What The Heart Needs - The Heart #3 (Complete)

Chapter 6 - Part 1

I ignored all twelve missed calls from Aiden in the last day. He clearly wasn't getting the message that I didn't want to talk to him. Couldn't he just leave it?

I was getting ready to pick up Lacey to take her to the beach. We were going to hang out and work on our tans. I wanted to spend as much time with her as I could. Everything else fell by the wayside.

I hadn't seen much of Max as all my free time was going to Lacey. He was very understanding but it didn't make me feel any better. It only reminded me that Aiden understood what I was going through.

Any thoughts of calling him to unload went up in smoke. I had ruined that chance. It had been a spectacular mistake. Even now a few days later I still found myself thinking about the kiss that had turned my world upside down.

It was just a kiss. How could if affect me in such a profound way? And the heaviness of the guilt it brought was suffocating. I didn't know how much longer I could carry it.

But every time I considered dealing with it I remembered what my best friend was dealing with. My problems could wait, she couldn't. I was dedicating all of my time to her, even it meant skipping class.

She was the most important thing in my life at the moment I wanted to make sure she understood that no matter what she was dealing with she wasn't alone.

Trying to concentrate on my day ahead I got a beach bag out and started pack some towels, sunscreen and a few snacks. If my friend wanted to spend some time at the beach I was going to make it happen.

While I busied myself with getting everything ready I managed to stop myself from thinking about the boy who had made me question everything with just one kiss.

My phone started to ring and I dashed to my bed to answer it. For a moment I hesitated while I read the caller ID. It wasn't a number I knew. I thought it might be Aiden calling from another phone to get through to me but I disregarded the thought and answered it. "Hello."

"Reece it's Alex," Reece's brothers voice was raw with emotion.

I sank to sit on my bed, feeling the ominous feeling that something was very wrong.

"What's wrong?" I mumbled, knowing it was going to be bad, very bad.

I held my breath for what felt like forever but was only a few seconds.

"It's Lacey. She's in hospital."

My hand tightened on the phone as I tried process what he had just said.

"Reece?"

I swallowed. Hospital. My mind raced. "What...happened?" My mind was still trying to play catch up.

My stood up and began to pace the length of my room, feeling the panic build to a crushing weight on my chest.

"She passed out. The paramedics rushed her to hospital. She is going to have the surgery."

Surgery. The last word vibrated through me feeling like my chest was going to explode.

"Reece?"

I tried to respond but it was impossible with the building up emotion in my chest.

"Reece? Are you there?" Alex questioned.

I took a deep breath and released it. "Yeah."

"She'll be okay," he assured me, knowing I was contemplating the worst.

No one could say that with any certainty.

"I need a favour," he added.

I was still pacing the room and I stopped. "What do you need?"