The Mitchell Family Series BoxSet 1-4.5 (12 page)

Chapter 20

Colt

An hour ago, she was mine.

There was no going back. I had the whole drive over to plead my case, to fight for what I wanted. Instead, I let her slip through my fingers. I felt the dagger stab through my heart when I heard Ty calling her into that room.

I couldn’t even walk in there at first. I stood outside with my head down, tryin’ not to listen to them talkin’. I could still hear them, like my ears were only tuned into them instead of everything else going on around the hospital.

At first Savanna seemed reluctant to go to him, for a second I had hope.  Once he called her over, my hope went away. Through the glass, I watched Savanna run to his bedside. My aunt and uncle did not seem thrilled. They gave me a dirty look, like I wasn’t even part of the family anymore. I couldn’t imagine what they thought of Savanna now.

Ty did his best to hug her. I wasn’t sure what it was like for him. I mean, the last thing he remembered was being in an accident, I reckon. He didn’t have to go through the long days and nights wondering. He didn’t have to suffer the way Savanna had.

Even after their first embrace, and me turning away so I didn’t have to watch, I still listened to him talking to Savanna as if nothing had changed. When I finally couldn’t take it anymore, I decided to go in and say goodbye, before I headed out. I couldn’t stay there, not knowing that I could never have her.

The room got quiet as I approached my cousin’s bed. Savanna never looked at me, which sent pain straight to my heart. My cousin held out his hand and actually pounded me like we did something cool. I gave him the best smile I could fabricate.

“I have my four favorite people in the whole world here with me,” Tyler announced.

I tried to smile, I really did. One glance at my aunt and uncle and I could tell that the tension in the room could actually kill someone. I tried to ignore the hurtful looks from them, and the fact that Savanna refused to look at me at all. “It’s really good to see that you’re doin’ better, cuz. We have all been waiting for you to make your return.”

“Yeah, the nurses said this lady here was with me almost every day,” he said as he held Savanna’s hand and kissed it, while she gave him her beautiful smile.

Even as a grown man, I felt stinging in my eyes. I shook my head and tried to smile again.

“Looks like you are goin’ to be home in no time at all.”

Ty looked over at Savanna. “The doc is going to let me know how much rehab I need and where I need to go. I hope I can come home, but I won’t know until we talk to him.”

For the first time I heard Savanna speak and it crushed me completely. “We just can’t wait to get you home, babe.” Her smile was real and her tears proved it all.

“I just wanted to stop by and wish you well, cuz. I need to get back to the farm.”

Ty let go of Savanna’s hand and shook mine. For the first time in my life, I couldn’t stand my cousin. He may not have known it, but he had what I wanted. He had her.

Savanna

Everything was happening so fast. From the romantic evening, to getting caught, then finally being here. It was like a dream. The whole ride over I wanted to say something to Colt, but I couldn’t. I wanted him to tell me that he loved me too, and that no matter what, we would find a way to be together.

I had waited so long for Ty to wake up, but now that he had, I didn’t know where my heart was. Colt had come into my life when I was at my lowest. In a way, he had repaired what was broken and made me want to love again. We never fought, which was something Ty and I had done even on our happiest of days.

Now, I didn’t know what to do. Ty was awake and his parents had threatened Colt and me to never see each other again. I couldn’t live with myself for hurting Ty, or for him finding out that Colt and I slept together. As soon as I entered that room, I knew I never wanted him to find out, but I also knew that deciding that ended my chances of ever being with Colt again. I tried to hide my feelings, but as I stood there holding on to Ty’s hand all I could think about was hurting Colt.

Being in the room with his parents was overwhelming and even after taking the pill earlier, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. When Colt decided to leave, I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t run after him, knowing that Ty would wonder what had gotten into me and his parents might just spill the beans about my affair with his cousin. I needed to figure things out. I wouldn’t be able to let Colt go without at least talking to him. When I told him that I loved him, I meant it. He had to think I was being such a bitch right now. I just let him walk out of there anyway.

