Page 18 of The Fallacy of True Love
He gave me a faint smile. “Got it.” Then he faced the sea again.
For someone who had just been in an accident, he sure didn’t display any sense of urgency to take care of his injuries.
If we were friends, I would have ignored his refusal and dragged him to a clinic. But we weren’t, and I’d done my part in making sure he was alive. Whatever he did next was on him.
Yet even as I stomped back home and got into the shower, I wondered why he’d lost his swagger and had tormented shadows in his eyes.
Alonzo
Of all the people I had to crash into on the worst day of my life, it had to be her.
The one who seemed to hate my guts just by virtue of my existence.
To be fair, I’d given her a legitimate reason to have beef with me this time, but it wasn’t as though I had set out to ruin her ride. Who would ever willingly take a surfboard to the arm? Not me.
Luckily, I hadn’t hit my head—or worse, caused her to hit hers.
Guilt struck me. I shouldn’t have treated her the way I had. I had bumped into her, and not only had she helped me get to the shore, she’d also offered to bring me to a clinic.
Sure, she hadn’t been gentle about it, but maybe that wasn’t her style. She’d still given me a hand when I needed it, and I’d pretty much shoved it away.
I could chalk it up to how my arm was throbbing like hell and how even that didn’t beat out the burning ache in the center of my chest. Or to how her cutting words had amplified the feeling of worthlessness that had taken root inside me since Dani’s admission.
But none of that changed the fact that I’d treated her poorly.
Mama had raised me to do the right thing, which meant I needed to apologize and try to make it up to her.
I didn’t know her name, but I bet if I asked around town, someone would recognize her. Not only did she possess a distinct personality, she also looked unforgettable…especially when she was spitting mad. Her cat-shaped eyes narrowed into angry slits and her cheeks flushed?—
I slammed the brakes on that train of thought. I shouldn’t be noticing other women. I had?—
No one.
I punched a fist into the sand and winced as pain zapped up my arm. I should do as the nameless girl said and get myself checked. But I didn’t care about my injuries.
Pulling myself up, I trudged to the spot a few feet away where I’d left my stuff. And by that, I meant my shoes, wallet, keys, and phone, all piled under my discarded clothing. That was everything I had on me when I went to Dani’s house, save for the car I’d parked near the bus station.
I powered on my phone, which I’d switched off sometime between Dani’s calls. As soon as it lit up, the notifications came. I ignored everything except for the ones from my sisters.
Luna
Hey, are you still with Dani?
Lonz???
Tala
Please call us back. We’re worried about you.
Luna
I called Miggy. He contacted Dani and she said you left before dinner. What happened??
Papa’s threatening to file a missing person report
Tala
@Lonzo call us as soon as you can.
