Accepted Fate (44 page)

Leaning forward, I rest my elbows on the mattress beside her body. My hand never leaves hers. I feel like I owe her some kind of explanation. She shouldn't be here. If anyone should be in this hospital bed, it should be me. She is the most beautiful person I've ever met, inside and out. How someone could want to hurt her dumbfounds me. Natalie may not have done it trying to hurt her physically, but she was trying to be cruel and it went wrong.

"Baby I'm so sorry. I know I made your dad a promise, but I have to get this out. If I can't do it when you're awake then I'll do it now. I feel like I failed you. As a man I am supposed to protect you. I have to protect you and I didn't. I need you to forgive me or I'll never forgive myself. I've never been so scared in my entire life. Seeing you that way is not something I should ever see again. I have to die before you. I can't handle living in this world without you here. I was so scared you were going to die. Kinzleigh, I know now without a shadow of a doubt I can't live without you. It's crazy that I've only known you four months, but now that I do I can't go back to not knowing you. You make me want to be a better man. My love for you runs deep down to my bones. Loving you knows no bounds. I will do anything for you. Please let me love you forever. From now until my dying day, I will do right by you."

Tears stream down my face but I don't care. If anyone was going to see the ugly, I'm glad it's her. I don't know what I did to deserve a chance with her, but I'll be forever in gratitude that I was standing on the beach that day. We don't choose our fate. Our fate chooses us. You might as well just accept it and live it. We get one chance in life to make it count. After today, I'm living each day as if it's my last. I'm not going to worry about the future or what it holds. Truthfully, we can't control it anyway. It's up to the big guy upstairs. What I've realized is important in life, is the people that surround us. One split second they're here and the next they could be gone. I'll never take advantage of her from this point forward. Her life is too precious to me.

"I love you, with every ounce of energy inside me. One more day will never be enough with you. You make me want more. I cannot exist without you. If you go, I go. From now on, that's the way it will always be. What once made me happy no longer does, unless you're a part of it. I'd give up everything for you. Wherever you lead, I'll follow happily. I can play football anywhere. I've been walking around with half of my heart for seventeen years. The moment I met you, I felt it become whole. You enthrall me. I'm begging you, just don't leave me." Her hand slightly squeezes mine. I barely felt it, but it was there.

Looking up she is still sleeping, but at least I know she heard me, subconsciously or not. Laying my head on my crossed arms, my eyes become heavy and before I can think of anything more, I doze off to sleep.

Kinzleigh

My eyes flutter open and everything around me looks unfamiliar. White is the palette that surrounds me and it smells of bleach and chemicals. Gross. Where am I? As I look down at myself, I realize exactly where I am by the completely unfashionable gown I'm sporting; a hospital. Why am I in a hospital?

I look down and see Breyson sleeping with his arms crossed over the bed and he is holding on to my hand. He doesn't look comfortable. Bless his heart. Surely he didn't sleep all night like that. I sit up and feel like crap. My body is sore and I'm tired. I just want to go home and crawl in my bed.

My fingers are cramped up from being interlaced with Breyson's. I try to slip them apart without waking him but it doesn't work. Instead, it has the opposite effect. He jumps up causing his chair to tip over. When his eyes connect with mine they look red and puffy like he's been crying. What on earth happened? He looks scared to death. "Breyson," I say slowly trying not to wind him up more than he apparently already is. "Are you okay?"

He exhales and his shoulders relax. "I am now. I was so scared baby. I never want to see you like that again." My forehead scrunches and he begins moving closer to me. Leaning over the bedrail he kisses me on the lips. I keep them closed at the worry of having morning breath.

Grabbing the edge of the blanket and scooting to the side, I fold back the covers and pat the bed for him to lay beside me. Looking down, he looks unsure if he should. "Breyson," I pat the mattress harder to initiate what I want. He begins shaking his head and I give him my best pouty face. "Please...don't make me beg."

He rubs his face and begins taking off his shoes. Works. Every. Time. I should feel bad but I don't. A girl has to have a secret weapon for times when she wants something. This is mine; the pouty face. He sits on the side of the bed with the lowered rail and puts his feet under the blanket. He lays backward on his back, his arm flat across the mattress and I lay back down on my side, resting on his shoulder, draping my arm across his stomach. "Why am I here Breyson?"