For the next hour Ty went on and on about what he had missed. How the team had done. How school went for me. How I got by. With his mother still there, I was unable to express the pure hell I had endured for the past seven and a half months. He had no idea what my life had been like. The worst part was that I had waited so long for him to wake up, to have him back in my life, and to tell him that I was sorry, but Ty didn’t even seem to care. He was in a fine mood, even acting like I had never caught him having sex with someone else. To make that even worse was the fact that I didn’t even care about Ty and that girl. I realized standing there that I didn’t care at all anymore. I had fallen completely in love with Colt and he made me see exactly what I wanted.

However, wanting something I couldn’t have was just the story of my life. As I stood here with Ty and his parents, I realized that my happy little ending was not going to come. Ty’s parents didn’t let me get a word in edgewise and I couldn’t interrupt. My fear of Ty finding out about Colt and I kept me from doing anything to piss them off.

When the doctor finally came in, his parents stepped outside with me so he could be examined. At first, we stood in the hallway not speaking, but finally his mother pressed her angry lips together and came walking toward me.

“We need to talk,” she said as she pulled me further away from Ty’s room.

She got me standing in the opposite hallway and began pacing in front of me. I half expected her to slap me. “I don’t know what kind of games you are playing with my family, but it will stop now! You will not see or speak to Colton anymore, young lady. My son has been through hell and if you have a decent bone in your body, you will be there for him. I hope he finally opens his eyes and sees you for the little tramp you really are, but until that day, you will do whatever he wants. Do you understand me?”

I swallowed the vomit forming in my throat. “Yes Ma’am.”

Tears streamed down my face. I refused to argue with her. She had her mind made up. There was nothing I could say or do.

Before heading back toward the room, she turned around. “If I find out that you even spoke to Colton, I will tell Tyler everything,” she reiterated.

I nodded my head and collapsed on the cold concrete floor. My hands were buried in my face and I kept them there until I had no more tears left to shed. My head was spinning and the nausea was overwhelming. I contemplated walking all the way back to town. It was late at night and pitch black outside. With no streetlights for most of the way, I was sure to be killed and left to the animals living in a country ditch somewhere. Maybe that’s what I deserved.

Realizing that my purse was still in Ty’s room, I knew I had to go back in there. Thankfully, when I went in, his parents weren’t there. Ty pulled me as close to him as he possibly could. When he pulled me in to hug him, his lips found mine. For all of the months that I missed his kisses, and all of the fantasies that I had played out in my head, it was nothing compared to how Colt kissed me. I closed my eyes and let Ty kiss me as the tears I didn’t know I still had, began to fall. I couldn’t believe that I had spent all of my time just waiting for this moment and now that it was happening, I didn’t even think I wanted it.

Ty let me pull away and he wiped off my tears. “Don’t cry, babe. Everything is going to be fine now. I promise.”

I wanted to believe that it would be, but things were so far from fine. “I am so glad you finally woke up. Do you remember anything?”

“I remember fighting with you. You catching me with Heather. I remember taking the car… I even remember the car rolling. I didn’t believe the nurses when they told me it had been months. When my mom and dad came in and I saw the look in their eyes, I knew it was the truth. While I waited for everyone to arrive, the nurses told me about my girlfriend spending almost all of her time here. I never knew how much I loved you until I heard them saying that, Van. Thank you for standing by me and taking care of me. I want you to give me another chance. Let me prove to you that I can be that guy you need.”

When I saw Ty’s parents rounding the corner, I squeezed his hand and had no choice but to agree. I was digging the hole deeper for myself every second.

His parents came in and acted nicer to me. They pretended to be on good terms with me and even asked if I wanted to get something to eat on the way home. Ty wanted me to stay, but realized it would be uncomfortable. Knowing they were my ride home, I smiled and said all the right things. I hugged Ty goodbye and told him that I loved him, because it was true. I never stopped loving him as a person, but my heart beat for his cousin and I couldn’t believe it took me seeing Ty awake to realize it.

Before walking out of the room, I turned and waved one more time. He would see me tomorrow; I didn’t plan on not being there for him. He was very important to me and I wanted him to be better before I told him we couldn’t be together.

The ride home was horrible. We stopped and got something to eat at a little fast food place on the way home. Nothing else was really open. Ty’s father talked about sending Colt home right in front of me. I knew he was saying it to get a rise out of me. At one point, I put my fingers through the door handle and considered just jumping out of the car. Remembering having to get stitches made me rethink injuring myself.

