Crashing Into You (32 page)

I unhooked my IV, dropped down
to the floor, and landed on my chest with a loud thud. I pushed myself up and
ran toward the door. Evan reached for me, but he wasn’t fast enough. I pulled
the door open and entered the hallway. It was, like the hospital room, empty.

“Sydney, stop!” Evan followed
close behind.

“No! Stay away!” I raced
toward the stairwell. I wanted to run and run and run, until my legs gave out.

“Sydney!
Please
!” He wrapped his arm around my waist, just before I reached
the stairs. He kept a tight hold on me as I collapsed to the ground.

“No! Oh God! Oh my God!” I wept
into my hands, as I curled up into a ball and shielded my face from the world.

Evan held me, as best he
could. “I know this is hard,” he whispered into my ear, as he cried, too.

“They had their date…” I
said.

“I know.”

“Their Monday night date…”

“Syd, it’s going to
be—”

“I wasn't distracted by the
rain,” I said. I looked up at Evan. He dragged his thumb across my cheeks, and wiped
my tears away.

“What?”

I couldn't lie. Not anymore. “I
was distracted by you. You and
her
.”

He lowered his head, like he
had known the truth all along. “It's okay. Come on, let me take you back.”
  

Evan put his left arm under
my legs, and his right arm under my back. He lifted me up, and carried me back
to the room. I nestled my head against his neck, and closed my eyes. The tears
hurt too much.

He laid me back against the
bed, and pulled the covers over me, up to my waist.

“Please, just try to relax,”
he said. “You need to rest.”

I didn’t know what to say or
do. I wanted to run again, but my whole body turned numb. I leaned against my side,
and rested my head against the pillow.

Evan’s cell phone rang. He
picked it up, pressed it to his ear. “Hello?” He hesitated. “Yeah, she’s
awake.” He pursed his lips, and glanced at me with an odd, frightful expression.
“Sure thing.”

He slipped his phone back
into his pocket and leaned against the bed.

“Who was that?” I asked.

“The police,” he said. “They
need to come ask you some questions.”

“The
police
?”

“Just be honest. You weren’t
drinking. It was pouring rain. You lost control of the car…”

“It wasn't the rain, though.”
I looked past Evan, waited for the cops to kick down the door. Were they going
to handcuff me now, or handcuff me later?

“You have to say it was the
rain, Syd. I'm sure a ton of people got into car accidents today—”

“But that would be a
lie
.”

“So what? Sometimes you have
to lie.” He put his hand on my shoulder, but I shook him away.

“Okay,” I said, and crossed
my arms. “Evan, I’ll say whatever you think I should say. If you tell me the
truth. Once and for all.”

He brought his hands to his
sides. “The truth? About what?”

I stared at him, for ten
seconds or longer. He had such kind eyes, but behind them was a man I wasn't
sure I knew anymore.

“Are
you
the reason Melanie died? Did you do what Michelle said you
did?”

I thought he’d look away. Thought
he'd just tell me the same old story.

But Evan kept his eyes
focused on mine. He didn't even blink. “Yes,” he said. “I’m sorry. It was an
accident. Todd and Zach, they...” He stopped, and started to cry. “I didn't
mean for her to die.”

“You son of a bitch,” I said,
coldly, with no remorse.

“It was an accident, Syd, I
swear—”

“You sick son of a
bitch
!” I slapped him, hard, against his
face. He put his hands up to block further blows, as I pounded my fists against
his chest. “I hate you! I fucking hate you!”

“Syd, stop—”

“How could you do that?” I
screamed through my sobs. “How could you be so stupid? Get out! I never want to
see you again!”

Evan stepped away from me, and
headed toward the door. His cheeks were stained with tears. “I’m sorry,” he
said. “I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen.”

“Get out!
Now
!” I gripped the bed sheets. Tried to
catch my breath. I looked at anything but him.

Evan stopped at the other
side of the room. He rested his hand on the doorknob, and turned to me. “Sydney,
I love you. What I did that night... it's inexcusable. I don't know who that guy
was, but it's not me anymore. You have to believe me when I say... I've
changed. I've changed because of
you
.”
He finally opened the door. “I hope one day you’ll be able to forgive me.”

Evan started closing the door.
I looked back toward him, reached my arm out. “Evan,” I said. “Evan, wait.”

He stopped, stepped back into
the room. “What is it?”

“Don’t go.”

He hesitated at the door.
Kept a tight grip on the knob.

“Please,” I said. I started
shaking and crying at the same time. “Please don't leave me here all alone.”

He stepped back over to me, and
sat down on the bed. As the door closed, a mass of footsteps echoed through the
hall.

They were coming.

He took my hand in his.
“We’re going to get through this, Syd. I promise you... we’ll get through this
together.”

I peered at the door, at the
rectangular window in the center of it. A tall, scary police officer stood on
the other side. He knocked three times.

I kept a tight grip on Evan's
hand. I looked into his eyes and saw not pain or fear, or even regret. All I
saw was love.

“Will we, Evan?” I asked, as the
officer pushed the door open. “Will we?”

# # #

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:

B.D. Rowe is a Sacramento native with a penchant for
crafting tales of romance, mystery, and intrigue.
Crashing Into You
is B.D.'s first New Adult novel.

SIGN
UP FOR B.D.’S NEWSLETTER!

I’ll let you know when I have a new book!

http://eepurl.com/F6665