before I finally lean forward and take her hand in mine, much like I do every time we're alone.

"I'm so sorry," I sigh while leaning my head down to rest on the edge of the bed, holding her hand in mine, wishing that she could just give me some kind of reassurance that she at least hears me, that she is at least semi-okay.

I hear a light tap on the window by the door, and I look up to see Vero standing there, raising a bag of food in her hands as she gives me a weak smile and motions for me to come out, knowing that not more than one person can be in the room at a time.

I follow her out into the waiting room that I've come too accustomed to, where she hands me the bag of food which I take and start eating without complaint, knowing she wouldn't have any of it anyways.

"How are things?" she ask quietly, probably almost wondering if she should even go there.

"They are okay now. The doctors told you all what was wrong with her right?"

"Yes, she says while nodding her head. "But I was asking about you, how are you holding up?"

I look up at her, shrugging my shoulders and sighing, two things I know that speak for themselves.

"I tell you what," she starts while standing up and pulling me out of my seat as well, a big task for a woman of her size but she seems to do it easily. No wonder she can put up with Marc.. "You go home and shower and just relax. No don't fight me on this," she commands while pointing a finger at me and shaking it when I'm about to object. "I know you stayed here last night so you couldn't have gotten much sleep. Go home, get a good nights sleep and I can stay here with her."

"And you'll call me if anything changes?" I ask, as she shoves me in the direction of the door.

"Of course, I'll see you in the morning."

Ty's POV

I lay in a peaceful state of mind, well okay not exactly.. an almost peaceful state of mind due to the nagging pain I feel in my rib/chest area and my knee, on top of the most annoyingly painful headache I've ever encountered. I try to open my eyes, and when I find I can't I immediately start to panic. I find when I do that, the incessant beeping sound in the background picks up pace, and then that sound slowly fades into the background as I hear the mumbles of voices talking animatedly.


I can't make out what they are saying, but after a while I come to the conclusion that they are talking about me. After connecting a few dots, I've come to the realization that I'm in the hospital. I sit there, the only thing I can manage to do, trying to think of any reason I might have ended up here, but only drawing a disappointing blank. I listen to their chatter that means nothing to me since I can't understand them anyways, but it's not like I've got anything better to do.

After a while, the pain starts to ease, at least a little bit anyways, so I tune out the voices of the people that have started to dwindle in number now and start to focus on making the slightest bit of motion.... I try for a leg, but eventually with each fail try for at least a wiggle of a finger, but come up empty handed with that as well. I'm so frustrated I want to cry, but I can't even seem to make that happen, so I continue to sit here, in this place I think I'm in, for some reason I can't remember, listening to the mumble of voices that I can't understand. Very disappointing, I can assure you..

I don't know how long I've been here, since time is basically useless to me now, but I've already learned the schedule of what I think are nurses, I can't be too sure though, just in case I'm really not in a hospital. I've also noticed that each time one of the nurses leave, I can barely feel someone elses hands under the touch of my fingertips.

This is my favorite part of the day, just for the fact that the voice that comes as a dual package with those hands holding mine is the most soothing. I can't come up with any explanation as to why any of the voices I can't understand would be more alluring to me, but by this point I don't think it matters as long as it makes this uncountable time I seem to be enduring a little more relaxing. It's a little piece of paradise to this hell I seem to be trapped in..

Chapter 69: Completely Taken Back

Ugh, I'm so mad my computer had to kick the bucket before I could at least get this chapter posted.. it's the one I had worked on the hardest. It turned out okay when I rewrote it I guess, but I'm still little bummed. :-(

Geno's POV

"Where is she?" I ask while rushing back in the door and past all the people we know who are looking at me with curious eyes, waiting impatiently for the nurse to tell me which room she's in so I can see her. I have this indescribable urge right now to just see her face, to just look at her and know for myself that she's okay. "Can I see her?" I continue when the nurse doesn't answer me.

"She's in room 17 in the ICU ward." Not waiting any longer, I take off to find where ever the hell that is located, but it's then that I realize the nurse is following after me. "It's after visiting hours," she states authoritatively. "You can't go in there right now."

I stop in my tracks, looking down at the nurse who's name I've learned is Mary by the name tag on the right shoulder of her shirt. She looks like a respectable middle aged woman, someone that could definitely cave in..

