Page 12 of Cruel Love

“Hey”—Riley moved to my side and wrapped an arm around me—“we’re here for you. All of us, and that includes the guys. Phoenix will understand, and I know he’ll come back to us. He just needs time to heal.”

I got that, but convincing myself enough to stop stressing so much was another story entirely.

They stayed for an hour, sharing stories about the guys and how they handled them when they first started dating. They drew me into their world even more, and it felt fantastic. I liked them a lot, and we made plans to hang out over the weekend.

When they left, Phoenix was back on my mind. And so was that kiss. Before I could stop, I sent him a text saying that I hoped he felt better.

He texted back immediately, asking if he could video call me.

It wasn’t a good idea, but I said yes then answered when the call came through.

His gorgeous face filled the screen. The swelling had gone down significantly, and he looked like every gorgeous, sexy inch of himself again. His silver eyes swirled, and I couldn’t stop a grin from hijacking my mouth. “How’s it going there? You’re going home soon, right?”

“Not soon enough.” His mouth formed a slash. ESPN droned on in the background. “Tomorrow, actually, but that just means another night of shitty sleep.”

“I mean, you are right by the nurses’ station.” His mom loved his room’s location, mainly because of the potential for extra attention and quick reactions, should they be needed. I wanted to ask if he felt weird about going home to recover more instead of back to school, but his mind still thought he was in high school. “Will it just be you and your mom when you go home?”

“Yeah. Shane has football, the fucker. I can’t stand missing the rest of the season. Not that I remember playing in college, but it had to be incredible.”

He looked so disgruntled I had to stifle a laugh. He wouldn’t have appreciated it. I looked for something encouraging to say. “You were incredible, once your hand healed.” I flinched, swearing under my breath.

He raised his hand and waved it in front of the screen. “This scar? Shane filled me in on some of the details. Not everything, I’m sure… but he’s not as cagey with details as everyone else.”

I bit my lower lip, swallowing anything negative before pasting on a neutral expression. “He’s your twin. I would think that’s expected.”

Phoenix tilted his head, and silence filled the space between us. “Has he been a dick to you?”

“Shane?” Panic whipped through me. I didn’t want to cause any stress. We needed a topic change, stat. “We barely talk. Not like I do with Riley, Sky, and Cass, anyway.”

He laughed, letting the topic of his brother drop. “I remember Cass and Sky from high school. We didn’t interact much then, but I’m guessing that’s changed since Riley’s with Cole. I know I like her. I can feel it.” Frustration bracketed his mouth. “I just don’t remember, which is getting old.”

“Have you remembered anything more?” I shouldn’t have asked, but the truth was that every time we talked, I struggled not to tell him anything about the baby.

“Not really.” He raked a hand through his light hair. It was longer than before the accident, and my fingers itched to touch it. “There are some fuzzy images, but nothing I can grasp yet.”

A nurse came in to take his vitals, and my eyelids drooped. I didn’t want to get off the phone with him, but I laid my head on my arm, changing the angle of the screen, and relaxed into the mattress even more.

It wasn’t until I yawned three times in a row that he told me how much he liked talking to me. And I thought he mentioned something about our kiss, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

In my dreams, I could relive it many times over.

CHAPTER SEVEN

PHOENIX

“Ready to get out of here?” Shane strolled into my room with a shit-eating grin on his face. “I’m chauffeuring your ass home.”

“About time.” I finished another small lap of my room then leaned against the hospital bed that I never wanted to see again, especially after being there for just over a month. I didn’t even care that he was forty-five minutes later than he said he would be when he called to tell me that he, and not Mom, was picking me up. I just wanted to leave the confinement of that place. I could only walk up and down the halls so many times. I hit the call button, and a few minutes later, one of the nurses came in.

“Ah.” Michelle smiled. “Your ride’s here. I’ll get those papers for you, and the doctor also needs to sign off. Just give me a minute.”

“Thanks.” I sat back on the bed and tapped my foot against the tile floor. “Are you missing classes?”

Shane shrugged. “I emailed the professors. It’s fine.”

It meant something, him being there. “Thanks, man.”

We talked about the latest game while we waited. The hospital release took much longer than it should have. Doctors had to sign off, and then there were instructions and having to make the physical therapy appointments. Shane revealed that Mom had called him in to spring me from the hospital after a five-car pileup derailed her release from her ER duties. Just the mention of the crash was enough to send chills cascading over my body, further fueling my need to get out of there.

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