Lib Novel Page 71
“He’s doing well. We…talked. He was more worried that we are all okay.”
He nodded.
“I just need my discharge papers then we can go.”
She came to him, kissed him, and again, he cherished it. Once they made it back to the house, he was going to have to do something he never wanted to do. But after the events of the last few years, he had no choice.
By the time they got back to the house, all three of them were exhausted. Since all of her things were still over at Del’s, Emma had said she would get them and return the next day. Jaime hoped the younger woman got some rest, because she looked completely exhausted by the events of the evening. The last forty-eight hours had really worn them all out.
Sean had been quiet on the ride home. She knew he was irritated with the situation, and she knew he was mad. About what, she had no idea. There were so many things to be mad about that evening, but she couldn’t deal with that. She was so bloody happy they all survived. As they helped him into bed, she wondered what was going through his head.
“I think it would be best if you both left.” His voice held no emotion, and it left her cold.
“Excuse me?” Jaime asked, her heart in her throat, and her whole world coming to a halt.
“This…look what happened. I don’t think it is a good idea being around me.”
She looked at Randy, who shook his head. It was a warning not to fight with him. Sean was the worst patient, and could be a real pain in the ass. But this sounded different. This sounded final.
“I think I need a better explanation.”
“No,” Randy said. “We both deserve a better explanation.”
Sean looked at them and, in that instant; she saw the longing, the need really, there in the depths of his green eyes. As quickly, it shut down and hardened. This was the stranger she had seen when they first arrived.
“That’s it. Just it’s best if you both leave?” she asked.
Randy looked at her, and the pain he saw there, the pain that Sean was causing for both of them, was almost too much to bear.
“It isn’t a good idea to be around me. Look what has happened in the past.”
“You are such a bloody stubborn man. You sit there and say you caused everything bad in life. So, you fucked up. We all fuck up. I have news for you, Sean; you are not bloody fucking God. Get over yourself.”
He closed his eyes. “You almost died.”
“I have almost died several times. And this time, I wasn’t even close to being dead. You were. Hell, it is a fucking miracle I survived the streets when I was a kid with my smart mouth.”
She heard a suspicious snuffle, and she shot a look at Randy. “You are not helping the situation.”
Randy held up his hands in surrender, even if he was smiling.
“You do not get to choose whether or not we love you. You do not get to decide if I can spend my days wondering what would have been if you had not been a coward.”
His eyes shot open and then narrowed. “I am not a coward.”
“Yeah? Well what do you call this?”
“What do you mean?”
“People dream of finding that one person who loves them unconditionally. They pray about it, they join online dating…they do anything to have that special partnership. You have two people in your life who love you so fucking much that we went on a suicide mission to save you. And how do you reward us? You tell us to leave. I’m fighting for you here. Randy and I have been fighting for you forever, Sean. But, I’m getting tired of being hurt, again and again. This time…this time, we might never come back. I cannot take it anymore.”
“Jaime,” Randy said and stepped closer to comfort her.
“No. I want forever. Happy. But if Sean’s too much of a coward to take a chance, then go to bloody hell.”
And with that, she strode out of the room. She was running by the time she made it downstairs, and didn’t stop until she made it to the beach. She collapsed there on the sand and gave into the fear, the anger, the desolation. He would never understand. No matter how many times they saved him, begged him…loved him…he would never accept it. It wasn’t until that moment, that she realized it was lost, and they probably never had it anyway.
A deafening quiet filled the room. Sean looked at Randy, who shrugged.