I let Chloe take up my mind, the warmth of her smile and softness of her lips keeping me busy. The sound of voices around me ushered in relief. Someone was there to help. Now if I could just flag them down, but I still had no ability to form words.

"Here. Here he is. Bring the stretcher." Someone knelt next to me and picked up the phone. "Hi, this is Leah Smith. We've found him. We're going to assess him and get him to St. Marks. Meet us there."

"Hey buddy." A male voice spoke near my ear, and as badly as I wanted to respond, I couldn't. Fuck me if I wasn't paralyzed. If I thought I wasn't good enough for Chloe before, this was a moment of clarity. "Just stay still, Finn. We're going to make sure your neck and back aren't broken, and then we'll get you to the hospital. Your Dad's gonna meet us there. Just open your eyes if you can hear me."

I tried, but nothing happened. It was like being trapped in my body with no way of communicating out.

"He's breathing, Leah, but non-responsive. Brain injury, I would assume."

They poked and prodded at me as I lay there with my eyes closed, trying to focus on breathing.

"He's got tears coming from his eyes." The female spoke. "He can hear us."

"We're going to pick you up now. If something hurts, just cry out if you can, and we'll stop." The guy patted my chest. "It's going to be fine. We've got the best doctors in the world right down the road."

I didn't remember much more other than bright lights flying by above my head as I opened my eyes for a moment and groaned. My father was running beside the bed with tears streaking down his face and I knew the shit was bad. He glanced down and pursed his lips.

"I'll see you soon. Hang in there, okay. Don't leave me. You're all I've got and I'm a selfish bastard." He patted my chest, and I tried to mumble, 'of course not', but nothing came out. I closed my eyes and let the darkness take me. It was far less frightening than knowing what the hell I'd done to myself.

If I survived, I was done taking shit for granted, and defining myself based on other people’s opinions. I knew who I was, and who I wanted to be. Outside of all of that, I knew who I wanted, and if I could have another shot at showing her, Chloe would be mine forever.

Chapter 25

Chloe

I spent the rest of the night in my room, even refusing Parker as he tried to come in with some food. By Sunday morning, I was feeling a little less manic. The fact that Finn never called was upsetting, but I would give him a day or so to cool off. My father had most likely torn him down to nothing, which still grated my nerves completely. I was somewhat pissed at Finn for letting my father affect him so much too. My Dad's opinion wasn't my own.

A knock at my door pulled me from my thoughts.

I tugged the covers up around me and called out. "Come in."

Parker stuck his head in the room with a cute frown on his boyishly handsome face. "Can I come snuggle?"

"Yeah. Get in here." I moved over, making room for my little brother beside me.

He pounced on the bed, and turned on his side, curling up and smiling. "I'm sorry about what happened between Dad and Finn."

"Me too." I reached out and brushed his hair back. "It's okay though. I need Dad to step back, and this was just one way to make it happen. I think he thinks he can use his money to hold power over me, but he can't. It's his attention and love that I want. That would have me visiting every holiday no matter what."

"Yeah. I think he knows that. He's just scared to care about someone and then lose them like we did momma."

"How are you holding up? I know it's been a long time, but Dad gets so depressed this time of year." I brushed my fingers through his hair again, realizing that I'd not even thought to check on him.

"I'm okay. I just try not to think about it."

I nodded. "Me too."

"I tried to text Finn, but he didn't respond. That was yesterday." Parker pushed my hand away. "You're going to cause my dandruff to come out, and then I'll have to shake my head and make it snow in here."

"Ewww, sick." I pushed at his chest as he laughed.

"I'm worried about Finn, Sis."

"Me too. Let's go ride over to his house and see if he's there. We can get a coffee on the way."

"Peppermint hot chocolate?" Parker sat up and lifted his eyebrow in question.

"Yeah. One of those too." I sat up and pulled with me, tucking them under my arms. "Where's Dad?"

"No clue. He left a note that said he would be back soon."

"Alright. Let's make a run for it then. I don't really want to see him yet." I waited for my brother to leave the room before getting up and dressing in some sweats and a long-sleeve shirt. Finn not calling or texting hurt my feelings, but I worked at letting it go as best I could.

The sound of my father taking to Parker as I walked down the hall caused my heart to contract. I adverted my gaze and walked past them, grabbing my jacket and my keys.

"Where are you going, Chloe?"

"To check on my boyfriend who's been ignoring me since yesterday. Can I use your SUV or did you want me to walk? I know nothing belongs to me, so if you want these clothes back, just let me know that too."

"Just be careful," he mumbled and turned back to Parker, continuing their conversation.

I was surprised by his unwillingness to fight with me. I shouldn't have been egging him on anyway. I'd promised myself that I would work on things with him, but it was so damn hard when he kept throwing daggers at the people that I cared about.

The car was nice and toasty by the time Parker got into the passenger's side and buckled up.

"What was that all about?" I glanced over at him and put the jeep in reverse.

"Dad has something special he wants to get you for Christmas, but he needs help with it." He shrugged.

"What is it?" I turned on the lights and windshield wipers, not feeling so good about driving across town all of a sudden.

"I'm not telling you." He chuckled.

I hit the brakes as the jeep rolled over something. "What was that?"

"The chains. Dad put the chains on the tires last night. I helped him."

"Where was...oh. In my room."

"Yeah, but it's cool. Gave us a chance to do something together. He stays so busy with his clients and stuff, that it was a good reason to call in. Family meltdown is what he told them."

I laughed, unable to help myself. "It was that."

"I'm glad you told him that he hadn't been a Dad since mom died. He has been to me, but I think you remind him so much of mom that he struggles with just being around you." My brother shrugged. "It's stupid, I know, but I think that's part of it."

"You would think that would make him love me more, not less." I turned on the radio, not wanting to dive into the reasons why my father was such a jerk to me most days. "New subject."

"Right. What are you getting Finn for Christmas?"

"I got him some cologne, but I can't figure out what else he might like." I looked over at my brother. "What would want if you were him?"

He looked at me and rolled his eyes. "You. Duh."

"He's got me."

"Does he?"

"Stop analyzing things. You're sixteen. Fart in the car and blame it on me, but don't grow up. I need some immaturity in my life. That has to be you."