“Oh my God! He’s in my house with a gun…please…please, hurry.”

Then, I saw Layton and Roger at the top of the stairs. Layton went to go after Roger, and before I could even yell out, Roger pointed the gun and shot at Layton.

“No!” I screamed.

Layton flew forward and knocked the gun out of Roger’s hand. Before I even knew what was happening, Roger was on the ground, and Layton was beating the shit out of him.

“You will never hurt her again for as long as I live, you fucking piece of shit.” Layton kept hitting Roger over and over again.

I ran up, grabbed Layton, and tried pulling him off of Roger.

“Layton! Please stop! Please, Layton!”

Just then, two men came around me and pulled Layton off of Roger.

“No, stop! Don’t…it’s Roger! He had a gun, and he shot at—” I stopped talking when I saw the front of Layton’s white shirt covered in blood. I threw my hands up to my mouth. “Oh God…oh God…he shot you, Layton. My God, he shot you!”

The officer let go of Layton as I ran up to him and took him in my arms. Everything started moving in slow motion. I saw the officers pick up Roger and push him against a wall as they put handcuffs on him. Then, I felt Layton’s legs go out from under him, and we both fell to the floor.

I turned back to the police officers and screamed, “Help him! He’s been shot, and he’s not breathing right!”

I heard an officer on his radio, asking for EMS.

I looked down at Layton as he looked up at me. He tried smiling but started coughing. Blood was everywhere.

“Please don’t…don’t leave me, Layton. I love you. I need you, baby.” I could hardly talk from crying so hard. “You can’t leave me. You promised to take care of me forever. You can’t break your promise to me. Kate needs you, too, Layton.”

He tried to talk.

“No…no, baby, don’t talk.” I cried and shook my head. “Just stay with me, Layton.”

“I…promise…he…won’t…hurt…you.”

I put my lips to his and started frantically kissing him over and over again.

“Stop talking. Please. Layton…please.”

I looked up to see Reed dropping to his knees.

“Reed! Please do something!” I cried out.

I looked back down, and Layton was smiling up at me.

“I love you, Whitley.” Then, he closed his eyes.

“No! No! No! Don’t do this to me!” I screamed out as I grabbed on to Layton’s shirt and cried. “You can’t leave me, Layton! Please…”

The next thing I knew, Courtney and Mitch were pulling me away from Layton as the EMS workers surrounded him. I couldn’t see him anymore.

Oh God…I can’t see him. What are they doing to him?

“Stop! Don’t take me away from him. He needs me, Courtney. Please let me go back to him. He needs me! I can’t leave him! I promised.”

As I watched them performing CPR on Layton, I looked into Reed’s eyes that were filled with tears.

No. No…please don’t leave me. Mike…please don’t take him from me.

The room slowly started getting darker as I felt my legs giving out on me.

I heard someone say, “I got a pulse again, but it’s weak.”

Then, Courtney yelled out my name as I drifted off into darkness and silence.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Whitley

I sat in the chair, staring out the window, watching the raindrops slide down the glass. My head was pounding, and I was beginning to feel weak.

Courtney walked up to me and put her hand on my shoulder. “Whit, please come with me to the hotel. You can take a hot shower, change your clothes, and maybe even get a few hours of sleep.”

“You need to get something to eat, Whitley,” Reed said from across the room.

I turned and looked at them. I tried my best to give them a smile, but I barely had the energy to move.

“You know, when the nurse comes back in here, she’s gonna be pissed. Only two people are allowed in the ICU rooms,” I said as I winked at Reed.

Reed gave me a weak smile as he glanced up and looked at Courtney. Neither one of them had fought once in the last four days. I knew they were holding back for my sake.

“Courtney, you should go to the hotel. You look tired,” I said.

She shook her head and looked over toward Reed. “Um…Mitch is on his way into Austin now. I’ll probably head to the hotel when he gets here and sees Layton.”

I glanced over to the man I was so desperately in love with. He was lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to a number of machines.

Wake up, Layton. Please wake up.

I felt tears rolling down my face. I turned and looked back out the window. Every time I looked at him, I started crying.

Courtney began running her hand down my hair. “Can we at least take you out to eat for your birthday?”

I pulled me knees up to my chest, buried my face, and cried. Layton had told me he had something special planned for my birthday. The thought of it made me sick to my stomach.

What if I never find out what his plans were? What if he wakes up and hates me for being the cause of all of this?

What if he doesn’t wake up?

I cried harder.

“Whitley, stop this right now. This was not your fault, and you have to stop beating yourself up over it. You’re going to have to leave at some point,” Courtney said.

I snapped my head up and looked at my best friend, who had stood by my side for everything.

“I. Can’t. Leave. I’ve already told you, Court. I won’t leave him. I’ll never leave him alone. I can’t leave him alone. Everyone always leaves him. What if he wakes up, and no one is here?” I said.

