Page 9 of Accidentally Forever
“I will. I just need to see Crew.”
I had woken up as soon as my eyes had closed, but the paramedics had still taken me to the hospital. Sebastian was my emergency contact, because he was my twin, and we didn’t hide things from each other. And I had made him vow not to call anyone else.
Only everybody in our family was going to find out what happened soon. And there would be no hiding from this.
The whispers, and the concerned looks, and the deep talks about my friendship with Travis would continue. And I knew I deserved every minute of it. Everybody had been so worried that he would hurt me because they thought I loved him. It truly wasn’t the case. Not really. It was because I was worried for him. I had thought maybe, just maybe, I might be able to fix him. And how stupid was that? There was no fixing him. But somebody needed to be in his corner. Because he had no one else. He had hurt and pushed away everyone else, so I had thought maybe I could be the strong one. But I had been wrong. So wrong. And nowCrew had had to spend a night in a cell because of my poor decision-making.
Sebastian studied my face, and I wasn’t sure what he saw there. Frankly I wasn’t sure what I wanted him to see.
“Go inside. He should be coming soon.”
I swallowed hard and looked toward the station, knowing Crew was in there. I had done this. Crew had every right to scorn me for who we were to each other before this. Now he would have just that much more ammunition.
Before we could open the door Crew walked out, his gaze dark, his fists bruised.
I studied his face, wondering why it felt as if I had lost something special. It wasn’t as if I ever had it.
Crew McTavish had been part of our family since he had first become friends with my cousin Lexington. He was practically family, at least that’s what everyone said.
He had dated Daisy, another cousin of mine, and when that hadn’t worked out, he had still stayed in our circles.
He was always there for us, no matter what. As was evidenced by what he had done for me last night.
And there was no way I would ever be able to repay him. Not that he would ever let me to begin with.
He had dark hair, longer on the top than on the sides, a square jaw, and a two-week-old beard. His hazel eyes changed colors depending on the light and his mood, and the small part of me that I tried to keep hidden always tried to guess what color his eyes would be the next time I saw him.
Today however, they were a dark gray. No color, no light. Just pure anger and disappointment.
Crew was bigger than Sebastian, broader shoulders, a few inches taller, but they were both decently muscular. And while my brother was covered in tattoos as he was a tattoo artist, Crew was slowly working on his ink. I had seen every inch of that ink, as well as the piercings he had used often on me over the months.
I might know his body, but I hadn’t let myself know anything else. Not that he would’ve let me to begin with.
“Why the hell are you here?” Crew asked, the ice in his tone matching his eyes.
“She wouldn’t let me take her home,” Sebastian answered, and I glared at my brother.
“I needed to make sure you were fine. Stop worrying about me.”
“He has a right to worry about you.”
I narrowed my eyes at Crew, my head pounding. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t stop it.”
“Stop him from hitting you? Or stop the cops from molesting me?” Crew asked, and Sebastian cursed under his breath.
“Come on, let’s go to the parking lot before they arrest us again.”
“Not funny, Sebastian.”
“There’s nothing funny about this, Aria.”
Shoulders deflating and exhausted, I let them both lead me to the parking lot, and I tried not to let them see the tremor in my hands.
But Crew noticed.
He always saw everything about me.
We stood by Sebastian’s car as Crew folded his arms over his chest.
