Accidental Love (Accidental Crush #2) (23 page)

I know I
'm not going anywhere. I can't leave her side again. I
won't
leave her. Something in my gut knows she's aware I'm here, and I know she needs me. I make a promise to myself that I'm never going anywhere again, if that's what she wants. I say a small prayer that it is.

I glance at Ryan and can tell he
's contemplating leaving when his phone buzzes. "My parents are here."

My heart sinks
. That means my time with Ash is up. I guess there is one thing that would make me leave.

Ryan reads my disappointment
. "Stay here. I'll explain it to them. My dad can't stand blood anyway, so you're doing him a favor."

ASHLEY

I hear voices again
. It's Sid this time. How did she get here so quickly? Why is she here at the pool? Where am I? I must be somewhere in the break house.

"
Todd, sometimes you can be so stupid. She loves you. She always has and always will. She isn't with Casey, even if he wants to be with her. Even after your stupid song, she wants to be with
you
."

What is she doing?
Why is she saying these things?
I mean, they are true, but I'm going to kill her. I want to die. Wait, maybe I'm already dead and that's why she's saying this.

"
I don't know, Sid." I hear the doubt in his voice and want to shout '
She's right!'
, but sound still isn't coming out. I feel his fingers stroke mine. I love the feeling of his skin touching mine. I miss it.

"
What's not to know? She loves you. You love her. Enough already."

"
I don't know if she still does."

"
You must be blind. I swear those blue eyes must not work properly."

I want to laugh
. I really do love her, even though I want to kill her at the moment. As I feel Todd's hand in mine, I try to squeeze it back yet nothing. I hear loud beeping.

What is that?
I try to squeeze Todd's hand again.

"
Ash?" he says excitedly. It must have worked this time, finally a reaction.

I move my head
, and for the first time, I feel pain. Wow, that hurts.

"
Ash? You're okay." I see his beautiful eyes, and they are that turquoise blue I know they turn when he's been crying. Why was he crying?

"
I'll get the Taylors," I hear Sid say. I want to scream,
'Don't go.
I have things to say to you
,' but I can't seem to form words yet.

"
There you are," Todd says, his gorgeous eyes still fixed on mine his fingers brushing across my forehead.

I look around the room and see where that beeping noise has been coming from
. It's a heart monitor that I unfortunately know all too well, but I've never been on this side of it. I immediately recognize the sounds and the smells surrounding me. I'm in a hospital. How? Why?

"
What happened?" I try to speak again, but I don't even recognize my voice. It's groggy and hoarse, barely a whisper. I instantly regret how close Todd currently is to me. I'm sure my breath is not the best.

"
There was an accident. You got hit in the head by the biggest eight-year-old I've ever seen." He laughs a little. "But you're okay. Just a few stitches. And he's okay, too. You saved him."

I smile at that as I try to reach my hand up to my head
, but there are so many tubes and wires connected to my arm it makes it hard for me to reach. I can still feel the edge of the bandages, though.

"
Why am I here? You don't stay in the hospital for stitches." I ask, having been through this all too often with Ryan.

"
True. You have a bit of a concussion, too." Todd smiles as he strokes my cheek. "And since you were unconscious, they're keeping you here for the night, at least."

He glances at the door like he wants to get this out b
efore anyone else walks in. "I'm not sure if you heard anything I said before, but I love you, Ashley. I hate being away from you. I want to be with you—only you. And I hope it's not too late. I'm sorry I was so stupid, and I know I said I thought it was better if we aren't together, but I was wrong. I've never been more wrong in my life. I just hope you feel the same way."

As a reflex
, I try to nod my head, but I'm instantly reminded how much my head hurts.

"
Ouch." I cringe.

"
Are you okay?" Concern washes over his face.

"
Yes! Yes, I'm okay. And yes, I feel the same way. I always have. I just didn't know how to tell you. I know you think you're bad for me, but the only thing that is bad for me is not being with you. I love you like crazy, Todd Hamilton. I love you and don't think I know how not to. I've loved you during every second of our breakup, and even though I like hanging out with Casey, I've always
loved
you. I've missed you. I want you."

"
You have no idea how happy that makes me." He gives me his crooked smile, the one that always instantly melts my heart. Then he leans over and kisses me, his lips feel like home and they are finally where they belong, with me.

"
I found this in your locker." He holds up the bracelet he gave me on my birthday.

"
You went through my locker?"

"
Well, Ryan and I figured you'd want your stuff when you woke up." He smiles. "I was pretty shocked to see you still had it with you. It gave me hope. Although, I'm not sure it will fit on your wrist at the moment." He gestures to the IV tubes and extra wiring currently attached to me. "But just know that everything this bracelet says is still true. I love you like crazy, too, Ashley Taylor." He touches the gold tubes and balls on the bracelet that spell out my initials. "Always have. Always will."

I close my eyes
. I can't believe how bad my head hurts, but I also can't believe this is happening. This better all be real and not some cruel dream. Then I hear my Mom's voice.

"
My baby!" she screeches into the room, and my cheeks flush red at the embarrassing interruption. And with that, I know this is real because, if it were only a dream, my parents would not be in it.

"
Good to see you, kiddo," Dad says as he gently kisses my bandaged forehead.

"
You, too, Dad." My voice is still hoarse, but it's gaining strength. "Concussions really hurt," I say, moving my focus to Ryan.

"
Tell me about it. I definitely like being the one in the bed better, being on this side sucks." Ryan smiles down at me as he moves closer to my bed.

"
Tell me about it." I smile back and then glance over at Todd. "But actually, I think this was all worth it."

Ryan gives me a confused look
while my eyes remain locked on Todd, and he knows exactly what I mean, which is all that really matters.

Ryan notices the direction of my gaze
, and it all clicks for him in that instant. "Finally!" he says with relieved excitement.

Mom gives a small squeal of joy
, and my dad gives a small grunt. He might be the only person that is less than thrilled with this new revelation; however, he's trying hard to hide it.

"
Finally," Todd says, moving closer as he intertwines his fingers with mine. Our eyes lock once more, and I love that his perfectly crooked smile is just for me again.

"
Finally," I whisper to myself.

Acknowledgements

First I want to thank all of the readers who reached out to ask questions, show support, or ask for more.
You inspired me to continue the story, and I love that you fell in love with the characters as much as I did. It was unexpected and so exciting to relive the story through your eyes. Thank you!

I want to
give a special thanks to a few people who read the book before it was even edited: thanks for being able to see the story through all of my grammatical errors. Thanks to my Mom for always listening to me talk about the book like only a Mom can; to Rick V for helping me with all of the football terminology and giving me a valuable boys opinion; to Melissa for always reading rough drafts as if they are part of our book club and for creating the most amazing covers; to Dema and Ratha for your endless advice, support and enthusiasm. Thank you to Kris and Alizon for, once again, teaching me about the editing process and for your honest opinions. I love reading your comments as I'm going through the edits!

I want to thank my incredible family for their support, inspiration
, and for tolerating me being attached to our family laptop in whatever spare time I have. I love you!

And lastly, thanks to
you
for reading this book and wanting to go on another adventure with Ashley and Todd. I hope this book has lived up to everything you wanted it to be, and you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. xoxo

About the Author

Adrienne
Torrisi grew up in Florida with naturally curly hair, so she speaks from experience to all her fellow curly haired girls! She now lives in New York with her husband and two children, who inspire her every day. She has worked as a children's television producer for most of her professional life and decided to try a slightly new adventure. This is her second book. She loves reading and writing YA and still thinks she's fifteen—really! 

She loves to hear from her readers, so please visit her at:

https://www.facebook.com/adriennetorrisiauthor