Page 82 of Breathless With Her

Amelia waved him off. “Thea and I handled it. Don’t worry. We’re not getting kicked out. Plus, we need to make sure that big brother here doesn’t pop a stitch or something or be an idiot. Because, seriously, he got hit by a damn car.”

“I didn’t mean to. There was a dog.”

“Are you sure you didn’t throw the dog into the street?” Caleb asked, and I flipped him off.

“I don’t hate dogs.”

“And yet, one tried to kill you,” Dimitri said, shrugging. “I’m just saying.”

“The little thing came at me. I tried to get away from it, but it moved past me and into the street. When I tried to get to it, I got hit by the car instead. But the dog is fine.”

“Yes, I saw the big busty blonde come in and make sure you were all good.” Amelia kind of growled out the words, and I narrowed my eyes.

“Stop it.”

“I’m just saying,” she said, looking down at her phone.

I could hear the worry in her voice. All of them had been worried. Hell,Ihad been worried. I got hit by a car.

It was ridiculous.

“I’m okay,” I whispered and reached out for her. I winced a bit, and she scrambled up from the chair to take my hand and close the distance. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

“Not any more than I already am, right?”

“You just need to get better, okay?”

“Yes. Because the fact that you made the news asPostman Saves Dog and Gets Hit by a Caror some shit like that is really too much for us. We’re a nice, calm family.”

I just glared at Caleb, and Dimitri shrugged.

“Well, we try to be calm. We’re not always.”

“Well,” Thea began, “when you’re out, we’ll make sure you’re all taken care of. We’ll even have a little party or something. I can bring cheese. And, of course, cake.”

Someone cleared their throat in the doorway, and I froze. I knew that voice. “I can bring cake, too,” Erin whispered from the hall. Everyone moved out of the way.

Awkward didn’t begin to cover it.

They all gave me guilty looks, and I had to wonder what the fuck that was about.

Soon, they left as if they suddenly had somewhere else to be, and I was left alone with Erin. The girl who had dumped me. And hadn’t shown up until now.

Well, at least she had shown up.

The fact that I was still a bit full of sour grapes wasn’t helping. I blamed it on the meds. I was just so fucking angry. Mad at myself. Upset at her. Pissed off at the damn car. No one had gotten in trouble. After all, I hadn’t been too hurt. Spleen or no spleen. I would be fine. But I’d have to work behind a damn desk or something at work, which just angered me more.

I had worked for years to get the route that I wanted, and now I was going to lose it. And there was no promise that I would get it back once I could walk normally again. If I could walk without a limp at all. Jesus Christ, I had gotten hit by a car.

I looked at Erin, and I felt like I got hit all over again.

“I didn’t mean for everybody to go,” she whispered.

She had dark circles under her eyes, and her hair had been brushed back from her face in a messy bun behind her head. She had on her work uniform, but it looked like she hadn’t slept at all.

Well, that made two of us. The only time I’d really slept was when I had been out of it and under anesthesia, and then on pain meds. None of that meant I’d rested. Not really.

“Well, apparently, they thought we needed some privacy,” I growled out.