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SEVEN
Istared out over the lake, my bare feet dangling into the water. My chest still hurt like it always did after an anxiety attack. I felt exhausted and drained, my muscles sore. And it was because I always tensed up during them. And my chest hurt because of me beating at it and struggling to breathe.
After I’d freaked out, Dad had backed off, calming me down until I felt okay enough to get some air, though Trent had held my elbow and walked with me out to the dock. He’d given me strict instructions to text him when I was ready to come in—that he didn’t want me walking by myself yet, which was understandable. I was always shaky for a couple of hours after one that bad.
The sun had set long ago, and the sky was turning darker, the moon coming out to play, casting its glow over the dark, murky water.
“You planning on staying out here all night, sis?” I heard Trent quietly ask as he walked down the dock, his bare feet barely making any sound on the boards.
I just shrugged. He sat down beside me, letting his feet dangle in the water as well. I looked over at him. “How come you’ve never moved out?” I asked him, honestly curious. As much as he and Dad used to butt heads while he was growing up, I would have thought he would have moved out the moment he turned eighteen.
Yet, he continued to stick around.
“Because you need me here,” he said quietly, looking out over the water with me. “I thought about moving out a couple of years ago, but your anxiety started getting really bad. Dad pulled me aside and begged me to stay. He knows how close you and I are.”
I frowned. “I’m not your responsibility, Trent,” I said softly. I hated that I was holding him back. It wasn’t fair. He wasn’t my parent. This wasn’t his job. “You’re not going to be able to be there for me forever.”
He shrugged. “I’m going to be here for you as long as I fucking can, Bailey.” He looked over at me. “That means I’m also going to do my best to protect you against bad shit—like Seth.”
I looked away from him, staring down at the dark water below. “I’m not talking about that,” I told him firmly. I wasn’t changing my mind on Seth. I didn’t care how bad any of this turned out. If something happened to Seth because I gave up on him, I’d never forgive myself.
He sighed. “Just promise me that you’ll be careful?” he asked. “He’s going to hurt you, Bailey.” I already knew that.“I promise, no matter how I feel about the situation, Bailey, you can always count on me, okay?”
“Thanks,” I whispered. Because something in my gut told me I was going to need that promise one day.
He stood up and held his hands out to me. “Come on. Let’s go ride the ATVs and blow off some steam, yeah?”
I placed my hands in his, allowing him to pull me up to my feet. “Think Dad is going to allow that?”
Trent winked at me. “Let me talk to Mom.”
I laughed. Dad was so in love with our mom even after all of these years together. He would do just about anything so long as it made her happy.
I waited downstairs in the living room for Trent as he jogged up the stairs to go talk to our mom. He came down a couple of minutes later holding keys. “Come on.” He grinned. “Mom is getting Dad on board. You’re riding with me.”
I pouted. “Why?”
He shot me a deadpan look. “After the attack you just had, you’re not driving by yourself.”
I sighed but didn’t argue because I knew he was right. I didn’t need to be driving after the episode I’d just had.
Riding with my brother was always a blast, but it was something I hadn’t done in a while now. I hadn’t realized how much I had missed bonding with my brother like this. We were both busy. He had work. I had school. We didn’t get to spend as much time together as we used to.
My shoes were quickly ruined, both of us covered in mud, but we were laughing and having a blast, so neither of us actually cared. We’d bathe and deal with the consequences of our mess later when we got back to the house.
Suddenly, a dead branch fell from one of the trees above us. “Shit!” Trent yelled at the same time I screamed. Trent yanked the ATV to the side, but he did it too quickly, not paying attention, and sent us into a hole, making the vehicle flip.
Pain.
Burning.
That was all I could register as a scream of agony tore from my lips, the ATV laying across my legs. My arm was bent at an awkward angle, pain pulsing through the extremity.
“Bailey, breathe,” Trent ordered as he pushed the vehicle off of me. His phone was already to his ear as he gently rolled me to my back. “Dad, I need you to come get us. Bailey is hurt. She needs a hospital.”
I sobbed, trying to remember how to breathe. So much pain. All of that burning. It was so hard to do anything except focus on all of it.
“Her legs are burned, and her arm is definitely broken.” Trent gently patted my cheek, forcing my eyes up to his. “Breathe, Bailey. Just breathe, you hear me? Panicking is only going to make it all hurt worse.”
I whimpered. Sobbed. Screamed again. It hurt so much!
A couple of minutes later, Dad’s four-wheel-drive truck came barreling through the woods, coming to a stop near us. “Dad,” I cried when he jumped out, “it hurts.”
He scooped me up into his arms, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “I know, princess. Just breathe. We’re going to get you some help, okay?” He looked at Trent. “You’re driving.”
Dad slid into the backseat with me, talking to me in a low, soothing voice to keep me from losing my mind. Mom turned in her seat and grabbed my hand, both of them keeping me grounded. Because if they didn’t, I felt like I was going to lose my mind. There was too much . . . everything. Everything was too much.