"She's all I have," I say quietly while looking down at the nurse that is much shorter than I am and going for my best 'please' face. "I just need to see for myself that she's okay."

I see her thinking everything I've just said through her mind, obviously wondering if she should let me slide, just this once. She sighs, and I think I've got her on my side.

"Okay, follow me, but please remain quiet," she pleads before turning on her heels, walking at a fast pace that even I'm having a hard time keeping up with, but I don't complain.

I follow her past heavy plain white doors, noticing how the elderly lady working at the nurses station looks at both of us as we continue to walk, but I don't worry about anything, I'm sure they will talk about it later. I watch as the room numbers descend as we walk past them.. each number getting closer making me more nervous and eager.


21


20


19

18

17... Finally.

She opens the door, motioning for me to follow, so I do as told as quietly possible. I walk into the room, completely shocked at what I see. I knew she would probably look a little rough, but I was no where ready mentally to see her in this state.. so weak, so fragile.

I lean on the railing at the end of the bed, looking down at her until I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn around to see the nurse standing next to me now, sympathizing for me like everybody else is.

"You must really care about her," she says while looking up at me as the first tear rolls down my cheek. I wipe it away before sighing.

"Yeah," I reply while shaking my head. "I do." We both sit there in silence for a couple of seconds before I speak up again. "I thought you said she was awake though?" I ask, directing my attention back to the nurse at my side.

"No, I said she was stable."

"How long will it be until she does wake up?" I ask, hoping for a positive answer.

"I don't know," she nurse replies with a shrug of her shoulders while looking up at me. "A day, 3 days, a week, no one really knows. A doctor will be here in the morning to explain everything more in depth with you, I'm sorry, but that is all I really know."

"That's okay," I say with a shrug, knowing its not her fault when the remembrance of why she is in here comes back to me. "What ever happened to him?"

"To who?" she asks, looking up at me clearly confused.

"The guy driving the car..."

"Oh, he never came in."

"What do you mean he never came in?" I ask, suddenly becoming more furious.

"The police are thinking he is the one that called 911, but when the ambulance got there, she was the only one in the car," she says while pointing to Ty. "The guy was no where to be found."

"That's weird.." I comment, gauging her for a reaction, but she gives me none, probably the result of many years of work at a hospital. "You would imagine he is hurt though, right?"

"Oh yes, most definitely. I don't know how he got away," she admits while looking up at me. "I'm going to leave you alone for a little while though, I'll be back to get you in a few minutes, I'm sure your friends would like an update," she says with a weak smile before turning around to leave the room.

"What about the baby?" I ask, catching her off guard. She turns around toward me, and I can see that same sympathetic look on her face. She shakes her head, telling me that the small amount of hope I had is wasted, and suddenly its very hard for me to stand on my own two feet. "Could you do it?" I ask, needing to not be with any one but Ty right now. "Tell them, I mean. I would just like to stay in here for a while..."

"Sure," she says quietly before turning around once again to leave.

After I finally hear the door close, I walk closer to Ty and pull the chair out of the corner right up next to the edge of her bed. I look at her as I sit down, wondering why her.. why now. She's been through so much in her life already, and she's came through fighting on every obstacle thrown at her.. but as I grab her cold hand in mine, you have to wonder how many more times she can continue dodging bullets..

Looking at her now, I know I should be happy that she's at least made it this far. I watch the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she breathes, but even that looks like a struggle for her. Looking at her, hooked up to all these machines, lying here completely helpless is almost too much for me to bare, but then I think about how I wasn't ready to take her home yet and I can't help but think this is partially my fault as I move my hand up to her face and gently move her bangs out of her eyes, everything becoming more of a reality as she doesn't lean into my touch and her emerald green eyes don't open to meet mine.

Chapter 68: A Comforting Hand

So... my laptop kicked the bucket, for like good. Good news is that I got a new one :-), but there is some bad news as well. All my Geno chapters that were ready for posting were saved to it. :-S So, now I'm trying to rewrite them all, so if one isn't posted every night, I'm not holding out on you, the next chapter is probably in the works. I'll also be helping with VBS at my church this whole week, so that will probably consume most of the time I have at night. But anyways, this is just a short one because I know you all are wondering if Ty is okay and what not.

