Reid
I watch Willow down another glass of champagne and grab her wrist. “I think you’ve had enough, Miss Creed,” I tell her, but she snatches her wrist back and puts a finger to her lips.
“Shhh, Missster bossyyy,” she says through slurs and hiccups. Sighing, I pulled her towards the exit, knowing she would soon be making a fool of herself in front of very important people.
“Where are you - Where are you taking me?” She asks, looking around, but I decide to remain silent because I knew she would only argue with me. Even in a drunken state, Willow is unfailingly argumentative; if not more so.
How did I not notice that she had been drinking too much since her editor put his slimy hands all over her? Clearly, this was hitting her harder than she had let on, and the mere thought of it pissed me off.
Even though we were in a fake relationship, I should have defended her honour on that stage. Was I that much of an asshole?
I
Willow Eh? EH?! I jump up and immediately regret it because of my throbbing headache and eyesight going blurry. “Fuck,” I mutter, holding my head and squinting at Reid. “We were on TV?” I ask, trying to remember if I saw cameras last night but coming up empty. “Yip. You made the news and I was seen on your arm so naturally, my family assumed we were a couple.” He says in an exasperated sigh before turning his head to look at me. “I’ll go get dressed and take you home; I’m sure you’re dying to get out of those clothes.” Why did that sound so naughty though? As if picking up on my thoughts, he chuckles. “I’ll be out in a bit.” I watch him walk towards the room I slept in and breathe out a sigh. Reid took care of me again last night. He could have just left me in the lobby of my condo and had the concierge take me up to my room, but he brought me here again. Why was he being so nice to me?
Willow When I put down my coat and bag, I remove my cell phone and dread looking at it; Mel would have blown up my message box by now. But with a sigh, I unlock my phone and prepare myself: 17 Messages and 5 Phone Calls. “Fuck sakes, Mel,” I say mumble as I walk to my room to strip last night’s clothes off. When I scroll, I realise that it wasn’t all from Mel: Matthew Greene commented on his dress that I wore to my literal debut, and Michael sent me a congratulatory message along with an ominous “Let’s talk on Monday,” Huh? The rest were from my best friend, of course. “Brunch tomorrow, the usual?” I look over at Bootsie lounging on my bed, so much for her missing me; the bitch barely lifted her head when she saw me. I sent her a text, to which she responded with a heart and thumbs up. I bet she’s trying really hard to control her curiosity and is probably pissed off at me for not contacting her sooner. Oh, well, it wasn’t lik
Willow We step into The Grayson’s home, and I am quite surprised by the minimalist decor. Reid’s father, Ridge, is a hotshot lawyer who had his sights set on the mayoral position, yet their wealth didn’t show here. I suddenly feel overdressed and see what Reid meant by going all out with my attire. “Don’t worry, just be yourself,” Reid says as if he could sense my unease while removing my coat. I sigh; how does he switch from asshole to caring in the space of 5 minutes? The man has some major issues. “Reid, honey,” A woman exclaims while walking towards us. She was of average height but a classic beauty with brunette curls that fell just below her shoulders. Her tanned skin shows she loved the sun, and wrinkles proved that she laughed a lot in her years. I see where Reid gets his eye colour from as well. She walks up to him, and he kisses both her cheeks, but what I find strange is the dopey smile on his face. He must truly lo
Willow Reid hasn’t started his car yet, so we remain sitting in silence. I know what was running through his head because I was thinking the same: he was about to kiss me, and I would have let him. I’m pretty sure this changed things between us as we were bordering on the line we were not allowed to cross. Should I wait for him to speak first? Then he sighs and starts the car. “I was wondering,” he begins when turning into the winding road leading away from his parent’s place. “If your parents abandoned you in a park and you grew up in an orphanage, who named you?” I look over at him and chuckle, so that’s what he’s been thinking about? “It’s a stupid story. The park bench on where they found me was next to a willow tree. The plaque on the bench said that a Creed family from New England donated it.” I say, recounting what the orphanage matron had told me. He turns his head and smiles at me, “That’s not a stupid story a
Willow** SELF HARM TRIGGER WARNING, DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE EASILY TRIGGERED** I wipe my tears away and step into the lobby of my building. I have to stop feeling sorry for myself, especially when it comes to men. For the last few years I have been doing fine all by myself, so I know I’m stronger than this crush. Yeah, just gotta think positive from now on and put Reid Grayson out of my mind. “Specs!” I hear behind me and sigh; damn Noah and that nickname. I turn around and glare at him, but he holds up his hands in surrender. “Hey, I called your name but you didn’t react at all.” He says. What? Was I that deep in thought? I sigh and look at him, noticing the sincerity in his eyes and immediately feeling guilty. “Sorry, Noah. Going through a lot at the moment.” I responded. He frowns at my answer, then as if noticing my tear-streaked face, his eyes widen slightly. “Blimey, okay I get it. But don’t think for
