Page 74 of Twisted Trails
Harder things, like dealing with that maniac.
No emojis. No forgiveness. But still, it’s a bone. One I don’t deserve but will grab onto like a lifeline because that’s exactly what it is.
Maybe he hates me a little less today than when I left his home with a shattered nose and blood down my shirt, with Dane’s fist print on my face and her name still bleeding from my mouth. Or maybe he just pities me.
Either way, I’m going.
I’m dressed and in a taxi in record time, and twentyminutes later I’m standing outside the same hospital I limped out of three days ago. The one where they reset my nose but not the rest of me.
The sun beats down on me like it’s in on the punishment.
Not that I haven’t done enough damage on my own.
Since I got back to the hotel from this place, I’ve been making a plan. Trying to line up every step like a clean race line. Smooth, direct, and with no room for error.
Like any of that ever worked for me.
First priority?Alaina.
Fix what I broke, which is everything.
I don’t even know whether that’s possible, but I decided I’m done being a coward. I’m done hiding behind what-ifs and could-have-beens. If this is the hill I die on, so be it.
She’s worth it.
The problem is, I don’t even know where to start. I don’t know when they’re leaving for Val di Sole, or what the next steps are, and I’m not about to stalk the girl I already broke. So, since Luc sent that message, it’s now or never.
It doesn’t help that Dane is still pissed. Not even cold-pissed, but scalding. The kind of fury that takes years to burn off. And honestly? I can’t blame him. There’s probably nothing I can say or do that’ll make that right. I betrayed him in every way that matters.
But if I can be there for her, even just quietly, from the sidelines, I’ll take it. That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out. How to support her without making her life harder. How to be there when she needs me without pushing my way into spaces I don’t deserve anymore.
I’m starting with something simple. Buying a beat-up car from some sketchy dealer ten blocks from the hotel, so I can drive to Val di Sole on my own and not be a burden. I’vegot an appointment to check it out this afternoon. It’s cheap and ugly, but hopefully functional.
Not unlike me.
Walking toward the wing I remember, my nerves build again with every step. The halls are too clean, too quiet, and my heartbeat thuds louder than my footsteps. Then I turn a corner and freeze.
Just ahead, clustered near the nurse’s desk, are Dane, Alaina, Payne, and Delacroix.
Shit.
I step back fast, pressing myself flat against the wall, just out of sight, and my lungs lock like they forgot how to work.
So much for being brave.
Peeking around the edge of the corner, careful not to be seen, I see Alaina holding a paper bag, its edges crinkled.
Dane eyes it, brows furrowed as he asks, just loud enough for me to hear. “What’s with all the meds? I thought they said the fingers are healing well.”
She shrugs a little, adjusting her grip. “I asked them to give me enough painkillers to last until we’re back in Snowshoe.”
Dane’s voice drops. “You feel better with them?”
Alaina nods. “Yeah. I don’t hurt.”
Beauty.That’s good.
That’s fucking good.
