Chapter 3

"Nor, it's just a joke. Are you seriously threatening to break up with Ry over this?"

Lindsay flips her hair and smirks.

"The saddest thing a woman can do is threaten to leave a man who doesn't give a damn."

My nails dig into my palms.

"And drop the act, sweetie. Your mom worked so hard to save Ry's life — we all know it was so she could shove you up the ladder."

"Lindsay!"

Ryan's face darkens.

Lindsay pouts and turns away. "What? I'm not wrong…"

I look at Ryan. My whole body is shaking.

"You think that too?"

Suddenly Mom is in my head. Covered in blood.

That car accident. I almost lost her forever.

Twenty-four hours of surgery. They barely saved her.

But she never walked again. Paralyzed from the waist down. Stuck in a nursing home bed.

And the man who caused it? Ryan.

He was drunk. He staggered across the road. A car came flying.

Mom threw herself in front of him. Took the whole hit.

I never once used it against him. Never even brought it up.

And now he's just standing there. Letting Lindsay drag the woman who saved his life.

Tears roll down my face. Hot. Fast.

I point at the door and scream.

"GET OUT!"

"BOTH OF YOU — GET OUT!"

Ryan opens his mouth like he wants to say something.

Then closes it and leaves.

The next afternoon, Mom finally wakes up.

Her eyes find me. A single tear slips down.

"Nor…"

I bend down close.

She struggles to breathe. Her voice is a scrape. "Mom… so sorry… made trouble for you…"

I know what she means.

She's still guilty about saving Ryan. And now she blames herself for being paralyzed. For being a "burden."

I shake my head hard. I wrap my arms around her. I choke on my own voice.

"Mom, don't say that. I only have you. I only need you."

A knock at the door.

I turn.

It's Ryan. Holding a bouquet.

"Mrs. Wynn, I came to see you."

Mom gives a tiny nod.

Then closes her eyes. She won't look at him.

"What do you want?"

Ryan's face falls. "Do you have to talk to me like that?"

I tuck Mom's blanket up and walk toward the door.

"Outside."

In the hallway, he holds out the bouquet.

"These are for you."

I look down.

Red roses. Perfect. Bright. Beautiful.

I don't take them. I step back.

"Thanks. But you got the wrong girl."

Ryan stares at me like I'm throwing a tantrum.

I hold his eyes. One word at a time.

"Lindsay's the one who loves roses."

"I'm allergic to pollen."

His hand freezes in midair. "…Sorry."

My chest aches. Dull and heavy.

I turn away.

"Just go. And don't come back."

"Wait—" Ryan blocks me. His eyes shift.

"Can you… record a video? Just a few minutes."

He shoves his phone in my face.

There's text already typed out.

"The prank at the wedding and me walking out were all part of a script I wrote myself. Miss Lindsay Fraser had nothing to do with it. Please stop reading into things and stop targeting her. Cyberbullying is not okay."

He pulls out a second phone. Hits record.

"Just read it."