Page 114 of Fall With Me (Sugarland Creek)

Angela meets my gaze, an almost sympathetic expression on her face. “He's the one who helped put me in there.”

My heart all but stops at the accusation. It’s racing so hard, I can hear it beating in my ears.

“That can't be right. No.No…” I fall to my knees before I realize they give out.

Mom and Dad are at my side before I can cry out for help.

Dizziness takes over when my chest tightens, and I clutch my throat, fighting with my lungs to let me breathe.

My mind works overtime when thoughts of Landen surface—memories of before the accident.

When we'd train together.

When he'd annoy me at the most random of times.

When I recall what he'd done to Angela.

And I hated him.

But my heart still feels everything for him.

“You're having an anxiety attack, Ellie. Try to inhale and exhale slowly, sweetheart.” Mom's soothing voice is the last thing I hear before my eyes close and lose consciousness.

Chapter Twenty-Six

LANDEN

Since I'm not cooking for Ellie tonight, I head to The Lodge to grab something to eat for dinner. Wilder and Waylon are sitting at our normal table, staring at their phones.

“Hey,” I greet but neither move. “Y'all lookin' at porn or what the fuck?”

Finally, they look up. But there's remorse in their gazes.

“What?” I ask.

They look at each other and now I'm suspicious as hell.

“What the hell is going on?” I cross my arms, demanding one of them speak up.

“It's a news article about Angela being released from prison. She got parole,” Waylon says.

“Yeah, Warren told me. So I guess she's officially out now? That's what the article says?”

Hopefully, it recaps the fact that she's amurderer.

“It mentions Ellie,” Wilder says hesitantly.

I furrow my brows, reaching for one of their phones. “Mentions her how?”

Scanning the article, I roll my eyes at the reference to Angela'sgood behaviorbefore I see Ellie's name at the bottom.

“The Creek Chronicles reached out to local three-time NFR qualifier barrel racer, Ellie Donovan, but she had no comment about her cousin's impending early release,” I read aloud.

“What the fuck?” I look between the twins before re-reading it. “Angela's not her cousin.”

“We were lookin' it up,” Wilder says. “There was an old article from Angela's trial and it mentions her mom, Phoebe Ryan, but her maiden name is Cotton.”

“And what's that mean?” I ask.

---