When we pulled up at the house, I climbed out and said nothing. The window in the passenger seat rolled down and Ty’s mother stuck out her head. “If you know what’s good for you, you will not cross me, young lady.”

They abruptly pulled away and I sat down on the curb in front of my house. When the sun started to come up, my mother came rushing outside in her bathrobe. “Van? What are you doing out here, honey? What’s wrong?”

I fell into her arms. “Everything is a mess Mom. Ty woke up tonight, but before that his parents caught me with Colt and they threatened to tell him about us if we didn’t stop seeing each other. I don’t know what to do. I love him, Mom.”

“You were with Colt? Ty’s cousin?” My mother finally asked when we were in the kitchen and she was making coffee. “Is that who you have been hanging out with? Cause I gotta tell ya, honey, I saw Brina the other day and she claimed she hasn’t seen you in weeks. I just figured you would tell me if something was wrong.”

“It started out as friends. I got beat up at a party.” I held my hands up. “Mom, wait! It was still during school. I am fine now. Anyway, Colt saved me and took me back to the farm to rest. I didn’t want you seeing my face so I stayed there for a few days. Things started happening between us. I slept with him.”

My mother was shocked at my confession, but to be fair I was an adult and she knew for a fact that I was not promiscuous.

“Then what? Because, obviously you didn’t stop seeing him.”

I shook my head. “We decided to be friends, but we couldn’t keep our hands off one another. Mom, being with him is like nothing I have ever experienced. I found myself thinking about him all of the time, even when I was at the hospital visiting Ty. We treated it like a summer fling, but something changed for me this week and I wanted Colt to know how I really felt about him. Just as I was confessing to him, Ty’s parents burst in the door, catching us without clothes, and telling us that Ty woke up. Mom, they said they would tell Ty if I had any contact with Colt ever again. Ty can’t know, Mom. He can’t ever find out what I did. He would never forgive Colt.”

My mother pulled me into another one of her hugs when she didn’t know what to say. I was used to them after all these years.

“If you don’t want Tyler to know then you have to let Colt go.”

I shook my head. “No!” She held me tight and let me cry more. I knew my eyes were completely swollen, but I couldn’t help it. I thought I cried when Ty had the accident, but this was so much worse.

Chapter 21

Colt

I sat in the hospital parking lot for over an hour, hoping Savanna would come running out. I had this idea in my head that she would realize she loved me and we could just drive off together. With me not telling her how I felt, she was free to jump right back into Ty’s arms. I punched the dashboard so hard that I busted my knuckles. The burn took away from the fact that I knew I lost the girl.

I watched as she and my relatives came walking out of that hospital. They never even looked my way as they exited. I didn’t follow close behind them and when they turned to drop off Savanna, I kept going until I reached the farm. Sam greeted me, but I wasn’t in the mood to play catch with her. I walked straight into carriage house and looked around at what was supposed to be a perfect night. The candles were still on the table and dishes in the sink. Savanna’s little outfit was lyin’ on the bedroom floor. Her overnight bag was in the corner. I let my body fall back on the bed while I considered how the hell I was going to get out of this mess.

I saw the headlights pulling up out front and knew that my uncle was not going to go to bed until things were settled. Sure enough, as I tossed Savanna’s clothes in her bag and threw them in the closet, my uncle came rushin’ in. “Colt, where are ya, boy?”

I walked out into the living room. “I’m here.”

“Sit down, son. We need to talk.”

I put my hand across my chest. “I think I’d rather stand.”

“Suit yourself. I’m not going to beat around the bush here. I am not very pleased with you right now. We are family and that’s about all we got when we look at the big picture. Now this thing between you and Van is over. I don’t know how you got involved with that girl, but from what I have noticed, it seems to have been goin’ on for quite some time. I think it would be best if you left town.  Now it will take me a few days to get ya a flight back home, so I would appreciate it if you would not contact her. My boy doesn’t need to ever find out about this. He has been through enough.”

“You aren’t going to tell me who I can and can’t talk to!”

“If you know what’s best, you will walk away. There are other women out there. Go find your own. I don’t know what this girl has going for her, but obviously she gives herself out to anyone who is askin’”

“Don’t you dare talk about her that way! She isn’t how you are sayin’. She’s nothing like that at all. Do you have any idea how many women your son bedded while they were together? You might not know, but I was the one he called to brag about it to. She doesn’t deserve that. Then after everything he did to her, you blamed her for his accident. That little bastard drank more whiskey than we both have in our whole lives. He shouldn’t have even had a license.”

