PROLOGUE

“What are you doing?” he asked, grabbing her arm.

She turned around, emerald green eyes pierced his steel gray ones. “Leaving,” she said through clenched teeth. “You should recognize the gesture. I think you’ve mastered it.”

“Baby, don’t be like that,” he said.

She winced at the nickname he had so frequently used. “Don’t ‘baby’ me. I don’t belong to you. You have no right,” she spat, jerking her arm from his grasp.

“Why are you so pissed at me? Is this about New Year’s? Are you mad because we had sex?”

She was silent.

“I knew it! Damn it! Baby, I already told you I was sorry. I didn’t mean for it to-”

“Don’t you dare go there,” she glared at him. “This isn’t about that.”

“Then what is it about?” he sighed, getting irritated at her stubborn will. “Tell me so we can fix this. What can I do to make this better?” he sighed. “I miss you,” he added quietly. “I miss the way we used to be.”

“You miss me?” she scoffed. “Yeah, I can tell with all the girls you flaunt in my face every fucking day. What about the different girls I see leave your house every Saturday and Sunday morning? What about them? You seem to enjoy spending time with them. You must really miss me.”

“Are you jealous? Since when do you get jealous? You’ve never cared before. And none of those girls mean anything to me. You of all people should know that,” he said stepping closer to her.

“Don’t pull that crap with me,” she stepped back. “Fuck you,” she spat. “Fuck you for always picking any other girl over me. And don’t try to deny it because we both know you do. You say that I mean so much to you? Ha! What a fucking joke. If I meant so much to you like you claim I do, then why do you still mess with my head? I can never tell when you're joking or being serious. It’s like I’m a pawn in you're game. I’m done with this bullshit. I can’t do it anymore,” she paused, looking for the right words. "I never thought I'd say this, but I... hate you.”

“What the fuck did I do to you?” her words fueling his own anger. “What do you hate me for?”

“For making me love you!” she yelled, her voice breaking. “I have been waiting for you for so long now. I've watched you parade around with all your girls, but I kept telling myself that maybe someday you would wake up and realize that I’ve been right in front of you. But you move on and fuck whichever girl you want. They don’t know you like I do. They don’t love you like I do. There. I said it. Happy now?” she narrowed her eyes and turned to leave.

“Baby, wait,” he called after her.

“No. Fuck off. Leave me alone. You’ve done a good job of it the last five months,” she said, slamming the door in his face and holding back the tears that had threatened to fall.

“Fuck!” he cursed, hitting the door with his fist. He leaned his forehead against it, wondering what to do.

It wasn’t until he heard a loud crash and a screech of tires outside until he finally made his decision.

His body jerked himself awake. It was a dream. At least, that’s what he liked to believe. Sitting up, his steel gray eyes scanned the room. He was still in the same place he had been for three days. He never left her side once.

Silence. That was all he could hear. Silence.

Well, that and the slow beating of the heart monitor next to her bed. He looked down at her, the tiny body with IVs running in and out of her.

He couldn’t stop kicking himself about what happened to her. Everyone had assured him that it was an accident, that it wasn’t his fault. They didn’t know that they had fought minutes before it happened. They didn’t know that he had pushed her buttons once again. They didn’t know that he was the reason she left the house angry. Of course he blamed himself. It had to take a fucking accident for him to realize how much she meant to him. How much he needed her to function. If only he realized it sooner. Then maybe, just maybe…

He shook his head, getting rid of the thought. He sat quietly next to her, his big calloused hand wrapped around her soft tiny one. His thumb gently caressed the back of her hand.

“Baby,” he whispered, voice breaking. “I need you to wake up soon, okay? Your parents need you here. So do your brothers. And so does Bailey. And I need you here… with me. I… I…” he paused. This was so much harder than he thought it would be. “You’re everything that I’ve ever wanted. Every time I think of how life should be, you're standing right next to me. I would do anything for you. I want to be with you. I want you,” he kissed her hand. “I know I don’t deserve someone like you, but I can’t help but want you every time I see you. I want you more than anything or anyone. You can do so much better than me. We both know that. But I love you. I’m in love with you.”

Yes, he had finally told her how he felt. After all the times he tried to push the feeling away, after all the girls he had used to take his mind off of her, after all the times he told her that he didn’t know how he felt; he loved her. He just hoped it wasn’t too late for her to know. He felt like an idiot for not saying it sooner.

She was still and he couldn’t be too sure that she could hear him, despite the nurse assuring him that hearing was one of the few things people in comas could do.

“I think I always have been. I’ve just been too stubborn to admit it to myself. Or you,” he attempted a smile, tears forming in his eyes. “So if you can hear me, squeeze my hand. That way I know you can. And that maybe, somewhere in that big heart of yours, you still love me too.”

He waited a few seconds to see if she would respond. Her hand was still. Nothing.

Unable to stand her lifeless form, he let a tear fall. Then another. And another. He let silent tears shake his muscular build and he squeezed her hand gently, letting her know he was there. He hoped that by some miracle, she would squeeze his hand.

After five minutes he was ready to give up all hope until he felt her fingers weakly squeeze him back.

His heart lifted and a smile spread across his handsome face. “Thank God,” he whispered as he brought his lips to her forehead. His smile faltered as the loud the heart monitor began to flat line seconds later.