Last Chance: A Second Chances Novel (12 page)

When he opened the door, he let out an audible sigh. “The surgery is complete. I wanted to let you know Ms. Jacobs is stable and resting. You can go in and see her now.” He gave us the room number, and Summer and Grayson headed out the door. I started to follow them out, but Evan stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.

“Wait,” he said.

I was desperate to see Lara. “Why?”

“I want you to tell me what happened with you and Lara. You never got the chance to explain.”

Eyes burning, I could still hear Lara’s scream when she was hit. “I was on the phone with her when it happened. I heard the crash, the sound of her screams. It’s a sound I don’t ever want to hear again.”

Evan closed his eyes. “Holy fuck, that had to be terrifying.”

Tears fell down my cheeks and I let them stay there. I’d never cried so much in my fucking life. “After that happened, I jumped on my bike to find her. She was on her way to my house so I knew she couldn’t be far away.” Fists clenched, I slammed them against the seat arms. “She was so close to my house. If that son of a bitch hadn’t hit her, she’d be with me, instead of on her deathbed in this damn hospital.” I lowered my head. “We would be happy.”

“I’m assuming she chose you?” he asked, his voice just above a whisper.

“Yes.” I lifted my teary gaze to his. “She told me she’d ended things with Grayson, that I had one last chance to make it right between us, to not let her down. I told her I loved her . . . and then everything happened.”

Evan’s face grew pale. “I can’t believe this.”

I nodded. “Tell me about it. Just as I was about to get her back, she’s taken away from me.”

He gripped my shoulder and squeezed. “Not for long. As soon as she recovers, she’ll be all yours.”

“Not without complications,” I stated. “Grayson doesn’t look like he’s going to bow out gracefully.”

Evan snorted. “He’s not going to have a choice. If Lara chose you, there’s nothing he can do about it.”

Unfortunately, it hadn’t stopped
me
from trying to win her back when she was with him. I had a feeling he was going to pay me back, with interest. Taking a deep breath, I headed for the door and Evan followed me to her room. The door was shut and I opened it quietly, the sound of beeping machines and Summer’s soft cries were all I could hear.

Swallowing hard, I walked into the room and felt my sanity hanging on by a thread. Lara didn’t look like herself. Instead, she had a bandage wrapped around the entirety of her head and her eyes were blue and swollen. If I’d have walked by her, I wouldn’t have known who she was.

Grayson sat on one side of her while Summer was on the other, both holding her hands. I wanted to grab Grayson by the neck and throw him out. He shouldn’t be the one touching her; it was
my
job now.

Evan gripped my elbow and whispered a warning in my ear. “You need to calm down. No matter the outcome, he loves her just as much as you do.” He stepped past me and murmured something in Summer’s ear. She nodded and got up, exiting the room.

Taking Summer’s empty seat, I gently clasped Lara’s hand. They were small and delicate-looking, but we all knew Lara had a temper and could hurt someone with those hands. That was one of the things I loved about her—her fiery temper.

“If she wasn’t on her way to see you, none of this would’ve happened,” Grayson hissed.

If we weren’t in a hospital room, with Lara between us, I would’ve punched the shit out of him. “Does placing the blame on me make you feel better? I can’t help it she chose me over you.”

He scoffed. “She’s infatuated with you, but she loves me. What we had was real.”

I hated the fact she’d been with him, that they were intimate. I couldn’t blame her for moving on, but the thought still stung. “And now it’s over,” I said. “She told me what happened between you two.”

He shook his head. “She was confused. When she wakes up, it’ll all be cleared up. It was just a misunderstanding.”

Clenching my teeth, I reined in my anger and decided to let it go. When she woke up, I had no doubt of her decision. For the first time in my life, I had to be the bigger man and keep my mouth shut. Lara would’ve been proud of me.

Her hand was cold, so I kissed it and covered it with both of mine. “Come on, cupcake. I need you to wake up.” I needed to know she was mine for good.

Two Weeks Later

A
s much as I hated the new arrangement, I had to stick by it. Summer was in charge of Lara’s health and she felt it necessary to make a schedule to keep Grayson and me apart. Apparently, she felt the tension between us was unhealthy for Lara, who hadn’t even woken up since the accident. I had a race coming up in a week, so whenever I wasn’t at the hospital, I was on the track. I had to do something to keep my mind off everything.