“Mind your words, son. You’re talkin’ about my boy.”

“Look, he’s my blood and I don’t want him hurt, so I will walk away. You need to know one thing first. I love her. I just want her to be happy. If she wants to be with him, then I wish her the best. Now, if you will leave me be, I think I want to be alone.”

My uncle shook his head and walked out the door. I picked up a candlestick and threw it across the room, putting a large hole in the wall next to the bathroom. It was bad enough that Savanna chose Ty, but now I couldn’t even say goodbye. I dug through every cabinet in that carriage house looking for something to drink. When I found nothing, I headed out to the barn where Harvey had a room. I felt bad about waking him, but I pushed the man until he woke anyway. “Harvey, where is the whiskey?”

He wiped his eyes before pointing to a small wooden cabinet in the corner. He shook his head and closed his eyes as I made my way to the cabinet and grabbed the first bottle I found. It wasn’t whiskey, it was tequila. This particular brand was straight up from Mexico, worm and all. I opened the bottle and began drinking it before I had even made it out of the barn. The slow burn made my eyes water, but I just kept hitting that bottle.

In no time at all, I couldn’t feel my fingers. My body was numb and that’s just how I wanted it to be. I didn’t want to think about Savanna and how I would never be able to touch her again. Her pretty face would only be a memory to me from now on. My cousin would never let her go, and that’s what she wanted all along. I never had a chance.

I woke up with the bottle in my hand and a massive headache. It took me a few minutes to access what had happened the night before. When I finally was awake enough, I wished there was more tequila left in the bottle. I grabbed some shoes and decided the best thing to do was work. I had to keep my mind off things until I could get a flight back home. I should have just called myself, but there were no taxis here and my uncle would have reported the truck stolen if I tried to take it.

There was one field that still needed to be tilled and reseeded, so I took the tractor and started working. A few hours passed and the sun was really starting to get to me. My body was dehydrated from all the liquor and I could have passed out at any time. I noticed one of the farming trucks heading in my direction, so I turned off the tractor and waited to be yelled at again.

My uncle stepped out of the truck and headed in my direction. In his hands were two large bottles of water. “I may be pissed at you, but you are my blood, boy. Harvey told me about the tequila and when I heard you out here, I knew you were needin’ some of this.”

I took the bottles and started downing them. The beads of sweat were now stinging my eyes, so I took some of the water and poured it over my face. “Thanks!”

“We got a call this mornin’ about your cousin. He can come home next week. Your aunt is goin’ to throw one hell of a party and Tyler wants you there. Now, I know what I said last night, but for the sake of my son, I am willin’ to let you stay. I need your word that you will keep your hands off his girl, Colt. I appreciate everything you have done with the farm and I can’t say I don’t need the help. I know I was stern last night, but what you did wasn’t right. At any rate, there ain’t nothin’ we can do but move forward.”

“I will stay as long as you need me.” It was all I could say.

My uncle walked away and I started up the tractor. As much as I wanted to be able to see Savanna, it wasn’t going to happen. She had her boyfriend back and I was certain that there was no way she was going to give me the time of day. Besides, my uncle did need my help. My cousin couldn’t work and the farm was their only source of income. I needed to stay to get things going for them.

For the rest of the time here, I needed to focus on work instead of Savanna. She wasn’t mine and being around her would probably make her frustrated. She had other things to focus on now.

Savanna

I didn’t feel any better when I woke up. In fact, my eyes looked like I had been in another fight. My mother brought me in a wet rag and I lay in the tub for over an hour, tryin to relax. My cell phone was going crazy with texts from Brina and calls from Ty. Apparently, he was already back to his normal self. He and his mother had already been up early planning a celebration. Brina heard it from someone else and wanted to know why the hell she hadn’t heard it from me. I wanted to be able to vent to her, to tell her how I felt about Colt. I just couldn’t do it. The more people that knew, the more chance Ty had of finding out. I couldn’t put that strain on him. I hoped that Colt was feeling the same way.

