But I can’t. Because right now, I’m not Tor’s girlfriend. I’m just his best friend’s kid.

“What did the doctor say?” Tesla asks as I move closer to the bed, taking an inventory of all the scrapes and bruises I’m going to kiss better as soon as we’re alone together.

“He was in a little while ago and checked him over,” Mrs. Grace replies. “They want to keep him for a day or two for observation, just as a precaution. He’ll be sore and will need time to recover. His ribs and the road rash will probably cause him the most pain, and he could have some headaches for a few days since he hit his head. They’ve got him on pain killers and antibiotics right now.”

“We’re going to sue the asshole that hit him,” Tristan says. “They could have fucking killed him. Not to mention wrecking a restored vintage motorcycle. That idiot is going to pay for this.”

I sit gingerly on the edge of the bed and take his bandaged hand gently in mine, not caring that his family will see. They know we’re close, so it shouldn’t raise any questions that I would hold his hand. It’s a perfectly normal thing to do with someone you’re friends with.

Tesla keeps talking to her mom and brother in the background, asking a hundred questions and I’m pretty sure she’s doing it on purpose to distract them from noticing me sitting on the bed with him fighting back tears. I rub my thumb gently over his and watch his chest move as he sleeps. The heart rate monitor and the intravenous lines he’s hooked up to make my anxiety spike but I try to remind myself that this isn’t like what happened to my mother. He’s just sleeping from all the medication, and he’s going to wake up.

His mom is saying that we all should leave so he can rest, and I can’t bring myself to just stand nonchalantly and leave the room. Not caring anymore, I lean down and kiss his cheek.

“I love you the most,” I whisper to him. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

31

Tor

My love,

Come back to me.

My heart misses you.

My soul aches for you.

My body needs you.

My mind craves you.

You

Are

My

Forever

Tor

Three days ago I woke up in a hospital bed with the worst headache of my life and feeling like someone put me through a high-speed blender. And that may as well have happened, because parts of my flesh appear to be pureed. I don’t remember getting hit at all, which is probably for the best because I’m feeling a rage towards the person who did this to me. When I first woke up, my mind felt empty. Blank. I couldn’t think backwards, and it scared the shit out of me. I sat in the creaky bed in silence, waiting for my head to clear and for the incessant throbbing and nothingness to subside. Sydni was there, spouting her love for me, talking about coming home with me and our future together. My head swam with confusion and pain as my brain tried to fight through the curtain it was shrouded in.

I nodded dully at her as she went on and on about getting married and having a family. It’s what I wanted. It sounded good.

But it felt wrong, and I couldn’t put my finger on why. The more I thought about it, and tried to reverse back into my memory, the more pain shot through my head, and the nurses gave me more meds. And then the curtain would fall over my thoughts again.

On day two I saw Kenzi, hovering somberly in the doorway, her green eyes capturing mine from across the room, and it all came back in a monstrous wave.

She’s my love. The one I’m going to spend my life with. Not Sydni, who has managed to position herself back in my life while I laid here beaten and in a fog.

I have a vague memory of my sister kissing me goodbye and whispering in my ear “I have your phone and everything else. That bitch went through the stuff you had on you when you got brought in, but I took it all. She didn’t get to your phone, thank Fuck. Kenzi is staying at your house until you get home. She said to tell you she loves you.”

Pain pierces through my head again as I realize what has sparked Sydni to suddenly try to become girlfriend of the year.

When we pull into my driveway, Kenzi’s Jeep is there. Thank God. I can’t wait to see her and have her in my arms. I could feel the worry and sadness coming off of her the few times she visited in the hospital. I wanted to scream at everyone to get the hell out of my room and give us a minute alone, but doing that would have made everyone suspicious of why I’d want to be alone in my hospital room with an eighteen-year-old girl.