Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 149510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
I love Finn more than I’ve ever loved anyone, and if you love someone, if you really love someone, then you need to be strong enough to realize when you need to let them go.
I wish he would fucking let me.
Thursday April 24th
Finn
I’m halfway through today’s assigned reading for my economics class when my phone vibrates in my pocket. I earmark the page, shut my textbook, and pull my phone out to check the screen.
Ace: You need anything? Julia and I are planning to stop by for a bit this evening.
Me: Nah, dude. I’m good. Thanks.
Ace: If you change your mind, you know how to reach me.
I’ve been back in New York for almost week, and I’ve been at St. Luke’s Hospital every single day, nearly every single hour, since I stepped off the plane that Ty managed to get me a last-minute flight on from Daytona.
The only time I’ve been on campus since I’ve been back is to run to my dorm to shower and change clothes. Other than that, I haven’t been to class, haven’t gone to any parties, haven’t done anything but sit in the waiting room on Scottie’s rehab floor.
She’s still refusing to see me, to talk to me, but I won’t let that deter me.
I’m not a mind reader, never have been, but I know Scottie. And crazily enough, we are so much alike it’s not even funny. Her entire world has been flipped on its axis, and she’s distraught and devasted—rightfully so—but she’s also trying to push me away just like I stupidly did to her so many times before because of my own baggage.
Eventually, she’s going to see the light, just like I did.
My love isn’t conditional. It doesn’t go away because she suffered a freak injury that’s left her paralyzed from the waist down, and it doesn’t shrink in value when things get hard. I know that life for her—and us—will come with limitations and challenges I’ll probably never be able to fully understand because I’m not her, but none of that matters to me.
I love her. All of her. And there isn’t a single fucking thing in this world that will change that.
So, I wait. In this dreaded hospital waiting room with the worst kind of chairs imaginable. And I also try to stay on top of my classes in the process.
“I had a feeling I’d find you here.”
I look up to find Ty striding down the hospital hallway toward the waiting room. He doesn’t stop until he plops his ass down in the chair beside mine.
“No luck yet?” he asks, and I shake my head.
“No luck.”
“Is she letting anyone else back to see her?”
“Besides Wren and her dad, not really. She barely even let Kayla and Julia come in to see her when they stopped by yesterday afternoon.”
“You’re a good man,” he says and nudges my knee with his.
“She makes me a better man.”
“Isn’t that how it always goes?” Ty questions with a smirk. “I was a real asshat before I met Rachel. She flipped my world upside down, and I shudder to think about where I’d be now if it weren’t for her.”
I furrow my brow. “You couldn’t have been that bad.”
“Oh, Finn.” Ty laughs. “You have no idea. I was what you’d call a serial dater without any intention of commitment. I had so many fucking girlfriends that when Flynn brought his wife Daisy to our family dinner to meet us all for the first time, I honestly thought she was a girl I’d invited there but just forgot about it.”
“What?” My head jerks back. “How is that even possible?”
“Like I said, man, I was a real asshat.”
I laugh at that. “So, Daisy was just Flynn’s new girlfriend then?”
“No, she was his wife. Though, if it helps at all, it was the first time we were meeting her.”
My eyes damn near bug out of my head. “Wait… He married her before any of you met her? I’m going to need more details.”
“Remind me to bring this up at the next family dinner,” he says through a smirk. “And wait until you hear Remy and Maria’s story. It’s a doozy.”
I laugh, and he shakes his head, gathering his thoughts. “Right. Yeah. Believe it or not, I did come here for an actual reason other than blessing you with my charming company. Two reasons, in fact.”
I quirk an eyebrow.
“I’ve managed to get all but one of Scottie’s professors to agree to pass her for the semester. She’ll have the option to take the final or to go with whatever her grade was prior to the accident.”
“All but one?”
“Professor Murkowski is being a bit of a dick, but I’ll wear him down,” he updates with an annoyed roll of his eyes. “Worst case, she’ll have to take the final in order to pass, but I’m confident I can make sure he gives her plenty of time to catch up on anything she’s missed.”