Page 82 of Always Mine

It's a tense moment of us staring at each other, he’s searching for my truth and when he finally sees it, he releases a long sigh. “Good.” He takes out the menu from the caddy, which I’m sure he doesn’t actually need, and flips it to the back page. “Now, I’m starving. Want to get some food?”

“Sounds good.”

Thirty minutes later, after some light catching up, I walk out of the diner feeling like I’m on cloud nine. I’m living on top of the world and nothing can bring me down.

That’s the naivety talking, and ultimately, I jinx myself with feeling so untouchable. As I’m hopping in the truck, my phone rings, and I pull it from my pocket, lips turning down when I take in Coach Pallen’s name across the screen.

“What’s up coach?” I answer, feeling uneasy at the sudden call. He’s texted me randomly to check in over the last few months, but hasn’t called me since I was in the hospital.

“Paxton! How are you?”

“I’m good, thanks. How about you?”

“Can’t complain. So listen, I got the call from Dr. Dylan. Why didn’t you tell me you were cleared from therapy?”

I suck in a lungful of air, suddenly feeling suffocated. “Well, you know. He still has me doing light exercises and I have to do check-ins and follow ups. Not completely done.”

He makes a little grunt through the line, and I tug on my shirt collar, feeling like I can’t breathe.“We can work through all those details, but I have some really good news.”

His voice is filled with so much excitement, but all I’m feeling is dread. This isn’t good. I know it deep in my gut. It’s like I cursed myself with feeling happy and now it’s going to be ripped away.

“What’s that?” My voice is scratchy so many emotions are flooding me. I’m terrified of what he’s going to say, and when his words float through the line a second later, my terror turns to devastation.

All I can do is pray that Wyatt will understand, and we can work through this all together.

TWENTY-SEVEN

Wyatt

Cooper is on the way over, and I can’t pretend I’m not nervous. When he texted me and asked if he could swing by, I agreed, wanting to see him. Between his work keeping him out of town, and Paxton being back, I haven’t seen him as much as I used to.

Speaking of Paxton…

Cooper and I have to talk about that. I haven’t been too worried about gossip spreading back to him considering he’s been so busy, but I know we need to have the talk soon.

I’m worried he’ll be mad that Paxton and I are unofficially back together. Cooper did so much for me, and I don’t want him to think I’m weak, but when it comes to Paxton, I am. He’s managed to dig his way back in and I don’t want to let him go. My heart wants him and there’s nothing I can do about it. I just hope Cooper will understand, and that he won’t pull away from me. I don’t want to lose his friendship, he’s too important to me.

A knock sounds on my door and I inhale deeply, trying to ground myself. I count to ten before getting up from the couch and heading to the door. He got here faster than I was expecting so I didn’t have nearly enough time to get my thoughts in order.

I give my hands a little shake trying to calm down, as I give myself a mental pep talk. My palms are sweating, and I rub them down my pant legs, trying to keep in mind that everything is going to be okay. This is my friend, and at the end of the day, I know he'll want what's best for me. He just needs to understand everything first.

Grabbing the handle, I tug open the door with a wide smile planted on my face.

“Hey!” I say a little too enthusiastically, motioning for him to come in quickly when the rush of cold air hits me.

He gives me a toothy grin, wiping his feet on the mat before coming inside, kicking off his shoes as he begins working off his scarf and gloves. “Hi, it’s freezing today.”

I nod, the cold only making my jitters worse. “Thank God for central heating,” I chuckle anxiously, and it comes out a little too high pitched. Great, this is going to be a disaster.

“You okay?” he asks with concern, taking off the rest of his winter gear.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Totally fine. Why wouldn’t I be? Everything is fine.” I cringe as the words leave my lips in a jumbled mess. What the fuck is happening right now, and when did I start talking like Malibu Barbie? And most importantly, how do I get it to stop?

His brows shoot up his forehead as he looks me over. “Why are you nervous?”

Fuck, he’s reading me.Act normal. Act normal.

“Pssh, no.” I wave my hand. “I’m not nervous.” I force a laugh, but end up sucking in some saliva instead and it has me breaking into a coughing fit. He begins smacking my back, and I use my sleeve to swipe my water eyes.

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