Page 34 of Heart of Stone
The remorse was etched into every fiber of his being. “I can’t. Natalia, I can’t walk away and leave you like this. You need… Can I take you to the hospital?”
My head was pounding, my legs straining to keep me standing. I had no fight left in me, and the part of me that respected and trusted Barrett Erickson decided not to argue with the man’s son. Logically, I was aware that if there had been anyreason to be fearful of Reid, Barrett wouldn’t have ever asked his son to fill in for him.
So, wanting to believe the best, and needing to take a load off before I collapsed, I turned and retreated to my cabin, leaving the door open behind me.
When I heard it close gently, I could only assume Reid had taken the liberty of stepping inside.
I confirmed that suspicion once I made it to the couch and gingerly eased myself onto it. Reid remained by the door, his face an unreadable mask as he seemed to force himself to watch me.
A sigh of relief escaped, and I closed my eyes the moment I was on the couch.
“I really think you need to go to the hospital.”
There was an edge of fear, of pleading, in his tone. I took two more breaths before I looked at him. “I’m not going to the hospital.”
“But you could have a serious injury.”
Inhaling as deeply as I could, wincing when I took it too far and caused more pain in my ribs, I shared, “I went to an urgent care center last night, made sure nothing was broken in my face, and came home. I just need to rest.”
He dragged a hand down the front of his face, but he still hadn’t moved from just inside the front door. “Who… How did this happen? What happened to you?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“Clearly, you were viciously attacked. I was hoping for a bit more of an explanation. Did this happen here?”
And here I thought he refused to leave because he was concerned about my physical well-being. How quickly I forgot that Reid had only one thing in mind.
If I had the strength to snarl at him, I might’ve done just that. “There’s no need to worry, Reid. This didn’t happen here. Andyou don’t have to keep standing in front of the door. You can come in and sit.”
Even from the distance, his reaction was tremendous. I couldn’t miss the way his throat bobbed with a deep swallow.
Slowly, he stepped forward and made his way to the opposite end of the couch. My feet were mere inches away from him, but I was too exhausted to care. “Are you sure you don’t have any injuries that require additional medical attention? I understand you went to urgent care, but what if… What if they missed something?”
For a moment, I allowed myself to believe the concern was genuine. That Reid was actually afraid something worse than what he could see had happened to me. I guess, in a way, his line of thinking wouldn’t be that far off. Because somewhere, deep down, there were wounds that’d likely never heal.
“I guess that’s possible, but I’ve been through this enough to know when a visit to the hospital would be required.”
He blinked. “What does that mean?”
“What?
“You’ve… You’ve been through this enough?” His face blanched. “Has this happened to you before?”
And there it was. Proof that Reid had been right to say what he did to me that day in his office. Evidently, I didn’t know when to shut up.
I looked away, my heart aching at the realization. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I beg to differ.”
My eyes drifted shut, sleep beckoning me. It was obvious my body knew what it needed, but my brain wouldn’t shut off. It couldn’t seem to get past the fact that Reid was here, pretending to be concerned.
Weare notfriends. We never will be.
Those were his words. Whether he’d been able to see how terribly he’d treated me to relay those words among others and felt compelled to apologize as a result didn’t matter. He’d said what he’d said, and I wholeheartedly believed there was truth behind it for him.
We weren’t friends. We never would be.
No matter what I’d done, no matter how hard I’d tried, there wasn’t anything I could do to get him to be my friend. I couldn’t even get him to be friendly toward me.
