Toxic (Ruin #2)(54)
Author: Rachel Van Dyken

“And we hung out every second of every day.”

“Made music together.” Saylor grinned. “For hours on end.”

“Kissed.” I sighed. “For hours on end.”

“And what started out as hate…” I shrugged. “…blossomed into full out love. And neither of us wanted to be without the another.”

“So we stayed.” Saylor’s eyes watered as she looked at the sun rising, lighting up the inside of the car. “We stayed that way forever.”

“In our house.” I focused my attention on the Sound and squeezed her hand as tight as I possibly could.

“And lived…” Saylor whispered. “…happily ever after.”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Happily ever after.”

“It would have been a great story.” Saylor sniffled, tears streaming down her face.

“With a killer ending.” I cupped her face in my hands.

“Too bad it’s just a story.” She bit her lower lip and shrugged as more tears dripped over her lips.

“Yeah.” Something pierced my heart, made it hurt so damn bad I thought I was going to die right on the spot.

“Gabe…” Saylor kissed my mouth. “For what it’s worth, I still want to be in the story, even if it means… I walk away empty-handed. Even if it means I walk away without my heart. You’ve made your choice. And I’ve made mine.”

“Even if it means you’re left with nothing?” I asked.

“Just because the girl doesn’t end up with the boy in the end — doesn’t mean she ends up with nothing. Life’s a gift. I just want to share yours, no matter how small the pieces that are shared may be.”

“God…” I was going to swear, but her mouth covered mine.

“God…” Saylor tapped my chin. “Wrote the ending before the beginning was ever even realized.” She shrugged. “Let’s write our story the same way.”

I nodded and reached for the door. Because really what else could I say to make everything better?

She knew as well as I did that the minute we both got out of the car, Gabe would officially be nothing but a memory. The normal college life, walking around the home and helping out.

Life would change.

And the biggest change would be that people finally knew about Kimmy. They finally knew she was alive, and would soon know we were engaged.

Which left Saylor out of the picture.

I was torn. Because although my heart belonged to another — I really wished that it belonged to her.

Because what I had with Saylor it was a living breathing thing, and what I had with Kimmy? It was like trying to revive something that had been dead a long time.

I loved her — but I wasn’t in love with her. Yet my heart wouldn’t allow me to completely let go. It hurt too much to think about. No matter which direction I walked in — it hurt.

“Ashton!” A reporter charged toward me. Saylor gripped my hand the whole time I walked slowly toward the building. “Ashton, tell us. Is it true? Have you been secretly hiding out in Seattle? Going to school and passing off as a student all these years? And your fiancée? Rumors were she passed away in an accident. What really happened all those years ago?”

I sighed as the weight of the world nestled onto my shoulders. “I’ll answer all your questions.” I offered a polite nod. “But right now, I really need to check on my fiancée — she’s been sick, and that trumps giving you guys a story. Please, respect my privacy a little while longer.”

The reporter’s eyes narrowed. “Who’s this?” She pointed to Saylor, who was still at my side.

I opened my mouth to say… I don’t know what the hell I was going to say. My girlfriend? Because that would sound all kinds of horrible, considering my fiancée was lying inside the home not a hundred feet away from us.

“His best friend.” Saylor smiled warmly.

“Rumor has it your best friend is Wes Michels.” The lady smirked.

“What is this, first grade?” another reporter lashed out. “He can have two best friends.”

“Mike.” I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d known him since I’d gotten my start. He was a reporter for HollyWood Today and then went into retirement. “I thought—”

“I’ve lived up here for years Ashton. Thought I’d come out of retirement and see how my favorite kid was doing.”

The other reporters were silent as Mike and I talked.

I slapped him on the shoulder. “You.” I nodded as relief started tampering down the adrenaline that was surging through me. “You I’ll talk to.”

“Good.” His eyes crinkled. “Kimmy would have liked that.”

“Yeah.” I bit my lip to keep from crumbling. “She would have.”

“Go on in, son.” Mike nodded. “I’ll take care of the swarms out here.” He put a card in my hand and smiled. “When you’re ready, we’ll do it however you want. Your terms, Ashton. Don’t let them make you into something you’re not.”

I clenched the card like a lifeline as I stared at Mike’s name and contact info stamped on front. Then I shoved it into my jeans pocket.

Saylor was silent as security let us by. The Home looked the same, but the expressions on everyone else’s face? Different.

Martha walked up and sighed. “I’m sorry. Short of smashing in all the TVs and stealing everyone’s computers for the day, I couldn’t keep them from finding out.”

“Well…” I sighed. “Everything has an expiration date, right?”

“Right.” Martha’s eyes moved to Saylor standing next to me and then warmed. “Glad to see you back, young lady.”

“Gabe…” Wes was walking down the hall like he was marching to war. “She’s been asking about you — I don’t know if Martha said anything but, the infection it’s… it’s getting worse, man.”

Wordlessly, Saylor and I walked down the hall with Martha and Gabe. Princess was lying in her bed with an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth.

Saylor’s breath hitched.

“Helps her breathe,” Wes explained. “But the coughing makes it difficult. I swear I didn’t sleep at all last night. Every time she coughed sounded like…” His voice trailed off as he spread his hands helplessly.

“The last.” I sighed.