I shake my head. “No.”

“Fine.”

I tighten my hold as the car gathers speed.

Oakley punches the horn. “Let go. Now.”

“No!”

He accelerates and the motion is enough to bring me to my knees.

But I don’t care. I’m never letting go of this door.

Never letting go of him.

The car comes to a stop and he rolls the passenger window down. “Jesus Christ. What the fuck are you doing? You’re gonna get yourself killed.”

I don’t waste the opportunity. I wiggle my body through the now open window. “I thought you wanted me to die?”

Oakley slams on the gas. “You’re fucking insane, you know that?”

I’ve been called worse.

Catching my breath, I situate myself in the seat. “You can’t leave me.”

He clutches the steering wheel as we start cruising down Royal Manor Road. “There’s nothing left for me here.” He glares at me. “I’m turning back around and dropping you off at your house.”

I secure my seatbelt. “I won’t get out.”

“Then I’ll call Jace to come remove you from my car,” he grits through his teeth.

“No, you won’t.”

Because he cares about me. Even through all his anger I still feel it.

A muscle in his jaw bunches. “Don’t fucking test me, Bianca.”

“I’m not testing you,” I tell him. “I’m fighting for you.” The tears I was holding back spill over, streaming down my cheeks. “Because I love yo—”

The car swerves with a startling lurch. When I look over, I see Oakley shaking uncontrollably.

Oh, shit.

I go to grab the wheel, but a violent force propels me out of my seat…

And then everything goes black.

He left me.

I was fighting for him with everything I had…and he left me.

Because of her.

I can feel the ball of anger tightening inside me like a gigantic knot.

Before I can stop myself, I launch my fist into her face.

“You’re a fucking pedophile,” I scream at the top of my lungs, because I want people to know the truth.

Hell, I want everyone around to know just how venomous this woman really is.

She yelps when I go to punch her again, but a strong pair of arms wrap around my waist and tug me back.

“Enough,” Oakley grunts. “She’s not worth it.”

That might be true, but it sure feels good letting her have it.

Crystal’s hand flies up to her face, and I notice the bruise forming under her eye. Good.

“I should have you arrested.”

“And I should have punched you harder, bitch.”

I squirm and kick, trying my hardest to get out of Oakley’s grasp, but he tightens his hold on me.

“Get the fuck out of here before I let her go,” Oakley threatens.

“Pedophile,” I yell and point as she walks away. “That woman is a pedophile.”

A few people gasp and I can feel Dylan and Sawyer staring at me in shock the entire time, but I don’t care.

Watching Crystal hang her head in shame as she quickly scurries to the exit fills me with such a rush of satisfaction, I can’t help but beam.

Jace and Cole start walking over, but Oakley shakes his head. “I got this.”

Before I can protest, he’s walking us into an empty hospital room.

“I hate her,” I yell, wishing he didn’t stop me from beating her ass. “She’s the reason you got drunk and high before the accident.”

She’s the reason for all of it.

“No, she’s not,” Oakley argues as he puts me down. “Yeah, Crystal was a bitch, but getting wasted was on me.”

I hate that he’s right.

I hate that I can’t blame everything on Crystal because it would be so much easier that way.

“You abandoned me,” I whisper. “I was fighting for you to stay…fighting for us…but you left.”

So many things pass through his expression in that moment. Sadness, guilt…regret.

“I know.”

He cups my face, studying me for several lengthy beats, before his lips are on mine.

Only his kiss isn’t desperate and greedy like it usually is.

It’s soft and gentle…almost like an apology.

Uneasiness twists my stomach.

Almost like he’s saying goodbye.

Chapter 62

Oakley

I want to keep kissing her until we both run out of air and the secret I’ve been keeping from her dissolves from my lips.

I never meant for things to get so serious between us again when I agreed to be her friend.

I thought I could be there so she had someone to confide in, and in turn, she’d realize Stone was no good for her and leave his ass.

I thought I could live in this make-believe world where I could still have her for a little while longer.

But I should have known better.

Bianca Covington swooped in like a violent tornado—uprooting and rearranging the ugly parts of myself so I could finally confront my issues without needing to go numb.

But in the end, I was the one who caused all the destruction.

Pulling back, I look at her face, memorizing every perfect detail of it.

Her plump lips, her high cheekbones…those baby brown eyes so full of depth it’s like looking into the ocean.

I fell in love with her when I least expected it.

And she’ll have every fucked-up piece of my heart and soul until the day I die.

She places her hands on top of mine. “Oakley.”

Bianca knows me well enough to know something’s wrong, but there’s no way to prepare her for this.

People make mistakes—but if they’re smart enough to learn their lesson, they evolve.

Sometimes, if they’re lucky—they earn forgiveness, too.

But there’s no forgiveness for this.

Because what I took from her.

From us.

Can’t ever be replaced.

Chapter 63

Oakley

Past…

I’m so groggy from all the medication they pumped me with, I can barely see straight.

“No more,” I tell the nurse, fighting my tiredness.

I want to be alert when Bianca gets out of surgery.

“You’re clustering,” she informs me, as if I didn’t already know.

I eye the two police officers who haven’t left my room.

“Where’s my dad?”

“He went to the cafeteria.”

The nurse squeezes my shoulder. “Try to get some rest. I’ll be in to check on you in a little bit.”

How the fuck am I supposed to sleep when the girl I love is fighting for her life?

My eyelids grow heavy as another wave of drowsiness surges through me.

I force myself to fight through it, but it’s a losing battle.

The shit the nurse gave me must be strong because I hear footsteps enter the room followed by voices murmuring.

“Who are you?” one of the officers questions.