te she'd been in all weekend. She blinked at the screen, which was blurry, and saw Lucas's

said, rubbi

m. You need to come to

"An emergency? Lucas, it's the w

" he added in a very serious tone.

tside of work. She looked at the clock and saw that it was already 10:30. She felt l

ty," attempting to seem cool. "But you'

e said again be

office was only 15 minutes away by car, but there was something inside

g the thoughts out of her head. She wo

om the lamps painted the road as they flickered by. Her mind was racing as fast as the car. Lucas

w of all nights? And why did she sense this naggin

The buildings got farther away as she got closer to the office. She knew Lucas could be fi

red light. Her thoughts drifted again. Was she just being paranoid? She

er. A truck hit the lane hard, which caused a huge bottleneck. Ay

she was able to regain control. She pressed on the gas, her hands shaki

t, anxious whisper

her ears. As she turned the last curve, the air at night felt heavy. She could

t. She instinctively jerked the wheel hard to the right to avoid the crash, and the world appeared t

the wheel tightly, as if she could nav

was too

t felt like time stopped when the impact shook her body. She tried to scream, but the noise in

hts wen

head. His heart plummeted as soon as he got the call that Ayla had been in a vehi

t her go. Not

deal with the results of what he did. Was it his fau

s beeping felt too loud in the quiet room, noting each second that went by. His knuckles were white as he held on to th

nce he had gone too far. He didn't know how he would deal with it if she didn't wake up and he lost her. He had

ice that was hard to he

d gotten her into this predicament. But none of that seemed to matter now. There wa

he didn't want to let fall. He couldn't do it. Not

an't lose you, Ayla," his voice shaking. The words, even though they were quiet, seemed like they had removed a weight off his ches

ir away from her face. He hoped she cou

inded her of the crash. The brightness from the room made her eyelids quiver and gave her a vague headache. She attempted to

r and something else she couldn't quite put her finger on. He held he

was rough and urge

ad. It took her a little while to find her voice,

saw her eyes finally focus on him. "You crashed. I- For a moment, his speech stopped, a

ff. Ayla saw the rawness in him for the first time. The man who had al

chest. She had never see

aid softly, her voice ba

forehead against hers. The feeling of his flesh and the loo

he begged, his voice shak

in his eyes-the fear that he would lose her. And for a second,

she trust the man who had pushed her so far? But here he was, standing in front of her

to this than either of them understood, and neither of them was