Willow It’s been three days, and Reid hasn’t come into the office at all. Was he that serious about avoiding me? In any case, I have tried not to give him any further thought after what happened between us on Sunday. It was his decision to run away when things got a bit too hectic, and for some reason, I felt grateful. For instance, I wouldn’t have become friends with Noah if we didn’t end things in front of my building. Speaking of which, Noah and I have been going out for coffee almost every evening after I get home from work. He truly isn’t what I expected; for one - the man has a mini stuffed toy collection hidden in his condo! It’s the most adorable thing ever. He even offered me one (which I readily took because it was a mini Totoro, so don’t judge me, okay.) I tease him about it often, and he actually humours me instead of getting upset. Mel has been too busy, so I barely see her now. I didn’t want to tell her about what happen
Willow “I still call bullshit,” I say to Noah after we ordered our coffees. He crosses his arms on the table and chuckles while shaking his head. “Listen, I’m a guy, and I can tell when another bloke is sizing me up in front of a woman; that tosser wasn’t happy seeing you with me. Now, are you going to tell me what’s going on, or do I have to drag it out of you?” He asks. I didn’t really feel like getting into it right now, but it would be unfair of me not to tell him a little bit about myself when he basically spills his guts to me all the time. I let out a sigh. “Okay, but promise me you won’t laugh.” He puts up his hand in a Scout’s Honour gesture, and I already feel myself dreading this conversation. During my story, Noah doesn’t interject at all... Noah sat quietly and listened from Reid’s proposal to the disaster of a gala, his mother’s birthday dinner and the aftermath. When I finally got to the part where I met him in
Willow It’s been a week after Noah and I were out and about with the paps snapping away at us. Since I’m not a major star, it never made the tabloids, so I’m not sure what Noah was thinking. He’s a rockstar, so your usual run-of-the-mill businessman or lawyer wouldn’t read gossip magazines. Where was this heading again? When I arrived at work, Michael called in to say that he couldn’t come in to work due to feeling under the weather, so I had to rearrange his entire schedule. It kept me busy for the entirety of the morning as I made the decision to give him at least two days to rest up. It was so odd, in the years I’ve been here Michael has never fallen ill. I hope he gets better soon. When I had a bit of time after the morning rush, I decided to call Zack to arrange a meeting with regards to the N*****x contract. If I didn’t do it now, he would always think of me as a pushover. He answered on the second ring. “Willow! Fancy hearing f
Willow Building an empire alone is one thing, but building an empire with someone you loved was something else entirely. You strive for the other’s success and knowing you had them in the corner with you meant so much more. A year after his surgery and chemo, we decided to add more rooms to the lake house; two studies and two guest rooms for when the family visits. It cost us a pretty penny, but with the success of my romance novels, and Reid selling the shares in his father’s law firm, we were good for it. I managed to open my own editorial house as well, so now I manage myself and at least four other new authors. My success was growing and so was Reid’s, who had a knack for the business world. Soon after he joined one of the largest marketing firms in Denver did they see a rise in their price on the stock market. Reid started being known as ‘Golden Thumbs’, whatever he touched seemed to multiply in success. I’m so proud of him and e
Willow My head whips to the door, and I take in the sight of the man I deemed my brother before running straight into his arms. Noah knew all the right things to say, and when I told him about what would happen today, he said he would be here for me until I decided to chase him away. “Noah!” I exclaim, wrapping my arms around his neck and taking in the familiar scent of him. I heard the low chuckle in his chest as he held me close, knowing words couldn’t express what I was feeling right now. When he lets go of me, we walk over to the bed I would be sleeping in and sit down, where Noah places his hand over mine. “I thought I used to be a fucking tough rockstar, fighting depression while performing in front of thousands, but what you’re doing blows all that away. You’re an amazing person and an even tougher bird, Specs. I take my hat off to you for what you’re doing, but since I am the only one that can currently see through your bullsh
Willow Okay, I knew this would come; I didn’t know it would come so soon after we just made love. Reid looks at me and cups my cheek, wiping away the tears that had formed even before he told me. T hey discovered another tumour and had no idea if it was cancerous or not, but River would get back to him with the results in a day. If all goes well, they will remove the new tumour and proceed with chemo to eliminate the parts they couldn’t remove. But for now, they didn’t know if it was malignant or benign… the test would reveal that. “I didn’t want to ruin our first Christmas together, especially not after what you did for me. But it felt wrong to hide this from you,” he says while his bottom lip trembled. This was more difficult for him than it was for me, knowing that he just got this happiness and it might be taken away just as quickly. “I understand. Thank you for telling me. I’ll still be by your side, no matter the outcome
