Page 86 of Wilder Puck
“Baby,” I murmur, crossing the space between us in three long strides. I wrap her up in my arms, tucking her head under my chin and breathing in the sweet, familiar scent of her. “I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry, Ads.”
She shakes her head against my chest. “It's okay,” she whispers, her voice raw and ragged. “I understand.”
She takes a shaky step out of my embrace, wrapping her arms around herself.
“Sorry,” she mumbles, not meeting my eyes. “I just...I need some air.”
I nod, even as my arms ache to reach for her again. I know I'm a big guy. I’m two of her. I take a step back, giving her space, giving her room to breathe. She keeps her gaze on the floor. A heavy silence stretches between us, thick with unspoken words and barely contained emotion.
“I have issues, Ryan,” she says finally, her voice small and painfully vulnerable. “I run away when things get tough. I want to do everything on my own because ever since I was little, I didn't have a choice. Losing my mom…”
Her voice cracks and fresh tears spill down her cheeks. I ball my hands into fists to keep from reaching for her, every cell in my body screaming to comfort her.
“Losing her made me hard,” Addie continues, her words hitching and breaking. “Closed off. And you're the only person I've ever really let in, the only one who's seen past the walls. So, finding out you were hiding something from me...it hurt, Ry. It hurt so much.”
My eyes burn and my throat feels tight, shame and regret rising like bile in the back of my throat. “Addie–”
“But I'm here,” she cuts me off, finally raising her red-rimmed eyes to meet mine. “I came back. Because even though I'm scared, even though everything in me is telling me to run. I don't want to. I don’t want to lose what we have.”
The confession steals my breath. “You won't lose me,” I vow, taking a step towards her. “Ads, you're it for me. You’re my girl.”
She gives me a soft smile, fresh tears tracking down her face. “I don’t like when people hide things. I don’t think I’ve told you this before but my dad couldn’t tell me about my mom for afew days, so he told me lies, and I thought she was on vacation. I get really triggered when it comes to any lies or hiding anything, so any sign of that and I’m out.”
“Shit,” I mutter. “Addie, I’m sorry.”
She nods. “Like I said, I have issues, Ryan, but in my heart, I know you were just trying to help. It wasn’t cool going behind my back. But next time, please, just talk to me. Communicate with me. If we’re going to be together, I’ll give you that respect and I need that same respect back.”
“I promise it won’t ever happen again. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do anything shady or manipulating, I swear.” That’s the last thing I want her to think of me.
She nods, pulling me in for a hug. “And I'm sorry for running. I don’t mean to. I don't want you to think I'm too damaged or fucked up to love. I'm trying, I promise I'm trying.”
“You’re not any of that, baby, I promise.” I hug her tightly. “A few bumps in the road will never change the way I feel about you. I will never keep things from you or go behind your back again. You deserve so much more than that.”
Her voice is muffled against my chest when she says, “Thank you.”
The sound of my phone ringing cuts through the moment, making both of us jump. I fumble for my back pocket, an apology already forming on my lips. “Shit, sorry. It's probably just the guys checking in.”
Addie takes a small step back, giving me space to fish out my phone. Sure enough, Chase's name is flashing on the screen. I give her a grin before swiping to answer.
“Hey, Chase.”
“Is she home yet?”
I let out a slow breath, my eyes finding Addie's. “Yeah, she's here. We're okay.”
The relief in Chase's sigh is obvious. “Good. That's really good, man. I'm glad.”
“Yeah, me too.” I rub the back of my neck, suddenly feeling awkward. “Listen, thanks for earlier. For talking me down and having Colt check the shop. I owe you one.”
“Nah, you don't owe me shit,” he says easily. “That's what brothers are for. I'm just happy things worked out.”
I don't know what I did to deserve a team, a family, like this, but I thank my lucky stars for them every damn day.
“Thanks, man. Really.”
“Anytime. Now go kiss and make up with your girl. I'll see you at practice tomorrow.”
I chuckle lowly. “Will do. Night, Chase.”
