Page 98 of Fall Into Me

Words that I wouldn’t have described my life as if you’d asked me weeks ago.

The look on his face when I pulled out of the alley and onto the street was worth every second of my effort.

His eyes flared wide in surprise before his head whipped to the closed door of the café and then back to me. The biggest, brightest, shit-eating grin on my face was just for him, with my arm hanging out the window, flipping him the bird.

His laughter lit up my whole world at that moment. I felt it everywhere and not that I thought it was possible, but my smile stretched wider. So big that I was scared I wouldn’t be able to see past the way my eyes crinkled at the delight of it all.

“This isn’t over!” he called after me, delighted amusement all over his own face. I should’ve guessed my luck at being a step ahead of him all day had run dry when my drive-by fell flat on its face because one of the town’s three traffic lights, conveniently located right outside my café, had just turned yellow.

I pulled my hand in and went to press on the brakes to slow down, sure that Fane would meander over the moment I was stopped and make some quick guess about me being a getaway driver in another life, but…nothing happened.

I frowned and pressed on the brake pedal again, but the car wasn’t slowing down. There was no resistance, the pedal just smacked against the floor of the car, and when I looked up, all I could see was a silver truck picking up speed, Declan behind the wheel, and coming straight for me.

I feel like it’s pretty common for people to say that in the moments when they think they’re about to die, everything slows down. That time passes by so slowly that you have time to zone in on the details around you, like dust particles and the different layers of sound that surround you.

That didn’t happen to me.

I had one second. That’s what it felt like.

Declan was in stunning clarity, the way he was staring at me, picking up speed like he knew I couldn’t slow down. Like heknewI couldn’t stop.

I used my second to whip my head to the side, finding those brilliant violet eyes on me. Wide with fear, Fane’s name ripped from my throat while I yanked the steering wheel as far as it would go to the right, and then there was nothing.

30

Fane

After

The things running through my head felt like they were louder, more violent, surrounded by the white, stale hospital room we were in.

Cali’s hand was warm and soft where I gripped it in mine.

She looked perfect right now. Utterly untouched.

You couldn’t see the wound on her head they stitched closed or the bruising that had started to bloom around it. You couldn’t tell that she had a concussion. Didn’t know that she winced when she moved her head from the whiplash or the bruising across her chest from her seat belt.

But I knew it was there. I saw the blood trickling down the side of her head when her car had finally stopped, and she managed to unbuckle herself and open the door. I was right there the moment her legs gave out, and I gently lowered her to the ground.

“Rose,” I murmured. My heart was going fucking wild. Torn between never wanting to take my eyes off her again and looking up to see where Declan was. I gave in, feeling his eyes boring into me from where he was sitting and staring at us from his truck. Our eyes met for a second before he turned the car back on and disappeared, like nothing had fucking happened.

“Fane,” Cali said, her voice faint, her eyes fluttering half-closed. “Don’t tell Fane, okay?”

“Baby, hey, look at me.” I was terrified to touch her, certain that she shouldn’t be fucking moving. I moved my hands up, trying to hold her head still when she winced after turning it, like she was looking for something. Her hand reached up to touch the side of her head, and when her fingers came away with blood on them, her eyes went wide with panic.

“Oh crap,” she mumbled before looking at the bright red drips that had already descended onto her blue shirt. “This is never going to come out.”

I choked a laugh, and she finally settled her eyes on me, the mossy green in them piercing. “I’ll buy you a new damn shirt.”

“Fane.” Her body sagged in relief the moment she realized I was there before she made a sharp inhale. “Don’t tell my dad. He’ll worry.”

I didn’t tell her that he probably already knew, but I just nodded at her, keeping her head still and my eyes on hers.

“You saw him that time too?” she murmured, and before I could even reply, she kept going. “I thought I made it up the first time.”

The first time what? That’s what had been on the tip of my tongue when the ambulance pulled up, and I gave them a recount of what had happened. I rode with Cali all the way to the small hospital, and it was hard to even bring myself to blink. To miss out on having my eyes on her for even a second.

I stood and watched as they assessed her. When they told her dad, who had ended up beating us to the hospital, regardless of Cali’s wish not to tell him. He hadn’t faltered, just listened to everything they said with gruff determination.

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