He takes a deep breath. "Natalie put ecstasy in your punch behind my back and you panicked when it took effect and went into a full panic attack. It was an overload on your brain and it reacted by putting you into a full seizure." His voice sounds pained; torn as he tells me what happened. I know exactly why. He's blaming himself. My hero. Always trying to take the fall for the bad seeds of the world. 

He turns slightly, looking at me face to face. "I'm sorry baby. I'll never let anything happen to you again. I swear it. Please give me a second chance. I know I failed you and didn't protect you. I didn't know. Please believe me. I love you. God as my witness right now, Kinzleigh, I love you more than my life." He can't actually think I would blame him for her behavior. After all, I knew she was a little off her rocker from the conversation she just had to have prior. Surely he doesn't think I would break up with him over this. Would he?

"Breyson." I purse my lips and narrow my eyes to signify my aggravation. "Would you stop trying to be perfect? It's irritating me and frankly unnecessary. You have put me up on this pedestal and I have no idea why. I am no more special than any other person. As long as you have me up there, this relationship is going to be set up for failure. You will never be perfect and neither will I. Bad things are going to happen Breyson. You can't control it or stop it." His jaws are clenched and I realize I'm probably being a little bitchy; more so than I intended.

I place my palm on the side of his cheek and brush his jaw muscle with my thumb. "This is coming out wrong. Breyson I love you. You know I mean it because I've never said it to anyone. I don't need perfection to be happy. I need perfectly imperfect. The imperfections in life are what make things beautiful. Perfect would be boring. I need you to keep me on my toes. You've already been my saving grace on several occasions. I wouldn't be living life to its fullest if it weren't for you. You have shown me how to love someone. That to me is all I'll ever need." Screw morning breath. I need him.

I pull him to me and kiss him. His warm tongue slips in my mouth and sends a sensation jolting through my body. A moan escapes me and I throw my leg over him, pulling myself to straddle him. I don't even consider where we are. He places a hand on each thigh and moves up my legs underneath this horrid gown. Our lips break free as his tongue trails down my neck before he lingers at the base and sucks the skin into his mouth. "Make love to me Breyson. I need to feel you; all of you." Lifting up on my knees, I unbutton his jeans. I feel needy; withdrawing from the absence of him. I can't even wait long enough to get his clothes off and I don't need to. I'm ready and feeling him pressed against my entrance so is he. I've never been brazen enough to take what I want, but something about him has me trying all sorts of things. I take hold of the area that I want, bringing it out of hiding.

He puts his hand through my hair and tugs to pull me back to him. "Kinzleigh, your parents are supposed to be coming back and I don't really want them walking in on me violating their daughter." His voice is panting. I have him right where I want him. The noble guy is sweet and all but right now it's not going to work. I know what I want.

I bite his bottom lip and suck it into my mouth before releasing it. "Are you really going to bring up my dad during sexy time?" I raise my brow and continue my plan of seduction, kissing him on the chin and down the front of his neck as I lightly rub the body part I have come to love. I don't know what I'm doing, but I can pretend. "It's your fault you know; the reason I can't get enough. You can't ruin someone by giving them the best their first time and expect them not to want more. It would be kind of wrong of you to turn me down after that. A lot like taking candy from a baby. You don't want to be known as
that
guy do you?" I purr against his neck and he clenches my hips in his hands, grinding me against him. He lifts his butt off the bed and I pull his jeans and boxers down to his thighs; just enough for total access to his man parts.

"You're damn right I am going to ruin you," he growls. His eyes become heated. He presses back against the bed and sits me up just enough to position himself below me. Once in position, I sit down, allowing him to enter me. Oh man, this is amazing. For some reason it feels different than before. "No one else will ever touch you here or this way as long as I'm alive. Do you understand me? This is mine; you are mine Kinzleigh." He begins moving me up and down. "Say it," he says huskily.  "I need to hear it." He places his thumbs on each end of my tattoo and reads it aloud while making love to me.