Reid How is everything so perfect and yet so devastatingly painful? I sat down opposite the woman who has come to mean so much to me, and she’s chatting away while we’re having lunch as if yesterday’s events didn’t loom over us. She’s decorated my home for Christmas to welcome me back, and she’s cooked for me - how could fate be so cruel as to give me someone like Willow Creed, knowing that I wouldn’t be long for this world? When River came to me this morning, I didn’t expect him to deliver the news he did since they gave me the all-clear on the operation. But he received a call this morning to say that there was an error in one of my MRI scans, and what do you know? They discovered another tumour and is clearly inoperable at this stage. He took some tissue samples this morning and would let me know if it was malignant or benign. But there is an out if it is cancerous, and it comes with radiation treatment and chemo, so that means man
Willow As soon as Reid was out, I left the hospital and made my way back to my condo while driving his car. As much as I wished to stay at his side, I was pretty drained and would do him no good by feeling this way. When I arrive at my condo, I grab a few more items I would need and head back to Reid’s lake house. Yeah, this was my home and all, but the lake house has come to be an important place for me as well. Within the hour, I was back at the lake house and didn’t even bother to shower as I headed straight for the bed. The pillowcases still smelled like him, and before I knew it, I had passed out with nothing but thoughts of Reid on my mind. When I open my eyes the following morning, I reach over to the spot where Reid should be, only to find it unoccupied. I had such a wonderful dream before I woke up, and to not see him beside me crushed my heart a bit. No worries, I suppose; he’s in the hospital and would probably get released
Reid My father is standing in front of me, sobbing his heart out because apparently, he blamed himself for my stroke. River said the same thing, even after I told them it was okay. What’s the point in whining over a death that would have ultimately come? Yes, they pissed me off with what they said, but that didn’t mean that I hated them for it. “You’re not a defective son, Reid. Please don’t ever think that about yourself! I am proud of what you’ve accomplished with your life, but I don’t want you to live your life to please me anymore. When you’re 100%, we can go over what you want to do from now on, okay?” My dad says while gripping my shoulder. I nod and give him a wan smile before he walks away again. My meningioma has grown no larger than my last check-up, so they have prepped me for an operation on the 30th, which was a few days away. I have to admit that I am terrified; even though everything still seems a bit hazy to me, I am still aw
Willow I watch Reid slump against the car door and wrench the steering wheel from his hands, with my heart beating right out of my chest. Thank God that this is an automatic, or I probably would be dead right now. After I bring the car to a stop, I check Reid’s pulse and breathing, then pull out my cell phone to call River. Fuck their differences right now. I have no idea how I am remaining so calm, but I have a feeling that this will all probably hit me once the adrenaline leaves my body. I exhale, then dial River’s number, who answers on the first ring. “Willow! Hey, listen,-” “No, I don’t have time for that now, River. There’s been an accident and Reid has passed out.” I say and go on to tell him where we were currently before putting the phone down and actually calling an ambulance. When my eyes fall on Reid, I notice the side of his mouth is a bit turned down and realise what could have happened. He was so angry, so pissed off at his fami
Reid My father watches me with a glare, and before he even opens his mouth, I know what is coming. “Do you know how you’ve made your mother feel with this stunt you’ve pulled, Reid?” He says, the fake smile dropping from his face as promptly as he put it there. I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose before straightening my back to answer him. “And I have apologised to her profusely for going MIA on all of you, have I not?” I say, leaning against the kitchen counter. River shakes his head. “That’s not what dad means, Reid.” He says, the joy in his eyes earlier replaced by disappointment. “Don’t think for one minute that we’re not happy you’ve decided to live. But how do you think mom feels knowing that she wasn’t the one to make you change your mind?” I look at both of them, dumbfounded that this would be the conclusion they would come to after all this time. “So you guys are happy that I’ve chosen to live, but not that
Willow I’m watching Reid from the passenger seat and noting how completely calm he looks. Instead of the rigid lawyer now sat a man with his mind made up and chatting happily while sitting slightly slumped in his seat. I can’t help but think how much his decision weighed on him, knowing he could die at any given moment. Allowing myself to smile a little, I take in this different side of him with a happy heart. “My mom is looking forward to seeing you, as usual,” he says with a snicker, his eyes flickering towards me, then back to the road. “I’m a bit nervous about seeing your family after all this time,” I admit while fidgeting in my seat a bit. Yeah, it was all good and well that Reid had changed his mind about the surgery, but I had literally cut them all out of my life since we ‘broke up’ after Aspen. Would they still hold a grudge? Reid looks over at me and grins. “I can promise you now that you have nothing to be