Mya's POV
I would be willing to bet I had been staring at the pictures of my son, whom I had never met. When I took Linc home, he gave me the photos before I left.
Lilly hadn't said much to me tonight. I wasn't sure if it was because of my silence or how emotional today was. It really put both of us on an emotional rollercoaster. I was sure it did the same to Linc, which wasn't good for his mental health. I wasn't sure how much more he could handle. I glanced at my phone and considered calling him to check in, but I didn't want to seem like a nagging girlfriend because he didn't belong to me anymore.
I sighed and looked back down at the picture of a younger-looking Lincoln holding our son. The phone rang. I knew who it was before I even grabbed it.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Hey, um, I just wanted to see how you were doing. I know how rough today must have been for you," Linc said. The concern in his voice melted me in a way I couldn't explain. Just knowing he cared enough to call me. Linc and I were completely on the outs when I first got back and strangely, it felt as if we had gotten closer again.
Tears built up in my eyes, but so many thoughts ran through my mind, it was too chaotic to answer him.
"Mya?" he murmured. "Hey, I can come over there."
I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but it didn't work so I tried speaking around it. "No," I croaked.
"Mya, you're upset. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring all this onto you. I just thought, you know, it's been a while since everything happened, and I figured you might like to visit him. I shouldn't have taken you—"
"No, no. It's okay, Linc. It's normal to. . . feel pain. Healthy, actually. If anything I'm handling it so much better than I did back then."
He sighed. "If I could walk, I would have just come over instead of calling."
"You still exercising your toes," I teased and finally I was able to swallow the lump in my throat.
A chuckle escaped him. "Yes, ma'am."
"Good," I said and smiled.
"Don't stare at those pictures all night. Think about good things. You have a beautiful daughter. You're successful. You're going to help a lot of people."
I laughed. "What makes you think I'm looking at the pictures?"
"Did you forget who you're talking to? My guess is you are sitting on your bed with your legs crossed, and have the pictures neatly set in rows where you can see all of them at once."
I facepalmed but smiled. "Guilty."
"I thought so. Doesn't matter what time we spent apart, babe. I'll always know you better than anyone knows you."
Tears started again and I opened my mouth to respond, but the line went dead. I looked at my phone and realized he had hung up. He called me babe—my stomach twisted at the thought. Linc used to tell me I was too incredible and unpredictable for one nickname, so he called me many things, and babe was just one of them.
I stared at the phone. Why would he hang up? Was it something I said? Was it what he said? I didn't want Linc thinking we could be more than friends. I wasn't ready for that with anyone let alone him. Some part of me missed him in that way, but another part of me is afraid of what'll happen to me and my daughter if I have any future with him.
I picked the pictures up and set them neatly in a drawer beside my bed. I snuggled into the blanket, gripping it as if I were a child afraid of the monster in my closet. That night, I dreamt of Linc, but not in a bad way. It wasn't of the accident. It was of the future. What triggered the dream was beyond me, but we were on a back porch watching kids run around.
***
Linc managed to take his foot off the foot rest of the wheel chair and put it on the floor. He looked up at me with desperation in his eyes. "I can't do this."
"Linc, you are doing it."
"You don't understand, Mya. It feels like my leg weighs two hundred pounds. It's like trying to move a heavy object or as if there are no nerves in my leg. I can't explain it."
"I understand, okay? But you have to keep trying."
He sighed and moved the other foot to the floor. I flipped the rests up so he could stand. I placed my hands out for him to take.
He looked warily at my hands. "Yeah, right. Like you'll catch me if I fall."
"I will," I vowed.
He placed his hands in mine and I had to help him a great deal to stand, but he did it for just a brief moment. He started to collapse and I instantly caught him and lowered him back to the chair.
"Fuck," he muttered.
"Don't cuss," I told him and glanced around to be sure nobody heard him.
"Well, excuse me," he muttered. "I'm sorry."
"Are you kidding? You did great. Don't sweat it. This is the first time we tried. Are you too tired to try again?" I asked.
"I don't know."
"Well we could go over there." I gestured to an area with two bars that go across the room that help people use their arms to support themselves as they try to walk.
"Sure. Let's try that."
I took him over to the area and helped him out of his chair. He grabbed each railing and used a lot of his arm strength to support himself.
Linc made it about halfway before his entire frame began to tremble. "Mya, I can't."
"You can. You're almost there. Theres a chair for you at the end. You can sit and rest."
Linc took a deep breath and moved one step forward. I came up to him and placed my hands on his hips to support him a little. Linc's eyes locked with mine. "What are you doing?" he murmured.
Normally, I kept a distance, but I didn't want him to fall. He was doing so well. I knew if he made it to the end, it would build his self-esteem and he needed that. However, the close contact put a lot of tension between us.
