Miles Apart (The Not So Bad Boys of Rock Book 2) (24 page)

"Rachel,
what is it? What's wrong?" I stood, unsure of what to do. Dek looked up at
me and mouthed
Rachel?
I nodded, looking across to where Brooke sat just
three tables away, laughing with Natalie and Nikki.

"It's
Savannah. I found her on the floor of the kitchen. She was unresponsive. The
paramedics had to come and rush us to the hospital. Oh Sebastian, she went into
cardiac arrest." She wailed and my blood turned cold. "Can you come
to the hospital? I don't want to be alone."

"Of
course I'll come." I replied, without hesitation. I kept my eyes on
Brooke, she still hadn't turned to face me. My heart was beating frantically,
knowing what I was about to do. "Where are you?"

"Scripp's
Memorial in La Jolla. Please hurry." I hung up the phone and Dek was on me
in an instant.

"What's
going on? Where are you going?" He insisted.

"I
have to go to La Jolla. Savannah was rushed to the hospital under cardiac
arrest." I was speaking but everything around me felt hazy. Suddenly, the
fear of losing that sweet little girl ripped me apart.

Dek
grabbed me by the arm, halting my exit. "What the hell is wrong with you?
You can leave. You're getting married tomorrow, to the woman of your dreams.
Sebastian, this is what you've been waiting for. Brooke's going to flip out if
you try and leave."

"Brooke
will understand." I gritted my teeth, trying my best to convince myself
that what I had just said would be true.

"I
don't think she will. Everyone is here to watch you two get married. You can't
just go running off."

"Don’t
you get it?" I growled. "Rachel needs me. She's there alone and
scared."

He
stepped back, shaking his head. His grip was still tight on my arm.

"Oh,
I get it. It's the whole hero complex. Brooke's here, and things are great
between you two, but she's a strong woman. Rachel is vulnerable right now and
has no one else to turn to. So there goes Sebastian to the rescue again. Don't
think for one minute that you're fooling me. You're going to throw away
everything you fought so hard to hold onto just to feel good about yourself?
I'm sorry, but that doesn't make a whole hell of a lot of sense to me."

"It's
not like that! Brooke will understand. She knows how much I love her. This
isn't about me having any feelings other than friendship for Rachel. Savannah
is everything to her. She doesn't have anyone else to lean on. I'm her
friend."

"Then
go be the hero. Just don't expect everything to be okay on this end. I think
you're playing with fire my friend. Be careful."

"I
have to go!" I yelled, shaking myself out of his grip. Brooke was soon at
my side and her hand rested gently on my other arm.

"Sebastian,
baby, what's wrong? You're scaring me?" Her eyes pleaded with me.

"Rachel
called. Savannah went into cardiac arrest and is in the hospital. I have to go
there babe."

"You're
leaving me? But, we're getting married tomorrow. We've been planning this for
months." Her grip loosened on my arm and she stepped away. "You're
choosing her over me." She whispered, holding her hand to her mouth.

"No.
Honey, no. Never!" I reached for her but she pulled away. "You will
always be my first choice. But I made a promise to be there for them if they
ever needed me, and right now they need me more than ever. I know the timing
sucks, but I can't say no. Please understand. I just want to go there and make
sure that Savannah is okay. I'll be back in time for the ceremony. I
promise." My hand reached out again and this time she didn't pull away. I
held her close, stroking her hair. "I love you so much. I'm sorry this is
happening. I would never choose anyone over you, that's not what this is."

"Okay.
Go. I'll be here waiting. No matter how long it takes. Please call me when you
get there, just to let me know you're safe. I love you." She touched my
face, tenderly, and pressed her lips to my piercing, kissing it softly.

The drive to the
hospital took two hours.
I made my way to the building and asked the receptionist where I could find
Savannah. I rode the elevator to the fifth floor and turned right. Rachel was
sitting at the foot of the bed when I walked into the room.

"Sebastian!"
She cried out, running into my open arms. Her body shook as tears that she had
been trying so bravely to control finally broke loose.

