Crash and Burn

27. Normal

One week later

"She asked to see you." I tried to keep the hopeful expression at bay and nodded. "I do owe you an explanation though." I gave her a sympathetic smile on my face and shook my head. "No, you really don't. I'll admit that I don't fully understand what's going on but I do know that there are things going and it hasn't been easy for anyone, especially you." Dianna shot me a pained but thankful smile. "You've been sitting out here all week with updates that probably don't do anything to put you at ease. You should at least get to know why."

Yeah and I was watching all of your family, her team and even Wilmer walk in and out of her room, too. Did you forget that?

I bit back the sass and gave her a dismissive shrug, starting to pull at the scabs that had been forming over my knuckles. Just another day, right? "She's been really sick all week but she's better now. When she came around, one of the first things she asked was about the press. We told her what they knew and she got upset because she thought that the whole thing with you saving her wasn't real. We told her that it was and why we didn't tell them the whole story. Then she asked if you were here and I told her that you were, but she moved on to another topic and didn't ask about you again. I didn't want to bring it up to her or just let you in because I didn't want her to feel overwhelmed or anything until just now. I know that she's just avoiding you because she feels like she's let you down but enough of all that. You deserve to see her, too." Ouch but okay, I guess. I nodded my head and kept my expression neutral while the thoughts swarmed in my head.

Where do I stand in her life now? Was I going in to hear that she's decided to cut me out of her life?

"I understand that. You really don't have to worry about it. As silly as it sounds, I just wanted to be near her." I just wanted to go see her now. I had to find out what was going on between us. Was there even an us left? Dianna smiled and nodded towards the room. "Well what are you waiting for? Go on in."

I took a shaky breath as I knocked on the door. Not knowing what to expect was making my stomach twist in fear. I heard her weak voice respond and took a tentative step into the room. When she saw me, she took a quick glance and turned away. I could already feel the lump in my throat forming. I almost turned around and walked back to the seat that probably already had my butt print, but remember that Dianna said that she wanted to see me. I reached out to touch her shoulder and couldn't help the relief that flooded through me when she didn't shrink away or tense.

"Hey gorgeous." Her body started shaking along with the soft sobs that were coming out of her. "I know I promised you that I'd remind you that you're beautiful everyday but the last week had been tough." I tried to keep the tone light and a smile came onto my face when I heard a small giggle coming out of her. "Can you please turn over so I can see you? It's been killing me this whole week." She slowly turned around and the sight of her broke my heart. There were tear streaks on her pale face and her deep brown eyes lost their spark. She looked so weak, as if she was going to pass out any second but despite everything, my heart still skipped a beat. "I'm sure I look anything but beautiful right now." I frowned and grabbed her hands. "What did I tell you? You don't ever have to worry about how you look with me. You'll always be beautiful." Tears welled up in her eyes again and I sat down on her bed, pulling her into my arms.

A few minutes passed before she pulled away and looked down at my hands. "I heard what happened. Thank you and I'm sorry that this happened." Then she frowned. "Why haven't they healed?" I just shrugged and she gave me a pointed look. "I've been peeling at the scabs all week." Her shoulder slumped and I instantly felt bad. "I'm sorry Alex. You told me to stay away from him and I didn't listen. Look where that got me." Her laugh was bitter and a look of hatred passed her eyes. "Hey, no. Don't do that. Don't blame yourself. No one wanted you to end up here and it wasn't anyone's fault." Then I reluctantly added.