MY EYELIDS FEEL heavy as I slowly blink them open. There is a heavy ringing filling my ears, and it feels like a crushing weight is sitting on my chest. I try to lift my arms up to my chest to remove whatever it is, but I can’t make them move. Slowly, things start coming to me. The sound of a continuous horn, searing pain throughout my body, the smell of smoke, and something that smells close to rust and salt filling my nose. My head falls forward, and I realize I’ve closed my eyes again. Forcing them open, I see my blue shirt covered in blood. Why am I covered in blood? I start to panic; my chest heaves up and down roughly once, and the movement forces me to cough out a cry of pain—blood trickling past my lips and onto my lap.
I try to take a steady breath in, but it feels wrong, it feels like I’m breathing in fluid. Choking—I’m choking on blood. Another cough, and more blood falls past my lips. I somehow lift my head enough to see a massive grill where my window and door are supposed to be. Flashes of a red light, bright headlights, and a loud horn. Oh God. God no, please no. Tears form quickly, and I shut my eyes against the blurred grill and pain that is slowly leaving. I don’t want the pain to leave because in its place I feel nothing at all. Please, God—please I’ll take the pain, just don’t take me. I don’t want to die. Don’t take me from Harper and our baby.
“You’ll always have my heart, Chase Grayson.”
“Princess? God, Harper—what have I done? I don’t want to leave you and GB. God, please don’t make me leave them. I’ll do anything.”
“One of these days, Princess, I promise you.”
“I would never be desperate enough to want you.”
“We’ll see.”
“I love you, Princess, I’ll always love you.”
“No. I don’t deserve you, either. You need someone who will cherish you, protect you, and take care of you. Someone that realizes they’d never be able to find another you in the world, no matter how hard they looked.”
“Chase . . .”
“That first night, I did realize I would never meet another girl like you. But you deserve someone who has waited for you as long as you have waited for them. And no matter how much I wish I could be that guy, I can’t, Harper.”
“I’ll never leave you—I’ll always be with you.”
“Was that not obvious? Is it not obvious that I’m in love with you?”
“Say it again.”
“Chase, I love you.”
“Tell GB I love him . . . every day.”
“I’ve never been happier than when I just woke up with you in my arms. You’re the only girl I’ve ever fallen asleep with, and I want to keep it that way. You’re not just some girl. I’m in love with you, Harper, I wouldn’t want you anywhere else.”
“And know that I’ve loved you since the beginning.”
“Why are you in here?”
“Because you need me, and if this is my last hour with you, I’m not going to waste another second of it.”
“I’m sorry for the time I wasted, but I’ll cherish every second we had together.”
“You’re pregnant, Princess?”
“Yes.”
“Is it—is it mine?”
“Of course it is.”
I don’t know what is real and what isn’t anymore. I swear I can feel Harper in my arms, smell her light vanilla scent. I can hear her soft laugh, which was always reserved for the dark, as if we are curled around each other in bed. I can feel her lips on my throat and her hands in my hair. God, please, don’t take me from her! How can this be happening to me?
More flashes—Harper holding a baby. Our baby. A painful cry tries to work its way out of my chest, but all that comes out is more blood as I hang limply against the seat belt. I try to take another breath but don’t feel the relief of it. There is nothing; this is it. My time is running out, and I wish more than anything that I could have one more day with her. To cherish her and worship her, to tell her and GB a million times that I love them. The vision starts blurring, and I cling to it like it can keep me alive. I’m not ready to go, I’m not ready to lose her. I try, futilely, to take more breaths, but there is no air, just more fluid. Harper in a wedding dress, she looks beautiful, her smile brighter than the sun, and she is looking directly next to me. Turning, I catch sight of Brandon at my side just before everything goes black.
“Take care of my family, brother. Please.”
“Chase!”
She sounds so close.
“Chase!”
“Live, Princess, for me. I love you.”
Acknowledgments