Reed stood up and walked over toward me. He bent down and looked into my swollen red eyes. “Whitley, I’ll stay with him. We won’t let him be alone…ever. I promise you.”

I shook my head back and forth. “No! Reed, you know how he is with promises. I promised him I’d never leave him. I’m not leaving until he wakes up. So, would you both please just stop asking me to leave? I’m not going to leave him!” I practically shouted.

Reed looked up and over at Courtney as she nodded.

As he stood up, he kissed me on the forehead and wiped away my tears. “Okay, Whitley. No more asking you to leave. How about some food? Can you eat some food for me, sweetheart?” Reed asked.

I glanced over toward Courtney and noticed how she was looking at Reed with so much love in her eyes.

I was so hungry. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had eaten. I nodded and gave him a weak smile. “I could really go for some Chick-fil-A,” I said.

He smiled and nodded. “Sandwich or nuggets?”

“She likes the nuggets…but get her enough sauce to dip her french fries into also.”

We all snapped our heads over toward the bed. Layton’s eyes immediately caught mine. I threw my hands up to my mouth and started crying as I jumped up and ran over to him.

“Layton! Thank you, God. Thank you so much.” I began kissing him softly all over his face. I picked up his hand and began kissing it.

“Are you okay, baby?” He lifted his hand and rubbed the side of my mouth where it had been cut.

I grabbed his hand and held it against my face as I nodded. “I’m fine. No, I’m perfect now that you’re awake and looking into my eyes again. I’ve never been better. I love you so much, Layton. Please don’t ever leave me.”

He smiled that smile of his that made me weak in my knees—the smile he had given me when I first met him on the side of the road.

Then, his smile faded. “Where is he?”

I knew he was talking about Roger. “I don’t want to talk about him. I just want to sit here and thank God for bringing you back to me. Are you in pain?”

I turned and looked at Courtney. “Maybe we should let them know that he’s awake.”

She nodded and made her way out to find a nurse.

Reed walked up and smiled. “Jesus, dude. You scared the shit out of us. What in the hell were you doing, playing hero, when that asshole had a gun?”

“Is that why I hurt so fucking bad?” Layton tried to laugh but stopped himself.

“Yeah. He shot you in the stomach, but you’re one lucky son of a bitch. It missed everything it needed to miss.”

Layton winked at me. “Good. I need to be ready for Wednesday.”

I tried to smile, but I felt a tear roll down my face. “Layton, it is Wednesday.”

His smile faded, and he closed his eyes. When he opened them, he had tears in his eyes. I leaned up and began kissing him on the lips. He reached his hand up, grabbed on to the back of my neck, and held me tighter to him. I wasn’t sure how long we were kissing before Reed cleared his throat. I pulled slightly away and smiled when I saw Layton smiling.

“Happy birthday, baby. I’m so sorry. I promise, I’ll make it up to you.”

“Layton, I don’t care about my birthday. The only thing I care about is you.”

“Excuse me, but I’m going to have to get in there.”

I looked up and saw the sweet older nurse who had been on duty since six this morning.

“Well, Mr. Morris, I’m sure you’re probably hurting.”

“Yes, ma’am. A lot in my stomach.”

She smiled the sweetest smile. “Well, let’s take care of that, shall we?”

Layton smiled and glanced over at me.

“Ma’am?” he asked.

“Please, call me Katie,” she said with a wink.

Layton smiled. “That’s my niece’s name, but we call her Kate.”

“It’s a good, strong name,” she said with a smile. “What can I do for you, Mr. Morris?”

“Please, it’s Layton. Can you please tell this beautiful woman behind you to go home, take a shower, and get something to eat?”

She threw her head back slightly. “Your friends have been trying for four days to get her to leave your side, but she wouldn’t.”

I smiled as I looked over at Courtney and Reed.

After a few minutes, the doctor came walking in. He told Layton everything about his gunshot wound, what they had done to fix it, and what he thought the recovery was going to be like.

I had to sit down. My head was spinning. It wouldn’t be long before the police came in to talk to Layton. They’d stopped by every day since the shooting, waiting for him to wake up, so they could take his statement.

“So, how long will I need to stay here?” Layton asked.

“Well, depending on how well you do, I’d like to get you up and moving around as soon as possible. I’m hoping to have you home soon, son.”

The doctor and Layton spoke a few minutes longer. Once the nurse and doctor left the room, I felt everything hit me all at once. I went to stand up and started to lose my balance. Reed ran over and grabbed me before I fell.

“That’s it. I’m taking you to the hotel, Whitley,” Reed said as he helped me sit back down in the chair.

I looked up at Layton, and his expression about killed me. His eyes were filled with worry.