AllFreeNovel
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At some point, I have to get out of bed, but I honestly can’t bring myself to care about having a shower or being productive. I don’t have a shift at the library. The universe is giving me a day to wallow, and I’m going to take it.
I hear thudding footsteps on the landing. Apparently my friends aren’t having lazy, wallowing days, too.
“Ainsley, come with me,” Freya says, bursting into my room. Her face is pale, her hands trembling, obvious panic etched into the corners of her eyes.
I scramble to sit up, half startled, my heart thudding by the distress in her voice. Something’s wrong. “What?”
She holds onto my doorhandle like it’s propping her up. “Ains, it’s Casper.”
It takes a full five seconds for my brain to process what she’s said. It’s not even what she said, it’sthe wayshe said it. Like there’s something wrong—something’s happened to him—but that can’t be true.
It’s Casper. Just two short words, but they have the power to stop my heart.
What she says next could crush it.
I clench my hands around my quilt, needing something to hold onto in case I fall. “W-what about him?”
“He was involved in an incident. Come on, I’ll take you to the hospital.”
“Hospital? What happened?” I shove the quilt away and jump out of bed, scanning the room for something to wear. “Shit, where are my clothes?”
“Here,” she says, throwing a discarded pair of jeans at me. “I’ll get you the rest. It’s going to be okay.”
I dress in my underwear and jeans, fumbling with the button with hands that are working against me.
“What happened?” I ask again, terrified that she’s going to tell me he’s dead. “Why won’t you tell me?”
“We just need to get there.”
She passes me a T-shirt that I sling on while I wait for a fucking answer.
“Freya!”
Grabbing my phone off my bedside table, she hands it to me and says, “Come on.”
I stop at the bottom of the stairs, and she does a double take. She’s not telling me because he’s gone. The room spins, and I think I might stumble to the floor.
Freya said incident, not accident. Casper is gone, and the last thing I told him was to leave me alone.
I gasp for breath, but all the oxygen has been sucked from the air.
“Ainsley.” She takes my hand and speaks softly. It’s the voice you use when delivering bad news or condolences. I can’t fucking breathe. “I need you to get in the car. Can you do that?”
I nod—at least I think I do—and pull her in so that I can see her more clearly. See the lie if she’s about to tell one. “What happened to him?”
Yesterday, I sent him away. I told him to give me space until I was ready to deal with what he’d done. He looked so devastated. What if that look of utter heartache is the last image I will ever have of him? What if last night was the first time I will have to sleep without him for the rest of my life?
“I don’t know for sure, but we need to get to the hospital.”
“Tell me he’s alive.”
Freya pulls me along, through the house and out to her car.
I stumble, looking around at the sun shining as if it has no idea of the torment I’m going through. How can such beautiful weather come out today?
Freya puts me in the car and closes the door. When she gets in, I turn to her with wide, blurry eyes. “Freya, I’m scared.”
“I know, but he’s going to be okay. This is Casper.”
