Page 2 of A Constant Reminder

Chapter 2 – Tyler

Dear God…

I crossed my hands in front of me ready to ask for any divine intervention there was to save Sam. My Sam. Even though my list of sins was a mile long, I hoped he would take Sam’s pure heart in His hands and send it back to me. I wasn’t sure if I even believed in the man upstairs, but that that moment, I was willing to try anything.

I couldn’t lose her. I just couldn’t. I’d just gotten her, damnit!

After having it out with my mom about her unacceptable behavior during dinner, I was almost home when my phone pinged with a text from our housekeeper, Jacinda.

Ice chilled my veins as I read the words:

Miss Sam has been attacked. Where are you? I’ve called 911. Get here now!

I pushed the pedal as hard as I could breaking every single law along the way to get to the woman I loved, arriving just as she was being lifted into the back of an ambulance.

Fear coursed through me as I climbed in back next to her and saw her tiny body so bruised and frail. On the way, they had to sedate her due to her heartrate rising to a dangerous level.

They said it was probably due to her remembering the trauma…which made me terrified of what she’d endure when she finally woke up.

Two hours had passed since they’d taken her back to be looked at, and no one would tell me a damn thing! Fuck, I didn’t even know if she was alive!

I’d called her dad and brothers and told them to get here as quickly as possible. I knew last-minute plane tickets were expensive, so I’d given them my credit card number instructing them to catch the first flight out…no matter the cost. Money didn’t mean shit to me in that moment. I’d give every last cent I had if it meant ensuring she was okay.

Burying my head in my hands, I tried not to imagine the worst possible scenarios…scenarios that would never allow me to hold her in my arms again or kiss her perfect lips one more time.

A firm hand gripped my shoulder, and when I looked up, I was staring into the eyes of my father.

The confusion on my face must have been evident because he said, “Jacinda called. Figured you could use some company.”

I nodded as he took the seat next to me.

“Do you know anything yet?” He calmly asked.

“No. No one’s been out at all.”

He nodded. “Maybe that’s a good thing. No news isn’t bad news.”

I prayed he was right.

Silence filled the space between us for what seemed like an eternity.

Finally, in a low voice, I muttered, “I should have been there. I shouldn’t have stayed to argue with Mom. Sam was more important, and I left her alone. I let her down.” The last words came out as a choked sob.

My father’s arm wrapped around my shoulders. “Tyler, I can tell you a million times it’s not your fault, but I know you won’t listen. So, the real question is…what are you going to do now? How can you be there for her when she needs you the most?”

He was right. I would never stop blaming myself, but it wasn’t going to do any good. I just had to find a way to make sure this would never happen again…find a way to just be there for Sam in whatever way she needed me to be.

Suddenly, a doctor came bursting through the door. “Mr. Wendell, would you like to go see Sam?”