I started to call him several times, but hung up before the first ring. I didn’t know what to say. Last night in that elevator, I thought he was going to tell me that he loved me too, but he just said he would be there for me. Maybe he didn’t feel the same way that I did about him. It wasn’t like he had ever said he loved me. In fact, more than once he had made it clear that we were good friends. Maybe imagining we were on the same page was just another fantasy of mine.

After a few more calls from Ty, I got myself up and headed to the hospital. His mother was already there and greeted me with one of her nasty looks. I rolled my eyes and walked past her. Ty was sitting up and I noticed right away he wasn’t hooked up to any more wires. He still had a blood pressure cuff around his arm, but everything else was off.

“Hey, babe. I been waiting all day to see that pretty face,” he said as he pulled me in for a kiss.

“Sorry, I slept a little later than normal. You look great,” I said, trying to be cordial.

He took my hand and played with it in his hands. “Did you hear about the party? I can’t wait to get out of here.”

“I heard about it. Do you need me to do anything?” I asked, directing the question to his mother.

She smiled and pretended to be nice. “You have already done enough dear, don’t you think?”

Bitch!

“So when are you getting out of here?” I asked, while trying to ignore that mean woman across from us.

“The doctors still have to run some tests. He estimated about a week. So far, everything seems okay. I have some metal in my leg and my physical therapy is going to suck, but I’d rather be in a wheelchair than in this place.”

His mother grabbed his arm. “The wheelchair is temporary, Tyler. Don’t get yourself upset about it.”

Ty chuckled. “Mom, I’m not! Look, I know it has been hard for all of you. I can’t imagine what you went through, but you need to understand that I don’t remember any of it. To me, the accident just happened. As far as I am concerned, the past seven months never existed.” He looked over to me and kissed my hand. “Well, except for the part that got my girl to come back to me. That part is all that matters.”

I was pretty sure his mother wanted me dead. She tried to hide her hate for me, the best she could, but I was sure she was boiling inside.

For the next few hours, I managed to sit with her and Ty and compile a list of everything we needed for his going home party. She seemed to calm down and actually treated me like a normal human being. It killed me that I used to be a big part of their family and now I was this person she hated the most in her life.

It was weird being with Ty. He acted like everything between us was perfect. I knew it was because he hadn’t had seven months to deal with things like I had. He didn’t know I wanted to end my life or that I had to be hospitalized for my depression. He didn’t know how his friends had treated me and especially how his family had treated me.

In fact, Ty had no idea what I had gone through at all. He never even asked.

After hours of being in the same room, his mother decided she was heading out. I finally had time alone with Ty. I decided to be nice and walk her to the elevator. The doctors said to try not to stress Ty, so we were both putting on our best poker faces. Once we got to the elevator, she turned to me.

“One day my son will see you for what you really are,” she said rudely.

“I never cheated on your son. In fact, when the accident happened, I caught him with someone else. You can believe what you want, but you are wrong about me. I never once thought about another guy the entire time Ty and I were together. Do you have any idea what I have been through?”

She held up her hand and shook her head. “Don’t you dare talk to me about my son. He would never cheat on a lady. How dare you, you little hussy!”

She climbed into the elevator and said nothing as the doors closed between us.

I huffed and puffed until I got back to the room. Ty’s smile immediately changed my mood. He held his arms up and I climbed up next to him in his bed. Being in his arms wasn’t hard. It was just as I had always remembered.

“Did you miss me?” Ty asked while holding me tight.

I sat up and looked at him. “I did miss you.” I knew the last thing he remembered was me walking in on him with someone else, but he refused to bring it up. It was like his past mistakes had been erased. Now, I wasn’t trying to be an insensitive bitch, because he did just wake up from being in a coma, but he couldn’t get away with it forever.

I stayed with Ty until visiting hours were over. He was sad to see me leave, and being with him had kept my mind off Colt, but the long drive home brought everything back.

When I got to my house, I couldn’t take it anymore. I locked myself in my room and dialed Colt’s number. It rang and went to voicemail. I tried again, getting the same result. Finally, I sent a text.

I think we need to talk –S

Ten minutes passed and not a single word. Then, finally, my phone vibrated.

Nothin to say – C

They were not the three words I wanted to hear. I felt my heart tearing apart.

Colt didn’t love me. He had kept his promise that he wouldn’t get that attached to me.