AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Miles tips his head. Deciding something. He reaches into his bag and pulls out a sheaf of papers, and after a moment of consideration, he holds them out to me.
I take them.
It’s Aurora’s manuscript.
I flip through the pages slowly, carefully. Trying not to bend any of the corners as I do so. It’s a marvel. “How did you get this?”
“She told Willow about it. Said if anything happened to her, to go into her office and get it for you.”
“Nothing’s happening to her,” I bite out.
Miles looks at me.
Really looks.
No.
“No, dude, she’s fine.” I stand. “She’s okay. She’s a little beat up. Broken ribs, maybe, or…”
A lump forms in my throat.
“Stop staring at me like that.” I shake out my limbs. My muscles ache, the strain from the last few days starting to catch up with me. “Stop thinking the worst.”
“I called her dad,” he says quietly. “I talked to the nurses when it was clear you were out of it.”
“I’m not out of it.” I whirl around. “I’m right here. I’m paying attention, Miles.”
God, I hate him.
“You’re not.” He rises. “You’re notlistening.”
I shove him. Not hard, just… just a little. Because I don’t know what else to do. I push at him and ignore the truth in my face, and I want him to hit me like he did after I broke Willow’s heart. Because that was cruel of me, butthisis cruel of life.
Her heart is failing.
Do I deserve this?
Does she?
I think I’m crying.
Still, he takes it. He barely moves, and I hit him harder. Both hands on his chest. Until he returns it. Until he slams me against the wall next to the door, getting in my space.
“You have to face this, Knox. You cannot bury your head in the sand. It never works. Trust me.” He meets my gaze.
We used to be alike. Competitors, but alsobrothers. Best friends. And then I ruined our relationship. Band-Aids don’t fix things that are cut this deep, and one truth I don’t want to face is that we’re never going to get back to where things were.
He wants me to trust him, and I do. But he doesn’t trust me.
And I deserve it.
He releases me and steps back.
I stay where I am, eyeing him warily. The pages he gave me are sitting on one of the chairs, and my attention goes to them.
“She might die,” I whisper.
“Yes,” my brother agrees. “She might.”