Geno's POV

Everything, absolutely everything is a complete blur. Going out with Marc and Vero in a frantic attempt to bump into Ty, to finally giving up and going back to the house and waiting after we talked to the cops, who said they couldn't do anything until she had been missing for at least one day, to getting that phone call from the hospital. The words the nurse told me just keep replaying through my mind, almost like a cassette player with a broke rewind button. The weird part is, I can't remember any of the words she said to me, only a picture in my mind of what the crash the nurse described to me would have looked like, Ty completely at some assholes mercy. The thought of that alone has me clenching my teeth.


I sit in the waiting room, doing that thing that people do with their thumbs when they hands are intertwined to pass time, not knowing anything more about Ty and her well being besides the fact that she is in surgery, but even that piece of information was given to me quite some time ago.


Besides the motion of my thumbs, I am completely still. I sit, starring at the blank wall in front of me, only blinking when necessary. Finally glancing around the room, all I find is inspirational pictures meant to calm people, maybe make them happy, which is bizarre, because I can't see anybody sitting in my position right here on the couch being happy about absolutely anything.

I feel a hand hold onto mine lightly, and I'm finally pulled out of my daze as I look over to see that Jodi is now sitting by my side on the couch, and the room is filled with my teammates who are all returning now for training camp that starts next week sometime. She gives me a weak smile, and shrugs her shoulders before I look at the rest of the guys who are all starring at me sympathetically.

"She's a fighter," Jodi says while squeezing my hand to try to get my attention, but I can't stop starring at the ground below my feet. "Look at me," she commands in a stronger voice this time. I do as told and look up at her before once again glancing around at all my teammates. "She is going to be okay, do you hear me?" she adds while shaking my hand, making me look at her again, an amount of confidence I see there that makes me relax a little. I nod my head in response to acknowledge her before once again going back to starring straight in front of me.

I remain eerily still as I stare at the clock on the wall across from me. Five hours. She's been in surgery for five hours, and I haven't gotten the slightest update or bit of information about her at all. I know I could go yell at some workers and the nurses station and demand to get information, but they barely told me anything due to the fact that I'm not family. They finally gave in when I told them she didn't have any close family and told me what was going on, but even then they were skeptical.

I know all my teammates are worried about me, because I can feel them all watching me, almost waiting for my emotions to explode. To an outsider, I suppose I look calm, or at least as close to calm as someone who just found out their fiance is fighting for her life can be. That reason alone is why I know they haven't moved so much of an inch even thought it's around 2 in the morning now.

And that's the worst part of it all. She is in there, fighting the hardest thing she's probably ever been through, all by herself. I'm sitting in this poorly decorated room, completely helpless to do anything for her.

I stand up, needing to work off some of this energy that is bound inside of me and I automatically see all of their heads flip in my direction, wondering if this is my breaking point. I pace around the room absentmindedly, looking around with unseeing eyes.

Needing to get out of this room, just for a little while, I walk out toward the exit. Once outside, I take a breath of fresh air, but it doesn't calm me like I was wishing it would. Suddenly becoming engulfed with anger by thinking about that jackass that did this to her, not even my teammates that have followed me out here can stop me from going into a blind fury.

Only when I feel my hand throbbing and a soothing woman's voice next to me do I compose myself. I look down to see Vero holding my hand that is now bleeding as she commands some of the guys to go and get her some stuff so she can fix me up.

By this point, everything is settling into my head as realization hits me hard. I can feel tears starting to form in my eyes, and I glance down at Vero one more time as the first one falls. She pulls me into her arms, saying soothing things that aren't quite making sense to me right now, nothing does. I lean back against the brick wall behind me, the reason for my bleeding hand I'm come to believe, before sliding down it until I'm sitting on the ground. She follows suite, sitting down next to me as Kris hands her stuff to stop my hand from bleeding. She gives them all a stern look before they all disappear back into the waiting room, leaving us alone.

"I can't loose her," I sigh while shaking my head, still looking straight ahead at the rain that is still pouring down.

"You aren't going to," she says defiantly.

"And the baby..." I continue, but she stops me before I can say anything else.

