Shatter

And damn if I won’t spend my life in relentless pursuit

Of the one thing I know to be true — you.

“That’s really pretty.”

“Nat!” I almost tripped over my feet as I put the guitar on the chair and went to her side. “How are you feeling? Do you remember what happened? Do you need water? Do—”

“Whoa.” Nat gave me a small smile. “Way too many questions. I did hit my head, you know.”

I felt my throat constrict at the thought, as if I was reliving it all over again. I tried to look away, but Nat grabbed my face and pulled it toward hers.

“Kiss me.”

“What if I don’t deserve to kiss you?” I whispered against her lips.

“Sometimes love can’t be deserved or measured — it can’t be earned. It just is.” Nat’s lips touched mine for one sweet second before she pulled away, eyes watery with tears. “The baby?”

I kissed her forehead and gently lay down next to her, pulling her tiny body into my arms. “The baby is fine, extremely healthy.”

“Did my dad flip?”

I laughed. “Well, I’m still alive, so there’s that.”

Nat bit down on her bottom lip. Her eyes flickered away from my face, as if uncertain. “You don’t have to stay if—”

“Stop.” I held her chin in my hand. “No more talking. I’m staying. I’m not going anywhere. If you want me to leave, I will. Just say the word and I’ll leave so you don’t have to see me. But know that when you send me away, I won’t actually leave. I’m going to be the creepy guy who stalks you every damn day of your life. I’m going to be the guy you can’t get out of your mind because he’s so damn irritating. I want to watch you every second of every day. I want you to be the first person I see when I open my eyes, and I hope to God you’ll be the last person I see when I close them. I am you, you are me. We’re together, not separate. A team. But I’ll leave if it’s easier. Just know. I’m not truly going to go anywhere. I’m going to fight. I’m going to be relentless of my pursuit of your heart. It will be mine, and not because I deserve it, but because I refuse to give up. I refuse to give you up — I choose us.”

Nat’s jaw clenched. I could tell she was trying to keep it together. Damn, if I wasn’t hanging by a thread right along with her. “Nat…” I caressed her cheek. “You can cry now.”

She did.

She burst into tears. The last time I told her it was okay to cry it was because my ass of a brother had done something irrevocable. Guess it was my turn. Every single one of her tears represented something I had done to her to cause this. Damn if growing wasn’t as painful as hell.

Nat reached her arms around my neck and kissed me softly on the mouth. Painful as hell, but in the end? Worth it. So damn worth it.

Chapter Thirty-six

Demetri

I had to admit to being a bit pissed that we weren’t allowed to see April until the following morning. Nat had stayed overnight for observation. Guess that was one of the perks at having a surgeon dad — super paranoia.

Alyssa stayed at the house and slept in, so it was just me, Jaymeson, and Alec. Because of our crappy contract, the camera crew was impossible to shake. They hated the invasion of privacy almost as much as we did. The good news was that Ruben had apologized to all of us this morning. Ten bucks says he was just apologizing so we would finish the damn show and he could get paid.

We walked through the hospital. Everything seemed eerily silent. I sighed heavily and rubbed my eyes. Coffee. I needed coffee stat. Jaymeson was ahead of me and turned toward his mother’s room.

He came to an abrupt stop, almost making me crash into him. I opened my mouth to speak, but he turned so freaking fast that I thought for a minute it was possible he was the one with super powers in our tight-knit group.

“Dude, what the hell?” I tried to walk past him but he shook his head, then looked at the camera and back at me.

Alec looked just as confused as I felt. Jaymeson’s eyes pleaded with mine, so I went along with it — and stayed deathly silent.

Not an easy feat for me.

But two minutes later I was glad I did.

“One task, April! I give you one task! And you do this? Do you even realize how this could be traced to me?”

“I’m sorry.” She choked on a sob. “When you said the deal was off, I freaked and I needed the money! Without that production company, I’m screwed, okay? Ruben made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

“Couldn’t refuse?” The man laughed. “How do you think this makes me look? Now everyone knows you have a drug problem! My ex-wife!”

“I do not—”

“—April… just save it. I don’t want to hear your excuses anymore. I’m so tired of your lies. And the worst part? You thought to bring him down with you! An innocent kid? You were going to bring your innocent kid into everything? All because you needed money? I told you I’d give you money. I told you I would fix everything, only if—”

“—Rehab.” She snorted. “Yeah, got that loud and clear.”

“April, I love you. I know you think I’m a jackass, but I care. Jaymeson…” He choked on his words. “He cares about you.”

“Not as much as you care for him. Admit it, you’ve always loved your son more than you loved me.”

A pregnant pause filled the hall.