Page 42 of An Unexpected Encounter

We pull apart quickly, Eli only holding onto my arm as we stare at each other.

“Yeah, what do you want?”

“Is Selena okay?”

“I’m fine,” I shout back with a shaky voice.

Eli gives my arm a squeeze, but I needed a moment alone.

“Umm, I’m going to brush my teeth. I’ll be back out in a minute. Go ahead and eat.”

“Are you sure?” he asks.

I nod my head, and he lets go of my arm. I immediately miss his touch. He smiles and leaves the bathroom.

I almost fucked up and kissed my brother.

Chapter 19

Elias

Leaving her made me sick.

She’s going to be there all alone. What if something happens? There’s no one there to help her.

The only bright spot was we convinced her to message us throughout the night and before she went to bed so we’d know that she was okay.

We follow Jay to take his truck home, and when he climbs into the backseat of mine so we can go to work, I realize I need to tell my brothers what almost happened.

“Umm, I have something to tell you guys,” I say as we head toward the station.

“I do too,” Jay adds.

That’s right, he did have something to say. I’d completely forgotten about it after spending the afternoon with Selena. Around four she started yawning, and we knew she was tired. She managed to go two hours without throwing up and was able to eat and drink a little more.

When we left, she was going to crawl into bed and go to sleep, promising again to message us when she woke up.

We weren’t going to wait that long.

If we hadn’t heard from her within four hours, we were going to call. In a perfect world, we’d ask her mother to check on her, but somehow we knew Julia wouldn’t be doing that. It would be an imposition on her.

“Okay, so who’s going first?” Zeke runs his hand through his hair as he shifts in his seat so he can look at both of us.

I tap my fingers on the steering wheel. Nervous as hell to tell them what I almost did. I’m not sure why it’s bothering me. Knowing Selena was going to return the gesture should make me excited and ready to scream it from the rooftops.

But what if doing that fucked shit up worse for us?

“One of you needs to say something. I feel like I’m the only one without a secret and I’d bet my chores around the house for a month that both these secrets have to do with Selena. So fucking spill it,” Zeke voices loudly, looking annoyed.

“Fine,” I relent, pulling off the road into a gas station parking lot. I don’t know how my news is going to go and I don’t want to be driving when I deliver it.

Once I’m parked, I turn off the truck and turn sideways in my seat. Taking a deep breath, I shift my gaze between the two of them.

“So I went to check on Selena—”

“When she was getting sick in the bathroom. Come on, Eli, we know that already. That’s not the bombshell news you seem to think it is.” Zeke lets out a laugh as he shakes his head.

“You didn’t let me finish, asshole,” I say through gritted teeth.

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