"You can't expect the worst to happen, you have to believe things are going to be okay. You have to believe that," she continues while turning my face to hers. I nod my head, once again falling into silence.

I'm not sure how long she sits there with me, but we both sit in silence as we kind of lean against each other and the wall, my hand in her much smaller ones. The next thing I know, a nurse is standing in front of us.

"Your teammates told me you were out here," she explains while we both stand up. "She's not responding yet, but she's out of surgery and she seems to be stable for now." I sigh a sigh of relief before looking at Vero, who has a smile on her face.

Chapter 67: The Wrong Approach

Ty's POV

He continues driving while I sit quietly, nervous as hell. We're now on some side road in downtown Pittsburgh, and that also makes me nervous a hell since I can't even recognize where we are anymore. I know I have to do something to maybe stall him a little bit, so I do the first thing that comes to mind, I start talking.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask, moving my head slowly in the direction of the figure sitting next to me, almost afraid to make any quick movements.

"You just let me worry about that," he answers calmly, not taking his eyes off the road.

It's then that I remember I have my phone in my pocket. Making little motion, I get it out and place it in my right hand, down by the side of the seat so its out of sight. I think about who to text and Geno automatically comes to mind, but then again I don't know if he's done with the guys yet, so there is a very good chance his phone is sitting in his locker. Next, I consider Jodi, but her sister was coming into town today, so who knows what they are up to. Then my mind comes over Vero's name... yes, she's probably my best bet.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask, trying to continue this conversation. Hopefully, I can get some answers from him and distract him enough to get my text off, which would be a massive bonus. He doesn't answer me, so I wait about 15 seconds before continuing. "Why me?" I ask, but once again he doesn't even bother to glance over at me, and he doesn't make an attempt to answer. I see his knuckles turning white around the steering wheel, and I know that I'm aggravating him, but he definitely does look distracted, and that is definitely what I need. "Have you been watching me for a while? Did you have it planned, or was it just spur of the--"

"Enough!" he yells, looking over at me with his beady little eyes, a reaction that sends a shiver down my spine. "Wait, what are you doing?" he asks while reaching across the car and grabbing for my right hand. He sees my cell phone in my hand, and I can see the way his gaze intensifies. He grabs it from me, going through it to find the message I just sent, all while taking his eyes off of the road.

"Watch out!" I yell, cringing as he goes rolling through a red light, the last thing I see being headlights coming at my side of the car through the heavy rain that is falling.

Geno's POV

I'm walking, no running out toward my car in an attempt to get home. I know there is probably a good chance I'm freaking out over nothing, but yet I just have this feeling that I can't explain that has me concerned and worried. I'm shoving the key into my car to unlock it when I hear my phone go off. I grab it as I'm sliding into my seat, but when I see that it's Vero I toss my phone aside, thinking I can call her back once I've made sure I really am just over reacting.

I speed home, pulling into the driveway about 10 minutes sooner than it would have taken me on a normal day. I don't bother pulling the car in the garage, jumping out of it and jogging up to the front door.

As I look at the windows, I can see that all of the lights are out in the house, not a single on one. That's odd..

"Ty?" I call out, jogging into the living room but not finding her there. I take a quick glance at the kitchen, but it's vacant too. "Ty?" I reiterate again, louder this time though as I jog up the steps to the bed room. Part of me is hoping she comes through the door, irritated that I woke her up. I make my way all the way up the stairs, and still no movement from behind the door.

I open it hastily, almost wanting to scream when I don't see her tucked in bed. I head toward the bathroom, but find it empty too. My mind is thinking of all the horrible things that could be happening as I run down the stairs, making my way outside, the last place she could possible be if she's here.

After not finding her in the backyard either, I rush back into the house, planning on grabbing my keys and getting back in my car, but I see Vero rushing through the door, her cell phone clutched tightly in her hand with Marc following quickly behind.

"Where is your phone!" she yells as she rushes over to me. I feel my pockets, realizing it's not there, but she speaks up again before I can respond. "It's Ty," she says with a deep sigh. "She sent me this."

Need help. Strange man picked me up at the arena, no idea where we are headed. He has a

"He has a what?!" I yell after reading her message that doesn't complete her thought, looking from Vero, to Marc, and then back to Vero intently.

