Page 69 of Breaking Bristol
“He’s stable, and from what I can tell, he’ll be fine and going home tomorrow. I debated on even telling you, but I promised I’d let you know if anything happened, so I’m letting you know.”
“He had a heart attack?!”
“Yes. Minor. Like I said, he’s fine.”
Tears burned the backs of my eyes, and my forehead landed on my steering wheel. “How’s my mom? God, she’s gotta be terrified.”
“I don’t know the answer to that.”
“I need this to end, Scotty,” I sobbed. “I need to be able to go see my dad in the fucking hospital. I want my parents to meet the man I’m in love with, and I don’t want to have to hide anymore…”
A heavy sigh came through the receiver. “Finally. Give me some time to cover my tracks, and I’ll get rid of—”
“No. No, Scotty. Not like that.” I sniffled. “I need to tell Matthew first so he can help me decide what to do.”
“You haven’t told him yet?”
“I wasn’t ready.”
“Ya know, I’m actually kind of relieved he doesn’t know,” he said.
I sat up and wiped my nose with the back of my hand. “Why?”
“Because if he knew and let you continue to live like you have been, he wouldn’t be good enough for you.”
I gripped my phone so hard my knuckles turned white. “He’ll kill him, Scotty.”
“Good.”
“Ugh! Not good. You don’t understand, he… Matthew doesn’t need this in his life.”
Scotty made a noise of disagreement. “I suspect since he has you in his life that’s exactly what he needs.”
“Is my dad really okay?” I asked brokenly.
“I wouldn’t lie about that. Talk to your man. I’m on board for whatever you want to do.”
“Thanks, Scotty.” We hung up, and I threw my phone on the floor, hit the steering wheel, and screamed at the top of my lungs. A rush of air came into the cab, and I felt familiar, strong hands wrap around my arms. Matthew cursed and then undid my seat belt, then pulled me out and to my feet. “What’s wrong?”
I opened my mouth to tell him but nothing came out, not even air. It wasn’t coming in, either. I was hyperventilating, my body bucking with terrified sobs.
He swept me off my feet and carried me inside, then set me down on the small island. “Shh.” He cradled my face in his hands and tilted my chin until I looked at him. “Take a breath in, sweetheart. One, two, three. Then out. One, two, three.” He did it again, and I copied him as best I could. It was shaky, but I wasn’t seeing stars anymore. “Good. Again.” After a few more rounds, he rested his hands on my thighs. “Touch your pinky to your nose.”
“Huh?”
“Just do it.” I thought it was weird, but I did it anyway, then following his command, repeated it with the other hand. “Good, baby. Now lift your arms above your head, try to touch the ceiling with your fingertips.”
He was the doctor, and I trusted him, so I stretched, then brought them down and wrapped my hands on the edge of the countertop.
“Better?”
He swiped the tears off my cheeks and when I saw the worry etched on his handsome face, a fresh round rolled down my face. “I… I’ve been run… run—” I sucked in a breath and held it, then slowly released. “I lied to you. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know how. I didn’t know what would happen.”
“Didn’t want to tell me what, baby?”
“He said he would kill me, said he’d kill my mom if I went to the cops, and I… I left. I ran away, and I’ve been hiding from him ever since.”
CHAPTER 19