"Shh,
it's okay." I rubbed her back with my hand. "What did the doctor
say?" I looked over at Savannah, lying on the bed with IV tubing connected
to her small wrist and oxygen being pumped in through the tubes that protruded
from her delicate nose.

"They
believe that she had an allergic reaction to a new medication. She had a
seizure and went into cardiac arrest. Oh, I was so scared. I thought I was
going to lose her too." She continued to cry against my chest. My shirt
was now soaked where her face pressed against me. "She's resting
comfortably now. They have her sedated."

I
went over to the bed and wrapped my fingers around Savannah's small hand. I
wept as I pictured her on the floor, her short life hanging on by a thread. I
found myself grateful for the heroic efforts of the medical staff that came to
her rescue. I knelt beside the bed, laying my head on the mattress.

"I'm
so sorry little pumpkin. I'm so sorry you had to go through this. You're
strong. I know you'll be okay. You've got to be okay. Your Mom needs you. We
all need you." Rachel fell on the floor next to me and held me as I cried.

An hour had passed
and the only one to
enter the room had been the nurses that came in to check her vitals. They said
that everything was still the same, and that she was stable. I stood,
stretching my legs for the first time since I'd gotten out of the car. I needed
to go and find something to drink.

"Hey
Rachel." I whispered, not wanting to wake the other patients on the floor.
"I'm going to head down and find something to drink. Do you want
anything?"

"No,
I'm good. Thank you though." She said, quietly.

I
made my way down the hall in search of a vending machine. I needed a bottle of
water. I finally found one in the cafeteria, which was now closed except for
the small alcove filled with glowing machines, all filled with snacks and
beverages for the poor soul in desperate need of sustenance. I bought a water
and a bag of almonds. I cracked the top on the water, downing half of it in one
swig. I opened the nuts and my nostrils were hit with the sweet familiar smell.
It dawned on me that I hadn't called Brooke to let her know that I'd made it
here safely. Shit, she was probably angry with me right about now.

I
glanced at the time, one thirty in the morning, too late to call. I sent a
quick text instead.

Me: I'm so sorry. I'm
here and I'm safe. I meant to call. Savannah is resting comfortably and we are
waiting to hear back from the doctor. I love you.

I
pressed send, praying she would see it when she woke up. I figured since I'd
never received a text from her that she was most likely pretty pissed at me for
blowing off our friends and family to come here. I had told her that she would
always be first in my life, but tonight I felt like the right choice had been
to come here. My head was so full of could haves and should haves that it
physically hurt. I made my way back to the room and asked Rachel if she had any
pain killers. She handed me a bottle of acetaminophen and I held it in my palm,
remembering the night after Brooke's attack when she'd come into my bedroom
asking for something for a headache. I had given her acetaminophen then. I
sighed, knowing she was probably upset with me. I poured out two pills, downing
them with the remainder of my water. I felt a buzzing in my pocket and stepped
out of the room to take my call.

"Baby?"

"So,
she's doing okay?" That was all she said.

"Yeah.
She seems to be resting comfortably, but they've got her sedated. From what I
understand, she had a reaction to her medication and went into cardiac
arrest."

"Oh
my gosh, how awful for Rachel. How is she holding up?" My heart swelled in
my chest, knowing that this sweet woman was probably beside herself with worry that
I was with another woman the night before my wedding, and yet she was still
concerned about another human being's needs. That was just one of the many
reasons I loved her so deeply.

"She's
trying to be strong, but it's got to be hard. She told me she had been afraid
that she would lose Savannah and then be alone. It broke my heart."

"Please
tell her that I hope everything will be okay. Savannah is a strong little girl.
She must take after her Momma." She gave a light laugh. "When will
you be coming home?"

"I'll
be there in time. Nothing will stop me from marrying you. I promise you that. I
love you with everything that I am. I need you to trust me. You do trust me, don't
you?"

"I
want to." She whispered. My heart clenched at the sadness in her voice.
"I love you." She said softly, before hanging up the phone.

"I
love you too." I whispered into the silence.

I
walked back into the room and Rachel was standing beside the bed, stroking her
daughter's hair. She looked exhausted.

