Page 132 of Wreckage

There was no way I could look into Troy’s face and pretend I wasn’t dying inside.

I wouldn’t be able to see Adrian and think there wasn’t anything more there than he was my brother.

I wouldn’t stick around to be their second choice. Troy had Amanda. A fiancée. I wouldn’t be a goddamn home wrecker on top of everything else I was.

As much as I disliked Amanda, she deserved better than me hanging around and ruining things for her. In the big scheme of things, I was doing this to help all of us. This needed to happen if they were just as confused as I was.

So I would go.

I would leave everything behind and get myself right in the head. If, in time, my heart still felt the way it did, so be it. I’d accept that I had fallen in love, and it was more than a mountain sickness and trauma. If they still felt that way, and our paths crossed someday, we’d cross that bridge when we got there. For now, I would set fire to that bridge and hope I was doing the right thing.

I swungmy legs over the bed and grabbed my crutches, my ankle throbbing with every movement.

I limped to the dresser and grabbed my clothes before stuffing theminto my suitcase. I took everything of value I had, leaving behind the big things. I’d call Zara in the morning. She could have everything else. I wanted to start over, and seeing all my old stuff wouldn’t be helpful. I’d even get new clothes and pitch out my old ones once I was far away from here.

I made my way to the garage, pulling my suitcase behind me as I tried to limp to my car. It took several trips to get everything down, but I finally made it.

I opened the trunk and stuffed everything that would fit into it before tossing the rest into the backseat. Then I got behind the wheel and stared at the cement wall in front of me, my hands clutching the steering wheel.

My hands shook. My heart pounded.

I had no idea where I was going or what the hell I was even doing.

All I knew was that I had to go. I needed to be free of everything, and staying behind wasn’t helping me heal and get my head sorted.

I took a deep breath and turned my car on before I put it into reverse, thanking God my left ankle had not been injured. I could at least still drive.

I pulled out of the garage and made a right, away from the city, away from the campus, away from the girl who died on the plane that day.

Here was to new beginnings. Here was to… me.

And hopefully, us.

Chapter 47

Adrian

We made it back a day early. Troy had suggested giving Elena one more day before we went to see her. I reluctantly agreed, even though every inch of me wanted to run straight to her apartment and pound on the door until she answered.

Instead, we spent the day unpacking, eating a real meal, and sleeping in my bed—something that had become as normal as breathing. We had to touch one another even when we napped in the car. We held hands during our damn naps.

Neither of us questioned it. This was our lives now.

That night, we went to bed quietly, neither of us saying a word as we fell asleep to the soft sound of a movie playing in the background.

The next morning,I woke up to pounding on my door. Whoever was on the other side sounded like they were about to bust the door down and storm my living room.

I groaned, sitting up as Troy mumbled something beside me.

The pounding didn’t stop. If anything, it intensified.

“Who the fuck?” I snarled, rubbing my eyes as the knocking continued.

I swung my legs over the bed and trudged to the door, scrubbing a hand down my face as I yanked it open, my irritation at an all-time high.

Immediately, I regretted opening the damn door.

Fucking Amanda.

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