Page 6 of No Mistakes
It’s beenover an hour since Eva left, and I feel lost in myself. Flynn and Ant left not long after, probably figuring I needed space to get my shit together while muttering about needing more food in the house.
Picking up my glass, I take the biggest sip, needing to feel the burn of the whiskey as it travels down my throat. I set the glass down harder than necessary, my fingers curling tightly around it.
Every part of me isscreamingto go after her, to fix this, to tell her everything I couldn’t say when she was standing right in front of me. But I know it will only make things worse because what the hell am I going to say? That Ineverwanted to hurt her? That I thought I was doing therightthing? That I’msorry?
Sorry isn’t enough. Nothing ever will be for the pain I put her through.
Leaning forward, I rest my elbows on my knees, rubbing a hand over my face. The half-empty whiskey bottle sits on the table next to me, taunting me, but I ignore it. Another drink won’t fix this mess I’ve made.
She had every right to walk away, but I can’t just let her go.
Pushing myself up, I walk over to the couch, ignoring the pull in my shoulder while I reach for my phone. My fingers hover over the name ‘Buttercup’ in my contacts. I could call her, but I know she wouldn’t answer. I could text her, but I know she won’t respond to that either.
I could show up… use our tracker on the car they took to track her down and demand she talk to me, but the thought takes root the longer I debate it. It’s reckless. Desperate. But sitting here doing nothing is worse.
Inhaling sharply, my thumb tightens around the phone. I need to find her. But I can’t force her into a conversation she isn’t ready for. I just… need to know she’s okay.
I scroll further, stopping at Mandy’s name. Shehasto be with her; she went running after her as soon as Eva left. I can’t imagine she would’ve left her alone.
I hesitate for a second, debating if I’m doing the right thing before pressing call. It rings for a few seconds, and for a moment I thought she wasn’t going to answer, but to my surprise, she does.
“Don’t,” Mandy answers, her tone sharp.
I tense, still taken aback from the fact that she answered. “Don’t what?”
“Don’tcall me looking for her, Axel.”
My jaw clenches as her tone confirms that she is, in fact, with her. “Mandy.” My tone stern.
“No.” I can hear movement in the background, like she’s walking across gravel by the way it crunches through the phone. “She doesn’t want to see you right now, Axel. Give her time.”
I throw my head back, pushing the need to demand where she is away, knowing that won’t get me any closer to her. “Just… tell me if she's okay.Please?”
After what feels like a lifetime of silence, a loud sigh echoes through the phone, “She’s breathing, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Pressing a hand to the back of my neck, I do my best to stay calm. “Can you tell me where she is?”
Mandy lets out a dry laugh, “Right. So you can show up and make things worse?”
“I need to-” Then I hear it. A sharp crack. It’s distant and muffled through the phone, but there is no mistaking that sound. Gunfire.
My blood runs cold from the sound, and I stand straighter, straining to listen as I clench my fist, the phone creaking under my hold. A second shot fires out, just as faint, but I don’t miss the recognisable sound.
Mandy’s voice comes back, overpowering the background noise. “No. What youneedto do is let her be angry. Let her feel it.”
I hear her talking, but it’s as if my brain can’t take her words in over the pounding sound of my pulse racing. There are two more shots, followed by another. They’re spaced out. They’re too controlled for it to be an ambush or a fight.
My eyes widen when everything clicks.
They’re at a shooting range.
Mandy sighs, “Look, Axel… She’ll come to you when she’s ready.Ifshe’s ready.”
Her words sting, but only because I know there is truth behind them but the only thing my mind can focus on is the gunshots. On the fact, Eva…MyEva. Is standing somewhere, possibly firing a weapon right now, and I don’t know what the hell that means.
Before I can push for more information, the line goes dead, and I’m greeted by silence. I lower the phone slowly, my fingers still clenched around it. What the hell is Mandy doing with her?
I don’t have much time to process everything that has happened in the last five minutes when the front door crashes open.
