When I got to Abby’s room, I hesitated outside of the door. I couldn’t help but be afraid of what I might find once I got inside. Guilt continued crisscrossing its way through my chest. The sins of my past had come barreling into my future and almost destroyed my perfect happiness. With a gutted feeling, I pushed open the door.
The room flickered in shadows as only the dim light over Abby’s bed lit the room. Even in the dark, I could see the extent of her injuries. Just the sight of the angry purple and green bruises along with Abby’s swollen face made me feel like someone had kicked me in the balls. Bending over, I braced my hands on my knees and tried stilling my out-of -control emotions by taking several deep breaths.
At Abby’s whimper, I jerked my head up. “Angel?” I questioned before striding over to her bedside. I took her hand that was bandaged with IV’s in mine. “Angel, I’m here, and I love you.”
Her eyes stayed pinched closed, but her brows furrowed. “Just rest, baby. You’re safe now, and I’m not leaving you.”
At her continued restlessness, I considered calling the nurse’s station and asking for more pain medication. But then an idea flashed through my mind, so I acted on it. Drawing the chair close to the bed, I eased down. I then began singing Angel again to Abby just like I had earlier. Almost instantly, she calmed and began to rest more peacefully.
I continued singing different songs to her until my voice was hoarse, and my eyelids drooped in exhaustion. Laying my head down on the side of the bed, I fell asleep with my head nestled against her hip.
Rays of amber sunshine bursting through the window blinds stung my eyes and woke me from my sleep. Raising my head, I looked at Abby. Some of the swelling had gone down in her face, but the bruises were just as bad. I was about to go to the bathroom when she moaned. At the fluttering of her eyelids, I leaned forward. “Angel?”
Her eyes flew wide open. She turned her head to look at me and winced in pain. “Jake…”
“Are you hurting? Let me get the nurse for you.”
“No, that’s okay. I just feel woozy and really sore.”
I nodded. “You’re in the hospital. Do you remember what happened?”
“Bree tried to kill me,” she replied hoarsely.
“Yes.”
“But I’m okay?”
I filled her in on everything Dr. Mitchell had said. Then taking her hand in mine, I squeezed it tight before bringing it to my lips and bestowing kisses across the back of her hand and fingers. “I’m so, so sorry for what happened to you, Angel.”
“But it wasn’t your fault.”
“Yes, it is. If I hadn’t ever been involved with Bree, she would have never gone after you like that.” Ashamed of the remorseful tears burning my eyes, I buried my face on the side of the bed. “I ruin everything for you.”
“No you don’t.”
Raising my head, I stared sadly at her. “Yes, I do. I’ll never be good enough for you.”
“Stop it, Jake. I don’t want you beating yourself up over this.” She reached out to run her fingers over my cheek. “You gave me the most romantic night of my life—you told a crowd of fifty thousand people that I was the girl you loved most in the world and that my love had saved you. Nothing that happened will ever take that moment away from me.”
I groaned. “You go and say shit like that and make me realize for the millionth time that you’re way too good for me.”
Abby gave a slight shake of her head. “You stayed with me last night?”
“Of course.”
She tried to smile at me, but the stiches in her lip made it more of a grimace. “Just when I think I couldn’t love you more than I already do, you go and prove me wrong.”
“Listen, Angel, you’re going to have a long recovery ahead of you—maybe six weeks. I want you to come to my farm and let me take care of you.”
Abby’s eyes widened. “No, Jake, I can’t let you do that. You have too much going on with your mom.”
I shook my head. “This isn’t up for discussion, Angel. I’m not letting you out of my sight. I intended on seeing you through your recovery every step of the way.”
“But what about your mom?”
I grinned. “It was her suggestion in the first place.” When Abby started to protest, I replied, “She and I both want to do this very much, Angel. Besides, she knows all about my love for you. In fact, she was the one who told me to keep fighting for you after I screwed up.”
“Really?”
“Yes, so there’s no point in arguing, okay?”
Happy acceptance entered Abby’s eyes. “Thank you. I would love to spend that time with you.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear it.” I rose up to tenderly kiss her forehead. It was one of the only places that wasn’t bruised or cut. With a grin, I added, “Since we’re off tour for a while and recording the album, you can let me know which songs are good or which ones suck.”
“I highly doubt any of them will suck.”
“That’s debatable.” I brought her hand to cup my cheek. “Maybe we can work on some more collaborations?”
“I’d like that a lot.” Her fingers brushed against the stubble on my skin. “I like anything that means I get to be with you.”
“Right back at ya, Angel,” I replied with a smile.
Our beautiful moment came to a screeching halt when the door burst open, and Abby’s parents rushed in. “Oh Abigail sweetheart!” her mother, Laura, cried as she practically elbowed me out of the way to get to Abby. Tears streamed down her face as she hovered between wanting to hug Abby and knowing better. Finally, she grabbed Abby’s hand.
“Mom, it’s worse than it looks. I’m going to be just fine.”
“We just spoke with the doctor, and it seems pretty bad to me,” her father, Andrew, replied. His expression hardened as his gaze honed in on me. His dark eyes narrowed at the sight of my t-shirt stained with Abby’s blood along with the tattoos peeking out from under my sleeves. Without even a hello or an introduction, he demanded, “How could you let this happen?”
My hand automatically flew up in surrender. “Mr. Renard, I’m terribly sorry for what happened to Abby. I never meant for her to get hurt because of me,” I replied as sincerely as I could.
Apparently my words had little effect on him. He abandoned Abby’s other side and rounded the bed towards me. “It’s no secret that my wife and I are less than pleased about this infatuation that Abigail seems to have with you. Your reputation as a womanizer and heavy drinker certainly makes you the last young man on earth we would want our daughter being associated with.”