“I can’t do this, Wilder. I’m not sure I’ve got all my memories back yet, but I remember you and I know what I felt the first time we met.” There are tears in her eyes as she says it. “And I remember what happened to my parents and why I swore I wouldn’t fall in love.”
She turns on her heels and goes into our bedroom, but I’m moving with her and following her step for step.
“What?” I’m so stunned by what she’s saying that I don’t realize she’s putting on her clothes that she was wearing during the accident.
She tugs on her pants and then the socks that I’d cleaned and then placed on the dresser in our room. It’s funny how I’ve already started calling it our room in my head. I’ve got to stop her from spiraling out of control right now.
“Bri, let’s calm down and talk about this. You could still be confused from the accident.” When she won't look at me, I get in front of her and cup her face. “Please.”
“I want to go home,” she says, and her chin quivers.
My heart nearly breaks in half, and I swallow as I look into her eyes. “This is your home, Bri. This is our home.”
She shakes her head and then steps back. “If you won’t take me home, I’ll radio for Natalie.”
“Shit,” I hiss and rub my hand down my face. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea to go just yet.”
She’s got her sweater back on and leaves what she was wearing in a pile on the floor. “I need to see my grandparents. Do they even know I’m here?”
“I told your grandmother when it happened, but the line went dead.”
“She’s probably worried sick.” Seeing the fear in her eyes over her grandparents makes me want to take that away.
“What about if we call her?”
“You just said the line went dead. It takes forever to get phone service up here.” She pushes past me, and I snag her hand in mine. “Wilder, if you care for me at all, you’ll take me to them.”
There’s a long pause, and she’s right: I can’t keep her locked up here even if I want to. “Will you come back home with me after?”
She looks away as she nods, and I wonder if she’s telling me the truth this time. She won’t look at me, and every inch of my body is screaming at me to hold her and keep her safe.
“Let me grab my coat,” I say as I go by the door and pull on my boots and jacket. “Baby—” I begin, but she cuts me off.
“I don’t regret our time together here in this cabin,” she says as she looks up at me with those beautiful, soft brown eyes. “I don’t even regret the things that we did.” Her smile is watery and so sad. “But I can’t do this, Wilder. I can’t be the person you need me to be.”
The words go straight through me like a hot knife, and I can’t speak.
“Take me home.”
I love her enough to give her what she wants, at least for now. I’ll take her to her grandparents and let her check on them, but I’m not giving up so easily. She thinks she can’t give me what she wants? She’s afraid right now, and it’s my job to be brave enough for the both of us.
“It’s cold outside,” I say and reach for her hand. She comes to me easily, and I wrap my arms around her. “Stay with me, and you’ll be warm.”
She looks at my mouth, and I can’t stop myself from leaning down and giving her one soft kiss.
“Wilder,” she whispers against my lips, and I pray it’s not the last time she does that.
“I’m right here, baby. And I always will be.”
Chapter Thirteen
BRI
I close my eyes, breathing Wilder in. There’s something about him that’s so calming, and it’s been there since the beginning.
This is all so crazy. He loves me. How is that possible? We barely know each other, but I saw my own parents. They fell madly in love with each other quickly, and the two of them had a love that I always wanted to have one day. It’s something I dreamed of having.
That was until I experienced loss and my heart was ripped in two. Losing them was devastating, and I don’t think I could bear to go through something like that again. Tears start to slip down my cheeks as I cry. It’s all rushing back to me in giant waves as one memory after another hits me.
“Bri.” Wilder’s hold on me tightens as uncontrollable sobs start to pour from deep inside of me.
“I miss them so much.” My knees give out, but Wilder doesn’t let me fall.
He scoops me into his arms and carries me through the house. He lays us down on the bed and holds me close as I get it all out. He rubs my back for a long time as I let go of all of the sadness inside of me.