***Flashback***
A memory of the first time we kissed, came to mind. We were at an indoor ice rink. Linc was teaching me how to skate. I started to fall but he grabbed my arms and I clutched onto his hips.
He steadied me and smirked. "You klutz," he teased.
"Shut up, Linc. That's not fair. I've never done this. It was your stupid idea."
"It wasn't stupid," he murmured and his eyes flickered to my lips.
"You sure about that?"
His eyes flickered back to mine. "I needed some excuse to have you in my arms. I figured this was my best chance."
My lips parted in shock. We were so young and I had never been kissed, but I dreamt a thousand times about kissing the boy I had grown to be best friends with, which was Linc. We had known each other our entire lives. He always wanted to know everything about me and he knew me well. Just as I knew him.
"You never needed an excuse," I said and smiled.
He caught my face between his hands and lowered his soft lips to mine.
***End Of Flashback***
The look in his eyes told me I should let go of him. He was about to do something neither of us could bounce back from.
For a moment, it felt as if we had shared the same flashback, as if our minds were somehow connected. I was sure the same memory put both of us in a daze.
His hands disappeared from the railing and he grabbed my face. Suddenly, I had forgotten where we were, what we were doing, and what my reasons were for being apart from him for so long. With pure ignorance on my part, I let him do it because no matter how I denied it, I needed it. I wasn't sure if it was the walks down memory lane or the emotions of our son or if it was simply because I had never fallen out of love with Lincoln Rider.
His chest rose and fell in the same pattern as it had that night at the rink. There was a shyness or nervousness as if it were the first time we kissed all over again. His lips locked with mine and they felt exactly the same as they always had. Sparks were exploding inside of me, burning my insides. It was unreal. It was perfect. It was as if I had never truly been kissed by anyone but Linc.
We weren't in therapy. I wasn't a professional. I wasn't a divorced single mom. At that moment, I was just Mya, the cliche good girl that fell head over heels for the exhilarant, wild, reckless bad boy.
My fingers dug into his hips as his lips parted and his minty breath washed over me. My tongue traced his bottom lip.
A throat cleared behind us, bringing us back down to earth. Both of us were out of breath as we turned to see who interrupted us. It was my boss Nancy. My face felt hotter than the sun. My heart thumped unsteadily. It felt as if I were the one who was paralyzed and about to collapse.
"Nancy," I gasped. "I—um—we were—"
"I did it," Lincoln said.
She cocked her eyebrow and head in his direction.
"I'm sorry. We won't act this way again during therapy."
"Are you. . .okay?" Nancy asked me, looking warily at Linc as if he posed some sort of threat to me.
"I'm great," I said. "As he said, it won't happen again."
"Come to my office after your shift," she said.
I stumbled back slightly away from Linc and gave her a weak nod.
She stalked off out of the room, and people were staring at us.
"I'm so fired," I whispered.
"No," Linc said and took two steps forward and grabbed my arm.
I gasped and looked down at his feet and back at him. He had been standing for a couple of minutes and took two steps without any support at all. "Linc—" I took two steps back and he matched my pace.
"Wait, I'm sorry, okay? I'll clear it up," he insisted.
"Linc. . ." I trailed off and smiled. I took a couple more steps away from him.
"What's wrong?" he asked and stepped closer. "We were just kind of in a moment. I didn't mean to. I mean, I know you don't want—"
"Lincoln," I said sternly.
"What?" he raised his voice higher in frustration.
"You're walking," I said and took two steps back.
He looked down at his feet and back where he had stood moments ago. He was near the edge of the rails. He glanced up at me. "Oh, fuck me."
"Linc," I said and sighed. "Language."
He smiled and took two more steps toward me and away from the rails. His steps were still heavy, no doubt, and he would need to rest, but he was walking. "Wow."
I giggled. "You did so good. God, I can't believe that."
"I know, right?" His eyes fell to his feet in shock as he took another measured step toward me. He was right in front of me. He looked into my eyes again. "I always knew you were my angel," he murmured and smiled.
Another old nickname tumbled from his mouth and made me smile. "It was all you," I insisted.
"No, it was you. My legs suddenly felt a hundred times lighter the second your lips touched mine."
I had forgotten this side of Linc. The side that could be downright sticky-sweet romantic. For a bad boy, he was so gentle, soft, and caring. It left me speechless, but the reality is, I might be losing my job. I had made inappropriate contact with a client.
Not only that, but I didn't want to give Linc the wrong idea and that is exactly what I had done. How could I fight my feelings for him after such a sweet and memorable kiss? How could I turn him away now?
***
Authors note
Don't forget to vote/comment! I hope you guys liked this chapter! I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to come on here and write this chapter. I wanted to the other day, but Wattpad was having issues on my end anyway. I haven't had a lot of free time. I'm a single mom of four kids and I have been packing because of moving.
Thanks for your patience!