"Hey,
come on and try to get some rest. The doctor's will wake us up when they come
in." I pulled her toward the reclining chair that sat in the corner of the
small room.

"You
probably should be heading home. It was selfish of me to expect you to stay
here this long." She looked at me with her big brown eyes and gave a weak
smile.

"I'm
staying right here until we hear something. I'm not here because I feel like I
have
to. I'm here because I
want
to. Now, come sit down with me." I sat
in the chair and pulled lightly on her hand, encouraging her to sit on my lap.
There wasn't another chair in the room, and it seemed like the only option.

"Thank
you. You're an amazing man. I don't know what we would do without you."
She nestled against my body. I draped my arm loosely over her, holding her close
to me to prevent her from slipping, and we drifted off.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Brooke~

Today was the day I was supposed to get married.
When I opened my eyes, the first thing they settled on was the empty space in
the bed beside me. His side remained perfectly made. I closed my eyes, trying
to put the memory of watching him leave out of my mind. Yesterday had been my
birthday. It didn't bother me that the day had been spent focusing on my
wedding. I had never been really big on birthdays anyhow. I would be lying if I
said that it hadn't turned out quite the way I had planned. Never in my wildest
dreams did I think that my fiancé would go rushing off to comfort another woman
instead of holding me the night before we said I do. I tried to understand. It
wasn't easy, but I did try. I found it ironic that his birthday had also ended
with him leaving me, only this time it wasn't because of something I had done,
or a secret I had kept.

It
wasn't that I didn't trust him. I honestly did. I just didn't like sharing him,
especially not with another woman. Even if she was just a friend, there wasn't
anything easy about any of this.

Dek
and Jade had been livid. Actually, Dek was pissed as hell at Sebastian. I did
my best to calm him down after Sebastian took off, but I wasn't so sure my
words had been effective. Jade kept insisting that I let her stay with me, but
I refused. I needed to be alone. I needed to process what had taken place. I
needed to be able to determine how much it really bothered me.

When
he failed to let me know he'd arrived there safely, I decided to go to bed.
Sleep hadn't come easily, but I finally managed to doze off. I probably would
have slept through the night if it hadn't been for the text message that came
through at one thirty in the morning. Once I knew that he had been thinking of
me, I had to call. Hearing his voice did little to dissolve the doubt that had
already begun to creep in, despite all of his assurances that he would make it
back in time.

He
kept telling me that I would always come first, but in this circumstance he
didn't have a choice. He had made a promise to be there. He had chosen them
over me. Bottom line. But in the end, it really didn't matter. I had made the
same choice before, and he had forgiven me. I would do the same for him. Not
because I felt that I owed it to him.

I
would chose to forgive because I loved him.

Tracy called at eight
thirty to see if he had
made it back home. I told her that I hadn't heard from him this morning. The
ceremony was supposed to be at eleven thirty, and it was a two hour drive from
the hospital. We'd chosen an earlier time for the ceremony for two reasons: the
weather was usually nicer at that time of day; that was when the sailboats
passed by every Saturday morning. I held the phone in my hand and stared out
the window.
Please come home to me. I can't wait to be Mrs. Sebastian Miles.
I love you. I miss you. Please choose me.

I
heard a truck pull up, and soon the catering company was unloading the tables
and chairs for brunch. The doorbell rang and I opened it to find two men
carrying our wedding cake. I motioned to where they should set it up. Pretty
soon, the house was full of noise and I slipped away upstairs to get ready. I
didn’t know if he would make it back in time, but I sure as hell would be ready
if he did.

My
Mom came into the bedroom at ten thirty. I was sitting in front of the mirror
in my underwear, putting the finishing touches on my makeup. My hair had been
pulled up loosely, a few strands of hair had fallen and now framed my face the
way Sebastian had always liked it. Mom sat on the edge of the bed and watched
me quietly.

"Is
everyone down there?" I asked, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"It
looks like it. You have a few people that want to come in here to see you. Are
you up for that?"

I
turned to her and smiled, not wanting her to see how my heart was breaking
inside. I still hadn't spoken to him. I didn't know if he would be here, or if
he still wanted to marry me. At this point my mind had played through various
scenarios and none of them had ended well.

