Page 87 of Forgiving Fate

She finally releases me and moves to stand next to me as we look out at the crowd of people. We stand there for a moment until she bumps my shoulder. “Just know that I am very proud of you for being there for her. She needs someone in her corner and I’m glad it’s you. You are stronger than you believe, and I know you are doing wonders for her during this time.”

I know she means on a deeper level, but my mind immediately goes to last night.

After our hundredth round of Uno, we both went to bed, but it wasn’t long before Allie crawled into bed with me. She kissed me and we practically melted into the bed and fell asleep in each other’s arms. Our arrangement came out of nowhere, but I am so fucking happy it came when it did because Allie stabbing me was the closest I have been to rock bottom.

Dad walks up and gives me a pat on the back. “Glad you could make it, son. Wes still in Canada?”

I nod, “Not sure. Last time I spoke to him, he said he was coming home, but didn't say when he'd be back.”

Dad nods in agreement. “Sounds good. Hopefully, he will make an appearance today. You know how your mother gets when her boys are away for too long.”

Mom leans forward and glares at Dad. “Heard that. And yes, I do worry. That’s what a mother does. It’s my job.”

She is about to continue when Grayson calls my name, “Landon.” He waves his arm to come into the living room.

I go to grab a beer from the cooler sitting next to the island and stop.

I cannot be drunk. I will not drink when Allie is waiting for me at my place. Instead, I grab a Dr. Pepper and make my way into the living room.

Lainey moves to sit on the arm of the sofa next to Noah and Noah leans over to whisper something in her ear, causing her to laugh.

I guess they have been hanging out and getting to know each other since she came into town.

As I’m sitting down in one of the chairs, Leo comes back from the bathroom and searches for a place to sit. He looks around and I’m about to get up and offer him my seat when Noah motions for him to sit down on the ground in front of his legs. Leo flashes me a smile and sits down.

“So Lan, how’s it been? I haven’t seen you around much.” Lainey says.

I shrug. “It’s been fine. Work has been busy, and the storm has made it hard to get around. Plus, I got hurt the other day, so I’ve been resting.”

Fuck.As soon as the words leave my mouth, I know I messed up. Even Harper stops her conversation with Sebastian. She normally has no care in the world and tries her hardest to not get involved with what we do. She has adopted the philosophy of, “If I don’t pay attention or avoid it, I am not involved”. But we all know she would drop everything if any of us asked for help.

The room is silent, and I wait for the questions to start.

I really need a fucking drink.

To no surprise, Noah is the first one to speak up. “What heroic act got you to come out of your cyber cave and ended up hurting you?“

“Maybe I slipped on the ice or something. Why do you assume it was a heroic act? That’s not my norm.” My voice is full of sarcasm and a hint of coldness.

Logan’s brows furrow and she says, “Did you slip on the ice?”

Taking a deep breath, I shake my head. “No.”

“For fuck’s sake man, just tell us what happened? Why make it harder than it needs to be?” Travis says, surprising all of us, since he is usually the quiet one. He may be full of tattoos and look like he could live in the mountains for years at time and bite your head off, but he is one of the nicest people I know and an incredible artist. He has done just as many of my tattoos as Gray has.

Despite the shock, Mom still pipes in, “Trav. Glad you finally feel comfortable saying what everyone else is thinking, but keep the language to the shop. I like to pretend you are all six and don’t know curse words.”

Trav nods. “Sorry Mama Hayes.” He turns his focus to me. “Just tell us Landon.”

“Allie stabbed me.”

Good job, idiot. That was exactly the way you needed to say that.

Logan’s head whips back and forth from me to Gray to Harper. “What did you just fucking say?” Before Mom can interrupt, Logan turns to her and says, “Sorry, Shelly.”

Mom shakes her head, “No Lo. That one was okay.”

I sigh. They need to know, but I don’t want to reveal Allie’s state of mind since she is still adamant that she needs more time before facing her best friend. I hate this mental gymnastics.

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