Page 175 of Puck Prince

I try to look down and assess myself, but my brain sloshes around inside my skull like wet sand. My facehurts.

“You’re okay,” he breathes, the two words dripping with his own relief.

“Am I awake?” If I’m not, this is a fine dream. At least Owen is here.

He nods. “Yes.”

“How do you know?”

I expect him to pinch me or something. Instead, he takes my hand and kisses it. His lips are warm. As I watch, I see the split in his bottom lip. The bruise forming on his chin.

The crash was real. We were in an accident.

Owen looks so sad. Shattered. I’ve never seen him like this before.

“Are you—” I reach for his face again, but the IV stops me. My hand falls to my stomach, and reality crashes down over my head. “The baby,” I choke out. “Is my baby okay?”

“The baby is okay.” He gives me a tight smile. “The baby is fine.”

“You’ve got a little fighter in there.” I turn to see a nurse looking over my vitals. “You all were very lucky.”

I breathe out a heavy sigh of relief and collapse back into the bed.The baby is okay. Spencer isn’t here.

Everything is fine.

But then I look at Owen again and anxiety slithers under my skin. He looks terrible. It’s not just his swollen lip or his bruises; his eyes are downcast and his jaw is tight.

He looks like hell inside and out.

“Owen, I’m so sorry. I?—”

“No.” He grounds the word out between his teeth. “Stop, Callie.I’m sorry.This is my fault. All of it.”

I shake my head. “It isn’t. I lied to you.”

“And I lied to you,” he cuts me off. “I told you I’d keep you safe, and I didn’t.”

I gape at him, unsure how to even respond. The only solid ground I’ve had in weeks is this man. “What are you talking about? You rescued me.”

The nurse quietly exits the room to give us privacy.

“I shouldn’t have had to save you. You never should’ve been put in this position. You came to the Scythes looking to start over,and I put you right back in danger.” He shoves a hand through his hair, and I see that his other arm is in a sling. All I want to do is hold him, but he won’t even look at me. “I should’ve found another way to protect Summer. I was selfish with you. It was wrong.”

“Owen. You haven’t put me in danger.” I sit up straight, wincing as I do. I don’t think anything is broken, but my entire body feels like I was hit by a fucking bus. For all I know, I was. “I lied. I kept things from you. It’s not all on you.”

I want to move past this. I want to forget it all. None of it matters right now. The fact that I’m alive, the baby is alive, and we’re going to be okay is all I care about.

But Owen’s eyes are still dark. His mouth is still turned down. He’s a mess.

I try another angle. Another way to make him see that we’re together right now, beating the odds despite the circumstances and it’s going to be okay.

“My life was a mess before you came into it. I trusted someone I shouldn’t have and didn’t know how to get out of it until it was too late. I got hurt and messed up my career. None of that had anything to do with you.”

“But it does Callie!” Owen cuts me off, his words sharp and twisted with anger. “Because it always comes back to me. All the pain, all the hurt people I care about are dealing with, it’s a cycle. And the cycle comes back to me.”

“I don’t understand,” I say, tears brimming in my eyes.

“When my mom was getting abused by every guy that walked into our home, all I wanted was to be big enough and strongenough to help her. By the time I was, it was too late. I thought I could shield Summer, but it’s not enough. Just being close to me puts her in danger. Now, the same thing is happening to you. But it’s not just you anymore; it’s our child, too. All I ever wanted was to protect the people I love, but I’m actually the reason you all need protecting. And it has to stop.”

---