Taylor

Fifteen minutes later, my brother returned. He scanned my features for any sign of how I was feeling, but I kept my emotions bottled up. I wanted and needed the time alone to be able to work through them and there was no way I was going to do that in the hospital with people constantly coming in and out my room.

"There are a few people who want to see you," Connor told me as he walked closer.

I wasn't sure I was ready to see anyone, but the look my brother gave made me bite my lip.

"They've all been waiting in the waiting room anxiously to see you since we got here yesterday."

It was hard to believe I'd been out of it for so long.

"Sin is here too."

That statement cut straight through me, down to my heart, and for a moment I was short of breath. I tried to disguise my shock, but my brother never missed a thing as my eyes shot to his.

"He came back as soon as he found out you were missing," he informed me. I dropped my eyes and refused to look at my brother as I dealt with that information.

My heart began to beat faster and my palms became clammy at the thought of seeing him again. I wasn't sure if I was ready to face him.

"Did anyone get the name of the guy who brought me to the hospital?" I asked, remembering how relieved I'd been when I'd realized he was a good guy. I owed him my life.

"Yeah, his name is Jeff. He works for Sin," he revealed and my mouth dropped open in shock.

"He works for Sin?" I echoed, a little shocked at the revelation.

"Yes," Connor confirmed. But how was that possible? Sin was a college student like me. What my brother was telling me didn't fit with the Sin I knew.

"I don't understand," I said, voicing my confusion.

"That isn't my story to tell. You'll have to ask him," he said, holding up his hands. "He isn't as bad as I thought he was."

I couldn't believe the difference in my brother's attitude toward Sin. He'd been the one to do the background check to warn me about Sin and now he was admitting that he'd been wrong?

What the hell?

I felt like I was in an alternate reality to the one I had lived in. I arched an eyebrow at my brother, but he just shrugged in response.

"Sometimes there is more to a person than what's written on paper," he tried to explain. I honestly didn't know how to respond it that. Never in a million years would I have expected this.

"The nurses said it was okay for you to have visitors," he told me, pulling me out of my stunned thoughts. I didn't want to see anyone.

"I'm not sure I'm up for visitors yet," I murmured, feeling bad that I was trying to put it off. It wasn't that I didn't want to see them, because I did, what I wasn't looking forward to were the looks of sympathy.

"I know you've been to hell and back, but those people waiting outside to see you have been so worried about you. They care about you and they need to see that you're okay."

I swallowed down the emotion his words pulled from me.

"Okay. Send them in," I replied, feeling the nervous knot in my stomach.

"They can't all come in at once. Matthew is dying to see you so I'll send him and Jordan in," he said. "I think you and Sin will want to talk alone."

I gave him a brief nod. I plastered a weak smile onto my face as I watched my brother disappear out of my room. Minutes later, Jordan and Matthew walked in.

"Oh my God," Jordan gasped as she rushed over to me and engulfed me in a hug. I bit down on my lip to keep myself together. The pain from the cut in my lip throbbed and helped me from feeling overwhelmed. The sight of my messed-up face was going to shock a lot of people.

"Hey," Matthew greeted me as Jordan released me. His eyes were guarded and I knew why. The sight of me was a lot to take in.

"It's good to see you," I said, trying to sound calm, but my voice was hoarse with emotion. I'd been so worried about him being left unconscious in the car after the accident.

"I'm fine," he assured me.

"We were so worried..." Jordan revealed, her voice breaking on the last word.

"I'm okay," I tried to reassure her as I looked to her.

"I still can't believe it was Eric," Matthew said, shaking his head.

None of us had any inkling that Eric was the unstable stalker after me.

"It's over," I said with finality in my voice that made Matthew and Jordan look at each other.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Matthew said.

I gave him a questioning look and then I realized that he was feeling guilty that he hadn't been able to save me.

"It wasn't your fault," I reassured him, reaching for his hand and giving it a squeeze. "Eric is mentally unstable and if you hadn't been unconscious, he would've killed you."

Despite my words, Matthew looked unconvinced.

"What happened to me wasn't anybody's fault and I don't want anyone to feel guilty," I stated firmly.

He lifted his gaze to mine and gave me a brief nod. I gave him an encouraging smile and he smiled back.

"Are you going to be leaving now?" I asked. I'd grown close to Matthew; he hadn't just been my bodyguard, he'd become my friend.

"I'm going to stay a little while longer," he told me. "At least until Eric is firmly locked up for life."

I pressed my lips together. I didn't like the way I felt when I heard his name. To Matthew it was just a name, but to me it held all the horrors I'd managed to escape.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, seeing the effect it had on me.

"It's okay. I need to work through it," I replied with a shrug.

"We'd better go," Jordan interrupted.

I gave her one last hug before she left behind Matthew. I was nervous and I touched a hand to my face.

The moment he walked in, I felt my stomach flip at the sight of him. His eyes fixed on my face and I saw his jaw tighten. He looked exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes. He stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans as he took a step closer, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Hi," I said, trying to sound as normal as possible. It was the first time I'd seen him since he'd walked out on me. I couldn't help feeling self-conscious of my injuries under his gaze.

"Hi," he said, taking another step closer. It was rare to see him like this. Normally he was confident and so sure of himself but now he looked nervous.

"Tay..."

"It's okay," I reassured him. "I'll be fine."

I didn't even believe what I'd just said. There was no way I was fine after what had happened to me, but I needed him to believe I was okay.

I shrugged and looked down at my hands. It was easier not to look at him because when I did I remembered how he'd told me that we were over and then he'd left. He hadn't even given me a chance to explain.

I knew why he was here. It wasn't because nearly losing me had made him realize that he was in love with me—that crap only happened in sappy romance books and movies. The reality was that he felt guilty. Eric had been his roommate, someone he knew. I think he also carried more guilt because it had happened after he'd broken my heart and left town.

"The doctors say everything will heal," I stated, lifting my eyes to see the emotion on his face. He ran a hand through his hair.

"I should never have left," he revealed, taking another step closer. He was close enough that if I reached out I could touch his hand, but I didn't.

"I know why you're here," I stated.

He swallowed hard and held my gaze.

"Really?" he asked, looking suddenly very nervous.

"Yes," I said, nodding my head.

"It's guilt."