"Any
sign of Sebastian?" I asked, hopefully.

She
only shook her head.

"Give
me a few minutes okay? Can you help me with my dress?"

"Of
course I can baby girl. I would be honored." She stood and removed the
dress from where it had been hanging. "This is a stunning dress. You're
going to be a beautiful bride."

I
slid the pink garter up my leg and then stepped into my dress. I pulled it over
my hips and Mom began the tedious task of fastening the tiny buttons that lined
the back. I watched her through the mirror, studying the lines of her beautiful
face as she concentrated on the task at hand. At one point her gaze met mine in
the mirror and her hands stopped working.

"He'll
be here. He loves you. He wouldn't miss this for anything." Mom reassured
me in the most loving voice I had ever heard. I fought hard not to cry. I
wanted so desperately to break down, but giving in and crying would mean that I
didn't trust that he would keep his promise.

Sebastian
always
kept his promises.

"I
know." I replied, my voice sounded as shaky as my insides felt.

"Wow.
Look at you." Mom stated, coming from behind me. We both looked in the
mirror. The dress was spectacular. Natalie hadn't been exaggerating. The bodice
was strapless and cupped my breasts perfectly. My entire torso was covered in
decorative stitching with miniature pearls woven through. The waist narrowed to
a V in the front and back. The skirt was a mermaid style that clung to my
thighs before billowing out above my knees. Pearls spiraled down the front and
back of the skirt, stopping just above the three foot train. I opted not to
wear a veil. I wanted him to see my face from the very moment I stepped onto
that patio. "I love you sweetheart. Don't worry, I've got a good feeling
that he'll be here really soon." She turned and left the room and I could
hear her talking with someone in the hall.

Dek,
Travis, and Chris came in next.

"Whoa.
Sebastian is going to flip. You clean up real nice sis." Chris said,
jokingly. He gave me a careful hug so as not to crush my dress.

"Seriously
Brooke, you look amazing. I can honestly say that this family is now full of
beautiful women." Travis gave me a light kiss. "I know he loves you.
He'll be here." He whispered in my ear.

"My
best friend is one lucky SOB. He'd be a fool not to show up." Dek kissed
my other cheek. "I can't reach him on his cell, but I know him. He said he
would be here, and he will."

"I
know. He'll be here." I nodded, trying to convince myself.

Natalie,
Jade, and Nikki stopped by next. Each one gushed about how beautiful I looked.
Neither of them said anything about Sebastian's continued absence, or his
silence. My nerves were wreaking havoc on my stomach. I wanted to throw up. The
girls left and Thomas came in with Tracy behind him.

"Lord
in Heaven. You are a sight to behold." Thomas clasped both of my hands in
his. "My dear girl, my son is one of the luckiest men on this planet. I
hope you know how much we love you." He gave me a kiss and nodded to Tracy
before he left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Hi
sweetie." She smiled lovingly at me. "You know, that boy of mine
always was one for making an entrance. If I know him, and I do, he'll show up
and take one look at you and wonder why in the world he ever left in the first
place." She patted my hand. "He will be here. I feel it in my bones.
He wouldn't miss this for anything. He's waited so long for this moment."

"If
it was so important to him, why do you think he hasn't called? He knows when
the ceremony is. He knows I'll be here waiting. I lost him once Tracy, I don't
think I can go through that pain again." My eyes watered, threatening to
overflow.

"Don't
cry baby girl." She dabbed at my eyes with a tissue. "You're makeup
looks too good to mess up. Trust me. I'll see you outside." She kissed me
and pressed the tissue into my hand.

Just
then, Travis burst into the room, smiling broadly.

"He's
on his way! We’ve been calling him for the past hour but he never answered.
Then, Dek just tried again and Rachel answered. She said that his phone must
have fallen out of his pocket when he was sleeping. No one heard it ringing
because it had slipped between the cushions on the chair. She said that he left
shortly after nine. He's going to make it."

I
smiled, my heart was ready to burst open. He had chosen me after all.