screen lights up, and it shows the road we were driving on.
Instantly my muscles tighten.
‘Never,’ I hear myself say. ‘You’ll always be beautiful to me.’
Then Fallon’s voice sounds up, ‘Even when I’m old and wrinkly?’
I see the truck coming down the road at one hell of a speed, and my body goes ice cold as it heads right for us.
Christ.
‘Shit,’ I hear the panic in my voice, and then the nose of my car swerves sharply to the right, and the next second, the sound of the truck slamming into my side of the vehicle vibrates through my body. The car rolls, and then it’s pushed into the field next to the road.
‘Starting 9-1-1 –’
Mr. Reyes stops the footage, then looks at me. “Four seconds. That’s how much time you had to react, and you managed to turn the car so it wouldn’t be a head-on collision which could’ve killed you both.” His eyes lock on mine. “You took the full brunt of that hit, and it could’ve killed you. Still, you didn’t hesitate.”
“You have my blessing,” Mr. Cutler murmurs from next to me. “I know Fallon will be safe with you.”
“So,” Mr. Reyes says, “You pushed Fallon away because you felt guilty and you were blind?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Have you groveled to Fallon,” Mr. Chargill asks, a smirk pulling at his mouth.
I let out a chuckle. “Quite a bit, but I’m not done groveling yet.”
“Kao,” Mr. Reyes says to get my attention, “Can you promise to give my daughter the quality of life I’ve given her?”
“I’ll always do my best to try and measure up to the standard you’ve set in her life,” I answer, meaning every word because I know how important Fallon’s parents are to her.
“Well then,” Mr. Reyes climbs to his feet, and I instantly shoot up off the couch. He holds his hand out to me, “you have my blessing.”
“Wait? That’s it?” Mr. Chargill interrupts us. “Am I the only one worried that they’re too young?”
“Shut up, Mace,” Mr. Cutler snaps. “You proposed to Kingsley when she was nineteen.”
“Fuck,” Mr. Chargill grumbles. “It’s just… Fallon’s one of our little girls.”
Emotion washes over all their faces. Wanting to reassure them, I say, “Fallon’s my life. I’ll never stop working my ass off to deserve her.”
“You better,” Mr. Chargill grumbles.
“So…” Mr. Reyes asks him.
“So what?”
“Does Kao have your blessing?” Mr. Reyes asks, a little exasperated.
“Oh. I guess so. The two of you already outvoted me.”
“God, I pity the man who has to ask you for Aria’s hand in marriage,” Mr. Cutler mumbles.
“You better have the paramedics on standby that day,” Mr. Chargill says.
“For you having a heart attack or you beating the poor guy into a coma?” Mr. Reyes asks.
“Probably both.”
I struggle to keep the laughter in, just thankful I’m not the poor guy.
Chapter 28
FALLON
I cling to Kao’s hand as we walk into Dr. Menard’s office. My heart is nothing but a fearful echo behind my ribs.
As we reach reception, the lady smiles up at us. “Fallon Reyes?”
“Yes.”
“You can go through. Dr. Menard is waiting for you.”
“Thank you.” I’m a second away from squeezing the life out of Kao’s poor hand as we walk down the short hallway.
When we enter the room, Dr. Menard gets up from where he was sitting behind a desk. He gestures to an adjoining room. “Through there.”
We step into the examination room, and I go take a seat.
Dr. Menard comes to stand on my right and smiles down at me. “Are you ready?”
No.
Not in the least.
I nod. “Yeah.”
Kao crosses his arms over his chest, and his eyes are locked on mine as Dr. Menard pulls the tape from the stitches.
I hear Dr. Menard breathe as he looks closely at the sutures. “Oooh, yes, they’re healing beautifully.” He stands back to make eye-contact. “I’m going to remove the stitches. You might feel some discomfort. Okay?”
“Okay?” I take in a deep breath, and unable to stop myself, my hand reaches for Kao. He darts to my left and grips my fingers tightly with his.
I shut my eyes tightly while Dr. Menard goes to work on my face and neck. My stomach tightens horribly.
After a while, Dr. Menard's fingers brush over my cheek and neck. “I’m very happy. Like I said, we’ll do some laser therapy to minimize the scarring even more.”
Slowly, I open my eyes. Dr. Menard holds something behind his back as he asks, “Are you ready?”
I’ll never be ready.
Kao moves closer to me, placing his other hand on my shoulder.
“Nervous?” Dr. Menard asks. “Trust