When I begrudgingly press end call on my phone, tears are welling in my eyes and they blur my vision. Pushing my car's door open, I walk across the way towards the apartment building where my Beautiful girl lives with her sister. I climb up the steps to her door and pause to pull my left hand through my hair before knocking three times. Please let her be here. Let her give me a chance to explain. And I'm immediately disappointed when Luke pulls open the door. A smug grin spreads his face.“Man you look like shit” I push his shoulder back and focus my eyes on the closed door to Sophia's bedroom in the hallway not even ten feet behind him.“Shut up, Luke. Is she here?” Hope fills my voice; I hadn't even realized I was going to end up here. But now, I’m determined to see her. To see that my girl is okay.“Asleep now, I think. But Gavin, you need to give her time. She's hurting right now.”God. I already knew this but having it said aloud caused the pit in my stomach to go deeper.“Lu
SophiaGavin has been admitted to the hospital, he's been in an accident. Sophia, he's in critical condition. The wordsrepeat over and over in my head and all the breath leaves my lungs as I hold the phone to my ear, claspingthe locket in my hand for some sort of comfort. Gavin is hurt. Or worse… God. If only I had been with himlast night, if only I hadn’t run away. The fear unfurls in the pit of my stomach and pushes against my ribs as I struggle for words."Sophia? Are you there sweetheart?" Lucas' familiar voice brings me back to the now."What? Yes, I’m here. What happened? Is he…"I hear his slow exhale of breath, which only spurs my fears on even more."He’s being looked at right now. Earlier, he called me and asked where your showcase was beingheld, and he said he had to see you. Sophia, sweetheart, you have to know that he loves you so much. I couldhear it in his voice; he was going crazy without you. I don't know what happened between him and his ex,but he was coming t
"Oh my God, this is all my fault," I whisper, a sob erupting from my chest as I bury my face into his shoulder.Lucas rubs my back slowly and tightens his arms around me as I sob quietly into his sweater."Shh you have to stay positive, Sophie. I saw him come in and I can tell you he wasn't in pain."Was he truly not in pain? God, I hope that’s true. Even with the past day’s events I will never wish pain or hurt for Gavin. He’s the one that brought me up when I couldn’t stand myself. He saved me. God, he loved me. I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving him.I sniff, nodding to reassure him I’m okay and I take a deep breath as Lucas releases me and wipes my tears away."I'm okay, go. It’s OK, I’ll see you later. Thank you, Luke," I whisper, faking a smile. Kel leans forward, giving me a kiss on my forehead."I’ll be back soon, go see your man, Sophia." She smiles warmly, hoping to lift my spirits and I wait until they turn the corner before wiping my cheeks and finding the strength to wa
There's a knock by the door and thankfully, I've collected myself enough to call out for whomever it is to enter. Callie and an older woman with dark brown hair and gray colored eyes that shift to mine walk in. Gavin’s mother. Oh my God this is Gavin’s mother."Sophie, this is Elizabeth, my mom. Mom, this is Sophia Jones, Gavin's girlfriend."She eyes me for a moment before stepping forward and gives me a warm smile. “It’s wonderful to meet you, honey. Are you doing OK?"She sits beside me and her eyes are soft with unshed tears. She looks so much like Gavin, it takes me aback for a moment."I’m not sure. I can’t believe this happened and I just want him to wake up.."A tear escapes my eye and she grabs my hand, holding it gently in hers and deftly wipes the tear away from my cheek."He’s strong honey, and I know how much he loves you. He's going to wake up, and from what I've heard he'll have some making up to do."I gasp, he talks to his mother about me? Oh, goodness."Why do you sa
His roughened voice and harsh grip on my head thrashes me into reality. Oh, God, no. No, no no no! I know that voice. Bryce. It’s not possible…“Let me go!”I come back into consciousness when I feel a hand on my shoulder. Panic, fear, pain, disgust – it’s all coursing through me and making my body shake. It was just a dream. Just another stupid dream. Breathe, Sophia. Just breathe. In and out. Once I’ve calmed, my eyes drift open and I lift my head to see Dr. Lee standing by the foot of the bed. I wipe my eyes and try for a smile, not sure how long I’ve slept."I thought you'd want these, his effects that we found on him when he came in."He hands me a small plastic bag and I take it with shaking fingers. I can see his cell phone, keys, and brown threaded wallet through the clear bag in my hand. Is this all I have to hold onto? Everything he had on him when he was hit by the semi?"Has he woken up at all?" The doctor asks, taking Gavin’s chart out from the holder against the wall a
I press my fingers to his lips, effectively silencing him and take his face in my hands. His rough stubble and smooth, warm skin of his cheeks make this moment all the more real, telling me that this isn’t a dream. He’s truly awake and here with me."I listened to your messages, Gavin. I believe you, I’m just so sorry I didn't stop and let you explain. I jumped to conclusions. I thought the worst. The image is still so fresh in my mind, but after hearing your voice mails I know I was wrong to think that you'd ever hurt me that way. I'm so sorry, Gavin." My voiceshakes, trembles as I remember the mistake I thought Gavin made, the betrayal and hurt I’d felt when I saw them.He shakes his head, grasping my hands again and looking deeply into my eyes. Tears trickle down my cheeks, and I close my eyes in an attempt to control the emotion that’s pouring out of me. I need to be strong, for now, at least."Baby, please don't cry. Please." Gavin’s deep voice makes my eyes fly open, my hands
I wait by the closed door of Gavin’s room, knotting my hands across my lap. I just left him with Dr. Lee ten minutes ago and I’m already missing his touch. I can't believe he's really okay. It’s all I can focus on right now. My thoughts are interrupted when Dr. Lee comes out of Gavin's hospital room and looks at me with a much more convincing smile than he gave me before. His kind eyes and easy going nature is almost the polar opposite from the grim looking doctor I met twelve hours ago."How are you doing, Sophia?”“I just want him to be okay. He’s going to be okay right?” I can hear the hope in my voice.“He will, Sophia. From what I can tell, all his vitals are stable and his scans all came back clear. He may have some pain in his ribs for the next few weeks and maybe some headaches depending on how he reacts to the pain medications we've given him so just keep an eye out for that. Other than that, he's good to go." All I hear is he’s going to be okay.I smile, wholeheartedly for
“Gavin,” I whisper, taking his face in both my hands.“I’m always going to love you.” The words come straight from my heart. I know I’ll forever love this man. From the very moment I saw him, he’s worked his way into my heart and there’s no going back to my sheltered existence before I met him. I gaze up into the endless pools of blue and gray that are his eyes and the smile that he gives me is almost worth the pain of the last two days that we’ve been apart.“I love you so much, Sophia, baby.” His deep voice makes my heart constrict in sheer joy at hearing those deep, reverent words. Then his mouth comes down onto mine, fingers tangle in my wavy, unruly hair and I’m clutching onto him with everything I have. In his kiss, I’m home. Our tongues collide, dancing together. He pulls my bottom lip into his mouth tantalizingly and sucks. I moan softly in response. I feel him smiling against my lips."You are going to have to let me pamper you for the next few weeks. Doctor’s orders, babe