Glow

Chapter 6

Two weeks. It's been two weeks and Rylee still won't wake up. It's killing me. I haven't left her side. I know that I haven't known this girl for very long, but I already feel so attached.

I can say that I love her. Very much. I want to share that love with her, but I can't and it's killing me.

Why did this have to happen to her? Why did this have to happen to us? It's not fair. I don't understand what we did wrong. I don't recall doing anything that would require God to punish us.

Am I just not suppose to fall in love? Is that it? Or was Rylee only given a short time on this planet?

I got a text message and I looked to see that it was from Rylee's phone. My heart started to pound. What if she died?

No, she didn't. She couldn't. I can't lose the one person I finally open my heart up to.

Rylee:
Brett, I need you. I just woke up in a hospital and I need you to tell me what happened.

My heart stopped. I wasn't there for her when she woke up. That broke my heart.

I couldn't respond. How could I? I was a jerk. I left her to work. I left her in a hospital in Illinois to come back to Tennessee. I hate myself for it. I regret it. I wanted to be with her. I love her. I hate having my job take me away from my family and friends. I hate that the one thing I love to do has so many cons to it. But, I love my job.

I sighed, Rylee needs me and I'm miles away. I quickly dialed her number and waited for an answer.

"Brett?" Her voice was so broken. So sad. "Where are you? Why aren't you here."

"I'm so sorry, Lee. I'm in Nashville. I had to come back for work. I wish I could be there with you in Chicago. I really do. Listen, I'm so sorry you had to get hurt and I'll explain everything."

"Brett, slow down. What happen?" Rylee's voice turned serious.

I took in a deep breath. "I don't know, all I know was that we were leaning in for a kiss and then poof, we got into an accident. We were in a taxi. We got hurt, me and the driver, but you got knocked out. You weren't responding and I was so scared. Damn, I was scared, Lee. I thought I lost you. I love you, Rylee."

"You what?!" Rylee's voice broke.

"I love you," I shrugged. "I know it's really sudden, but it's true, Rylee."

There was a pause on the other end and I started tensing up. "I love you too. I need you, Brett. Is there a way you can get me out of here?"

"I'll try to get you home, Lee. I can promise you that."

"Brett, before you go, can I say one thing?" Rylee questioned me.

"What's that?"

"I love the nickname. You can keep calling me Lee. I don't kind," she told me and I could sense the smile in her voice.

"I'm glad you love it, Lee. See you soon," I smiled into the phone before hanging up.

I groaned as I threw my face into my hands. Falling in love is not something I'm good at. I'll never be good at anything, but I do know that I make her smile, so at least there's that.

What am I supposed to do? It's impossible to get Rylee home. She's in the hospital for a reason. But... I miss her. I miss having her with me. And I'm so desperate to get a taste of her kiss.

I haven't been my crazy Target loving self either. I miss chat snapping. I miss traveling the world. I miss singing. I miss Thomas, my man. I miss teaching Edgar new tricks. I miss twitter. I miss Instagram. I miss my fans. I miss being me.

I hate that I can't be myself without Rylee. Now that she's in my life, I realize she makes me who I am. I'm not me without her. She's my other half. I fell in love with my other half.

"You feeling okay?" Brice commented as he noticed my head in my hands.

"No, it's all my fault she's there," I mumbled.

"Who? Where?" Brice raised his eyebrow.

I took in a deep breath. I haven't told my older brother about Rylee yet and I wasn't sure if I was ready to yet. "A girl I fell in love with. She's in a hospital in Chicago. From the cab incident. She's supposed to be here in Nashville with me."

"Brett," Brice sighed. "It's not your fault. It's no one's fault. As long as Rylee is safe, I wouldn't stress too much about it. She'll be home soon. I promise."

"Thank you, Brice. You're an amazing brother. I love having you with me."

"I love having you as my baby bro," Brice chuckled as he gave me a side hug. "Rylee is a lucky girl to have a guy like you in her life."

I smiled and continued back on my writing. I can't wait to see Rylee again. And when I do, I'm going to tell her. I'm going to tell her that I love her. I might scare her off and I hope I don't,  but for some reason, I think she feels the same about me.

I bet Rylee misses me too, I know I miss her. She's going to have a blast when she gets back to Nashville. That's when it hit me. I need to call Thomas, Luke, Sam, Carrie, and all my other country music pals. Rylee is about to have the biggest surprise of her life.

What a better way to be welcomed back home to Nashville, Tennessee than a surprise "Welcome Home" party with some of country music's biggest stars?