The doctors said Lara’s vitals were good, and that sleeping was just her body’s way of healing. I had to believe that was true, even though deep down I felt like something was wrong. I was so afraid I wouldn’t be there when she woke up, that it’d be Grayson’s face she saw first. I wanted her to know I never wanted to leave her side.

Lara looked a lot better, her face wasn’t blue and swollen anymore. She was herself again, only she wasn’t awake. The doctor’s had removed the bandage on her head, her blonde hair fanned out across the pillow. Summer brushed her hair every day and I did it as well, including putting lotion on her skin. The doctor said talking wouldn’t hurt, so for hours each day, I sat there and talked to her. Mostly about all the things I couldn’t wait to do with her. We had a whole life ahead of us, and I couldn’t wait to get started. If only she’d wake up.

“Knock, knock,” Evan said, tapping on the door.

I glanced over my shoulder. “Hey, man. Long time no see.”

Chuckling, he sat down on Lara’s other side. “Been busy at the restaurant. With Summer’s visiting schedule, I keep missing you. Plus, I know you’ve been training. How’s it going with that?”

I shrugged. “Okay, I guess. I’ve been riding better, which is good. But I can’t stop thinking about Lara. At least, my trainer is happier with me.”

“That’s good. Are you excited about the race next week?”

It was hard to be excited about anything with Lara in her condition. “I’m ready to win it,” I said. “But I was hoping Lara would be with me. I know that’s stupid though. Even if she wakes up, she won’t have the strength to go.”

He winked. “I’ll make sure she watches it on TV.”

“Thanks,” I laughed. “Has Grayson said anything to Summer about Lara breaking it off with him?”

His smile faded. “Not yet.”

“What the hell is he waiting on? I can see the look on Summer’s face every time I’m here. I know we’re on good terms, but she hates I’m taking up time that Grayson could be here. She needs to know that I have more right to be here than him.”

With a heavy sigh, he nodded. “And I agree, but he knows that when she wakes up, it’ll all be over. I feel for the guy.”

I snorted. “Believe me, I’m impatiently waiting for that very day.” My time was coming to a close, and I knew any minute Grayson would be walking through the door. It turned out it wasn’t just him, but Summer as well.

“Hey, sunshine,” Evan called.

She kissed his cheek and wrapped her arms around his neck, her saddened gaze on Lara. “What are you doing here?” she asked him.

He pointed at me. “Thought I’d come by and see him. Hadn’t seen him much the past two weeks.”

“Neither have I. You doing okay?” she asked with a smile.

I shrugged. “No, but I will be once Lara wakes up.”

“Won’t we all,” she mentioned sadly.

Everyone focused on me and I knew that was my cue to go. Grayson’s scowl was getting old, and I couldn’t wait for the day I could punch it off his face. Leaning over, I kissed Lara on the cheek. “I love you,” I murmured, about to let her hand go. It was so hard to walk away from her. But then her fingers twitched and I froze.

“She moved her fingers,” I called out excitedly. Everyone gathered around but I wasn’t about to move. “Lara, can you hear me?”

Summer leaned in on the other side, running her hands down Lara’s face. “Sis, it’s me. Wake up.”

My heart raced and I finally got what I wished for when Lara’s eyes fluttered open. Summer burst out crying and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank fucking God,” I said. “Think you got enough beauty sleep?” One of the things Lara and I did together was banter back and forth. I was hoping it’d make her smile after everything she’d been through, but all she did was stare blankly at me. Dread settled into the pit of my stomach. “Baby, can you talk?”

“Lara, please say something,” Summer insisted.

Lara turned her attention to her sister and swallowed, her voice rough and dry. “Summer?”

“Yes,” she cried, “it’s me. I’m so glad you’re awake.”

“What happened?”

Summer wiped away her tears. “You were in an accident. We’ve all been waiting for you to wake up. It’s been two weeks already.”

Lara glanced at everyone and then shook her head, brows furrowed in confusion. “I don’t understand. Who are these people?”

In that moment, everything came crashing down. I finally knew why I felt there was something wrong. The girl I loved had no fucking clue who I was.

T
he room grew quiet. For the longest time, I waited for Lara to laugh and say she was kidding. Unfortunately, I was going to be waiting a long time for that. I was in an even worse nightmare than I could’ve imagined.