Page 123 of Down & Dirty

“Good.” He went to walk away, but stopped, turning back my way. “Tell me you didn’t fuck with my sister.” His steely blue irises, just like Sky’s, leveled me with a flat stare.

“I swear to god, I don’t know what’s going on. I would never hurt her.”

He nodded. “I believe that.” His eyes flicked over my shoulder and he let out a loud sigh. “Turn around.”

When I did, I found Sky standing twenty feet away, pinning me with her gaze, fear and hurt in her eyes. My chest seized at the look on her face, the painful ache deeper and harsher than anything I’d felt slamming into the ground. “Baby,” I exhaled, my relief at seeing her erased by the way she flinched at the word.

I took a handful of steps toward where she was frozen in place. But as I got closer, she held up a hand.

“How bad is it?” she scanned me, scowling as her eyes swept over my body.

“It’s fine,” I said, reaching for her, but she jerked back. “Skylar?”

Air rushed out of her as her expression flattened into a mask. “Not here.”

Riders and mechanics were all around us, team officials and family getting ready for the next heat. There were buses and tents in every direction.

“Is the bus empty?”

My pulse was racing, the look in her eye something I’d never seen before. “It can be.” If she wanted privacy, she’d get it. I just wanted to get her talking.

I followed her inside, every second of her silence making me feel a little more desperate. “Sky, what’s going on?” I begged in a rush.

She stood at the other end of the space, regarding at me coldly. “You lied to me.”

I balked. “What?” I wracked my brain, trying to remember what we’d talked about before I left for San Francisco. Nothing of significance came to mind. “I don’t understand. I’d never lie to you.”

“That’s what I thought,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest, protecting herself. Protecting herselffrom me.

“Baby, please tell me what you’re talking about so I can fix this.”

“Are you hurt?”

I shook my head, my jaw clenching as I felt her gaze narrow on me like a laser. My neck got hot the longer she looked at me. “I told you I’m fine. It wasn’t bad.”

“It looked fucking awful.” Her voice cracked, and her eyes got watery. I wanted so badly to go to her, but something held me back. “It looked like you should be at the hospital right now. Like you should be finding some secret ER to take you and keep their mouths shut.”

My heart stopped. Air trapped in my lungs went sour with the rancid taste of bile as my stomach churned viciously.

“What?” I’d heard her, but the ringing in my ears had only gotten louder and I prayed somehow I was wrong.

“You promised me.” Her voice was barely a whisper as she held back tears.

My chest caved in, a pain that I hadn’t felt since the day of my mom’s accident ripping through me at the sight of her. It was like if I took a breath, my heart would tear lose.

“How—?” I asked, not even bothering to finish my question. Skylar had been staying with me for weeks. The box of records wasn’t hidden in my closet. I hadn’t touched it since the summer, so I’d forgotten it was even there.

“Your shoe collection didn’t do a good enough job of concealing that never-ending stack of doctors notes telling you how close you are to being paralyzed.”

I sagged against the counter beside me. “I told you my back was messed up.”

“You told me you were fine!” she shouted.

I glanced anxiously over my shoulder at the door to the bus. She knew I couldn’t afford for OTM to hear what she was saying. “Sky...”

She stifled a cry, her voice dropping. “You told me you were being careful. You told me you wouldn’t do this.” She waved her hand at me, as if I was standing before her already broken. Already done.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you how bad it was...I should have been more clear.”

---