"I don't know," she says while shrugging her shoulder. "That's the only message I got."

Chapter 66: Patience Is A Virtue

Okay, okay. Calm down.. Nobody have a heart attack, lol. Here's the next one. :-)

Ty's POV

My mind automatically starts racing, practically thinking a million things at once. About 75 percent of the guys that do something like this don't have the guts to use the weapon they have, they just need it to be in control.

I feel the length of the blade of the knife, and then I realize I can't take a risk on only three fourths of the worlds population of womanizers. Especially not now, when I am protecting someone that is so defenseless as well. That thought alone has me freaking out, realizing that it isn't just myself I need to worry abot right now.

I keep telling myself not to panic. Panic-frenzied minds never think clearly, and I definitely need to do that to find an escape route. If I can just stay calm, wait until he screws up and then take advantage of it I could possibly, just maybe pry the knife from his hands.

But who knows if he has others... Aww, shit.

"Walk," he commands while giving me a slight shove from behind. His face is close to mine, but he is still behind me so I have no idea who, or what I'm really dealing with. His breath sweeps past my face, and I can smell the alcohol on it, he absolutely wreaks of it. Lovely. So not only am I dealing with a controlling crazy man, he's also wasted.

I do as told, and walk forward timidly outside and into the rain. As I do, I can't shake the feeling that I've heard that voice before, heard that tangy southern accent a time or two before, but I can't place on who, I can't picture the face it belongs to.

We make our way out into the rain, and he puts me in a car that I also feel like I've seen before. I think about running the second after he goes to make his way around the car to the drivers side, but you can't provoke someone like this because you never know what they are capable of.

The more I think about it, the more I think that if I just wait this out and be patient, I could possibly catch him slipping up and make my escape.

The thought that scares me the most is the fact that he is being extremely delicate with me, almost so much that you have to assume that he's been watching me for a while and he is extremely fascinated with me, he's talked himself into the idea that he might love me, and I could possibly love him back.

As I look over at him now as he gets in the car, I have to assume that the person across from me has some major mental problems.

I stare at his face, which is covered by a ski mask, but his beady little eyes look at me intently, and I know that if he wouldn't have his face covered, he'd be smirking like he won. He has no idea what's about to hit him..

The fact that he has his face covered is just another indication that I know him, or he's at least been around for a while.

Geno's POV

We've decided to quit for the night not too long after Marc and Ty leave, all agreeing that we've had enough for the day. Every one separates to take showers and what not before heading home. I come out of the shower to find the guys rocking out to some classic rock, singing like maniacs which is a show in itself. Shaking my head, I walk over to my stall and start to grab my clean clothes to change when I see my phone lighting up, signaling that someones calling me even though I can't hear my phone actually ringing right now because they have the music so loud.

I see that it's Marc, so I step out into the hallway before answering.

"Hello?"

"Hey man, Vero told me about Ty when I got home, just wanted to congratulate you properly."

"Thanks," I laugh, knowing in the back of my mind she couldn't keep something like this from him. "Nobody else knows though, so if you could--"

"I know, I know," he interrupts. "Vero said if you pay attention enough you can actually see that she's showing, a little bit at least."

I sit there thinking to myself for a minute.. if Marc would have taken her home, wouldn't he have saw for himself? So... she didn't go home with him? But she's been gone for a while now... I head back into the lounge area just to make sure she's not back on the couch before frantically checking a few other places she often goes, only to find her no where.

"You still there?" he asks, bringing me out of my trance.

"Ugh, yeah," I stutter. "Couldn't you just see for yourself though?" I ask, needing to hear him say that he did and he dropped her off safely at the house.

"What do you mean?"

Oh shit...

"Didn't you give her a ride home a little while ago?"

"No, was I suppose to?"

"Don't worry about it," I start while ideas start turning in my head. "But I've got to go, I'll catch you later," I finish while hanging up immediately.

After standing there for a minute, I whip my phone back out and dial Ty's number. It rings once, then twice... and finally the ring count is up to about eleven and she's still not picking up.

I try to tell myself to think rationally.. there are a million reasons she might not be answering. She probably took a cab home, and she's soaking in a bubble bath, she always has loved those. Yes, there has to be a perfectly plausible reason.