Nothing Feels Like You (Book 2) (SAMPLE ONLY)

1 - Aftermath

Xavier

Someone was pounding on the door, interrupting my nap. Groggily I rolled out of bed and made my way downstairs. This was my one opportunity today to get some uninterrupted shut eye and it had just been ruined. Needless to say, that I was annoyed. As soon as I opened my mouth popped open ready to tell off whoever decided to knock on the damn door.

Chyna shoved me aside before I could say a single word. "You didn't answer the phone. Come on, we have to go."

My eyebrows drew together in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

She pushed at my wide chest clearly in a hurry although I didn't know what for. "Put on some shoes. We need to get to the hospital."

My head shook. She wasn't making any sense. "Chyna, slow down. I don't know what you're talking about."

"I can't slow down. She's hurt!" Her voice was filled with hysterics.

"Who is hurt?" I ask still not understanding what the hell was happening.

"Ariana!" Tears streaked down Chyna's face. "Bria ran over Ariana with her car. Ari's hurt. She's hurt bad. I can't slow down," she cried.

My stomach dropped and my heart began to pound. "I'll drive." Shoving my feet into shoes, I ran out of the house. There wasn't time for me to get a t-shirt from my bedroom. I had one in the car. Chyna was right behind me. "Tell me what happened."

Chyna wiped at her eyes. "Ari was crossing the road, and Bria, the crazy bitch, gunned her engine and ran her down. Her mom heard the whole thing. She's on the way with Ari's dad. He's a neurosurgeon."

My nostrils flared angrily. "You said, Bria ran Ariana over. How do you know that?"

"Because she got out of her car and gloated while my best friend lay on the fucking pavement bleeding." Chyna's voice was filled with anger and bitterness. "I swear to God, I am going to make her suffer for this."

"Not if I beat you to it," I grunted as my hands tightened on the steering wheel.

Hundreds of thoughts ran through my mind as we drove to the hospital. When we got there, the nurses were tight-lipped with information because we weren't family. All we knew was that Ariana had to be taken into surgery. We didn't know the extent of her injuries or her chances of recovery. Chyna paced the waiting room anxiously. I sat with my legs bouncing, and my mind racing with thoughts. This was my fault. Ariana was hurt because of me. She wouldn't approve of my guilt, but there was no way around it. If I hadn't pursued her, then Bria wouldn't have targeted her. We wouldn't be in the fucking hospital.

Mila and Dakota arrived about half an hour after we'd been there. They didn't have better luck getting any information out of the nurses. My skin felt like a million ants were crawling all over my body. Time blurred together as we waited. The swooshing sound of the automatic doors sliding open drew my attention. An older couple hurriedly walked into the hospital. The woman had the same heart-shaped face and plush lips as Ariana. I recognized them from the pictures in her bedroom. They were her parents.

Her mom looked around frantically. "Chyna, what's going on? Is Ariana okay?"

Chyna shook her head. "We don't know. They won't tell us anything." The man nodded, making his way to the nurse's desk with a sense of authority.

"What happened? I heard it all on the phone. Did they find the driver?" The woman questioned.

"She wasn't hard to find considering she was bragging in the middle of the damn road," Chyna responded with bite.

Ariana's mom's face twisted with confusion. "What do you mean?"

I stood cautiously making my way towards them. "Hi, ma'am. I'm Xavier DeLuca. I'm Ariana's boyfriend."