Oh...hearing him read my tattoo to me is sexy. This isn't going to take long at all. I love seeing his wild side come out and play. I love this boy. Normally, I would never like to be told I'm someone else's because I hate to be assumed as someone's property, but coming from him, it sends a want and need through my body I can't explain. I want to be his. I need to be his; always. "It's always been yours Breyson. I belong to you; forever. I don't want anyone else. You fill me entirely; physically and emotionally. There isn't room for anyone else."

Pulling me down by my neck, he kisses me greedily. "You feel so good. I love you so much. Go with me?" He begins rocking me back and forth, hitting against my insides and I nod as the sensation begins inside my core. My toes curl and everything feels like it's in slow motion as it takes over. A whimper escapes my lips as they crash against his and we both reach climax together.

He is my rock. He is my necessity. "I love you too. More than you will ever know" It's the truth; completely and whole heartedly.

A knock sounds at the door and I scurry to get off of him. Breyson jumps off the bed in a panic and runs to the bathroom to clean up I suppose. Throwing the blanket back over me, the door opens and a middle aged man in a white coat walks through the door. The doctor I presume.

He looks at the screen by my bed and jots something down on his clipboard. Looking at me he introduces himself and fills me in on information that really makes no sense to me. Breyson walks out of the bathroom and when the doctor sees him he looks at me with a raised brow. I feel like I'm being scolded. Finally it clicks. Oh my gosh, the little heart symbol on the monitor is beating rapidly from our little tryst a few moments ago. How embarrassing!

"Miss Baker, I hope you're getting the appropriate amount of rest that your body needs. You did just have a major seizure." He gives me a stern look like my father would and I want to hide under my sheets.

"Yes sir." He watches Breyson take a seat beside the bed. His face is flushed and his hair is messy. Can this be any more humiliating? What am I supposed to say? The door opens and in walks two more adults in lab coats. Who are these people? The two men shake hands and Breyson stands, rubbing his hand through his hair.

The man is handsome and tall, muscular but lean. He has the same blonde hair as Breyson and Braxton, but his eyes are a hazel color. Now that I look at him, he resembles Breyson. The woman is stunning. Her hair is Auburn and she has big beautiful blue eyes. Wow, these two would make some pretty babies. They look like Hollywood actors. The woman takes me in and smiles kindly. I notice Obstetrics and Gynecology on her jacket and my brows bunch. I think she's definitely in the wrong room.

Breyson stands and takes my hand before looking at the two that just entered the room.  "Mom, dad, this is my girlfriend Kinzleigh." He looks back at me with an apologetic smile. "Kinzleigh, this is my parents." My eyes widen and he mouths
I'm sorry
. Yes. The answer to my question earlier; It can get more humiliating and it just did. Looking at her closer, she has the same features as Briar. I was in no way prepared to meet his parents. Oh my gosh, I don't even know what I look like. I probably look awful.

In a panic, I run my fingers through my hair attempting to make myself presentable. I need a shower and I need to brush my teeth. His mom moves towards me, extending her arms in front of her.
Oh please don't let me stink.

She wraps her arms around my shoulders and whispers in my ear. "You look beautiful sweetie. No worries." Leaning back, she winks, smiling angelically. "I'm Ava, Breyson's mom. I hear you're leaving quite the impression on my son. I'm glad someone finally got his attention." She kisses me on the cheek and already I adore her. Looking at Breyson, he looks like he may hurl. His face has gone pale and he's squeezing my hand. Why is he nervous? I'm the one that should be nervous having to meet his parents looking like crap and laying in a hospital bed. "Son, you didn't tell me she was this beautiful and sweet. You've been holding out on us."

The doctor informs me that he is going to schedule a few more tests before he releases me and excuses himself from the room. Breyson's dad walks over beside his mother and gives me a sideways hug. His coat says Cardiology and Cardiothoracic surgery. Geez a family full of doctors is a bit intimidating. "I'm glad you're doing well, dear. You gave Breyson here quite a scare," he says genuinely concerned. "I'm Brooks and I expect to be called Mr. Brooks not Abercrombie; makes me feel too formal." He teases and winks playfully. Ah, there is where all the B names come from. I knew it had to be a pattern.