AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Liv
“Youwantsometea?”John asks as he makes his way to the kitchen.
“Sure.”
One month after I almost died, the pain still creeps up on me, but it’s fading. Everyone made it crystal clear that I will always have a security detail with me wherever I go after what happened. I didn’t argue.
I won’t be running marathons soon, or ever, but I’m alive and healthy. Physically, I’m doing great. But my brain is frantic. It takes forever to get to sleep, and when it comes, I’m plagued with nightmares.
Nightmares where Luke gets shot instead of me. He always dies in my arms, and I wake screaming in agony. My roommates are back on the air mattress. Except now that Dylan is the boss at Maddox, it's Garrett, Jordy, or Mark. Dylan helps where he can.
Luke and I haven’t been alone since I woke up in the hospital, and I only remember bits and pieces. The few times I’ve seen him, though, I can’t decide how I feel. I want to sing and dance and wrap my arms around him and celebrate that we somehow both made it out alive. But I can’t stand the way he looks at me. It’s one part relief, one part sadness, nestled in between guilt and regret. I miss the way he used to look at me. But that’s gone now.
The doorbell rings and Garrett hops up from the couch next to me to answer it. He returns with a contrite Jeremy.
John sets my steaming cup of tea on the coffee table, glares at my ex-husband, then leaves the room with Garrett. It’s progress.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” he asks, taking his ball cap off and squeezing the bill in his hands.
“I’m ok.” I gesture for him to have a seat.
He sits and takes a deep breath, setting his hat on the coffee table before turning to me. “All I ever do is apologize to you, but I can’t tell you how fucking sorry I am that I dragged you into my mess.”
Dylan has been filling me in on everything they’ve learned so far. “It’s not your fault Amber broke out of the institution. You can’t take the blame for her actions.”
“You wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for me.”
I smile at him. “Shit happens. You can’t control it any more than I can.”
I let him take my hand, and he rubs his thumb over mine, lost in thought. He did it often when we were together. He said I calmed his thoughts.
“It still works.” We smile at each other.
“How are you doing?” I can imagine watching both of your exes take bullets would be traumatizing.
He shrugs. “I cared for her, but I couldn’t help her. She made the wrong choice. It might make me a bad person, but I’m glad she’s the one in the ground instead of you.”
I squeeze his hand. We’re both quiet for a minute while he strokes my thumb with his. “You belong with him.”
I raise an eyebrow.
“Luke,” he clarifies.
I stay silent because there’s nothing to say.
“The way he held you when you were bleeding out, it was like he was bleeding out, too. He loves you, Liv. It kills me to admit it, but maybe more than I ever did. You deserve to be happy with him.”
“He made that pretty difficult to do when he left me.”
“Take it from the other guy in your life who fucked up. He regrets it. If you gave him another chance, I promise you he wouldn’t take it for granted.”
I stare at him as I read between the lines.He squeezes my hand and sets it in my lap, leaning over to kiss my cheek. “Just think about it.”
I smile at him as he stands and collects his hat.
“Text me when you’re ready to get back in the gym. You’re a badass, so I’m sure it will be soon.”
I follow him to the door and hold it open. We hug and he waves before heading down the steps. A familiar rumble fills the air, and an Aston Martin turns onto the street. Jeremy glances at the car and winks at me before he slips into his Audi and drives away. I leave the door open but return to the couch.
