Page 75 of Worlds Collide

“Hawk,” I whisper. He looks up at me with fear in his eyes and struggles his way to standing.

“Hey,” he says quietly.

“How long have you been out here?” I wonder.

“Oh,” he says absentmindedly as he swats at his jeans—I don’t know why they’re not dirty or anything. “A little while.”

“Gracie’s probably at work,” I point out.

“Yeah, I know.” He swallows hard and looks at me. “Sebas called and told me you were getting in today, and I wanted to apologize in person.” He stands straight and looks so adorably determined, that I can’t help but deflate.

“You were just scared?—”

“I was,” he agrees and nods once. “But that doesn’t excuse thefact that I was awful to you and you didn’t deserve to hear any of the things I said.”

“Thank you,” I whisper. “Would you like to come in? Maybe eat something or lie down?” The floor must’ve been uncomfortable and it’s two in the fucking morning.

“I’d love to get something to eat, yeah.”

“You got it,” I tell him and move to open the door. “We have a guest bedroom, you can stay over.”

“I can just—” He points at the elevator.

“No,” I interrupt him. “You’re tired and hungry and so am I, so let’s just eat and we can talk in the?—”

“Wolfie went to rehab,” he blurts. I freeze with the door half-opened and Hawk just sighs and closes his eyes for a long moment. Then he opens them and the similarity to Wolf’s eyes makes my heart fucking stop—which is something that, as a doctor, I know doesn’t happen, but it could be arrhythmia. “So much has happened, CJ, and I think I need to tell you.”

TWENTY-TWO

WOLF

“You knowhow this works—six weeks to complete the program or eight weeks if you decide you need it.”

“Right,” I tell Adrian as I sit on the couch in his office. Two days in the freezer and I was right, it wasn’t as bad this time, but because I wasn’t going through the horrifying effects of detox, this time I experienced the isolation completely. My mind was my own worst enemy inside that room, and I’m not sure if I won or not. “Either I get out of here mid-November or early December,” I summarize.

“Precisely.” He nods with a happy smile—already immune to my brand of sarcasm, bad temper, and penchant for growling. I like Adrian, he gives it to me straight. Or as straight as any therapist does, I guess. “Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?”

“We shall,” I whisper, knowing how this is going to go already.

“Last time I saw you, you were excited about building a home for yourself and about putting together an album with your brother. How has that been?” He surprises me. I expected us to go back toall that tragic shit about my mother killing my father, but I guess we’re not.

“The house got built, the album never happened,” I tell him simply.

He smiles, probably remembering how talking to me is like pulling teeth—fondly of course.

“What happened then?”

“Well my brother got married to Derek?—”

“Your best friend.” He nods, probably remembering our sessions with both of them.

“He’s not really my friend anymore.”

“Why not?”

I shrug. “There wasn’t a big fight with him or anything, he’s just now focused completely on Hawk and his career and I’m no longer spending time with them. I don’t even remember the last time I talked to Derek alone.”

“All right.” He pauses for a moment to write in his notebook. “So what have you been doing for the past year?”

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