The Boyfriend Deal(24)

Her eyes went wide. “She tried to kill me?”

“I’ll understand if you don’t want me here, Hadley. In a way, it’s my fault you’re lying in this bed. I knew Alicia wasn’t quite right in the head, but you have to believe me when I say I never thought her capable of killing someone.”

“Your ex put me here?” Her eyes welled with tears. “I almost died, Tyler. If Mom hadn’t come home when she did, I wouldn’t be lying here now. I’d be downstairs in the morgue.”

“I know, Hadley, and if there was any way to undo the last few hours, I would.”

“Don’t be too hard on him, Hads,” Mr. Ryan said. “He’s been here since he found out what happened, and I’m guessing he hasn’t left that chair the entire time.”

She looked from me to her dad and back again. “Tyler, I appreciate that you came here, but I think I need to be alone right now.”

My heart constricted. She was kicking me out? Was she just shutting me out of her hospital room or out of her life? I wasn’t sure I would survive without her.

“Hadley, please don’t do this. I know I seriously screwed up. If I hadn’t strung Alicia along for the last three years, then none of this would have happened. The only thing I can figure is that she thought we’d end up together … then she saw you and me together and knew it would never happen.”

Tears trickled down her cheeks. “And why wouldn’t it ever happen? You don’t really want me, Tyler. Remember, I’m just a means to an end. I’m sure your mom will back off on the military school thing. You don’t need to pretend to be interested in me anymore.”

“Don’t you get it, Hadley? I was never pretending.”

“You told me yourself we were going to strike a deal. A temporary arrangement to get Hunter to back off me and get your mom to forget about military school. I think we’ve accomplished those things. You’re free to go your own way now.”

I laced our fingers together. “I don’t want to go my own way, Hadley. I never did. I lied to you that day in the hall. You kissed me, and for the first time in my life, I thought I might have a chance with you. But when I pulled you out of class, I could tell by the look in your eyes that you were going to shut me out. So I came up with that stupid deal. Everything I’ve said and done in the last few days has been real, Hadley. I really do have feelings for you.”

“Tyler, I…”

I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. Probably not the smartest move with her dad not six feet away, but I was determined to make her see I wasn’t lying, that I really did want her and only her.

Pulling away, I smiled down at her. “You’re what I want, Hadley. For real. You think I would ditch football practice and ruin my chances of playing in tomorrow’s game for just anyone? I should be in bed getting ready to play tomorrow, but I already know I’m not leaving this hospital until you do.”

She sniffled. “Yes, you are. I know how important tomorrow’s game is, and I don’t want to be responsible for our team losing because the captain was a no-show.”

“Hadley…”

She shook her head. “Listen to me, Tyler. I want you to play tomorrow. Don’t think about me lying here in the hospital. I want you to go and play, and I want you to win—for me. Can you do that? Can you win the game for me?”

My throat constricted and I nodded. She wasn’t throwing me out, wasn’t telling me to never darken her door again, and I took that as a great sign. I brushed my lips against hers again and told her goodnight, then let myself out into the hall. Mr. Ryan followed me, and I wondered if I was about to get a lecture on kissing his daughter.

“Hadley is right, Tyler. You need to be at that game tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir. I’m just not sure how focused I’ll be, knowing she’s stuck in here.”

“She’s going to be fine now.”

I could tell there was something he wasn’t telling me, and it made my stomach knot. Was there something wrong with Hadley that no one had said? Was there more to the poisoning?

“She’s going to be different when she goes back to school,” Mr. Ryan said. “I know she’s already classified as something of a geek, but it’s going to get worse when she’s cleared for classes.”

“Why?”

“I know she wouldn’t want me to tell you, but her mother said the Hemlock had already started to work on her by the time the ambulance arrived. The doctors saved her life, but they weren’t able to keep her completely whole. It’s affected her vision. Her mom told me Hadley kept saying everything looked fuzzy and that she couldn’t make out her mother’s face anymore. I don’t know how she knew that was you sitting beside her bed, maybe it was instinct, but I’m telling you right now, there was no way she recognized your face. Because she couldn’t see it.”