Page 41 of Cold As Ice
Poor bastard wasn’t handling things well.
Connor: A few texts back and forth.
Austin: What’s up with that?
Connor: Things got a little claustrophobic at my parents’ house.
Noah: Is she there for the rest of winter break?
Connor: I don’t know.
Noah: I hope you know what you’re doing.
Austin: Holden has a point, Con.
Connor: Since when do you give a shit about our relationship?
Austin: Dude, you were going to propose. Now she’s with her mom and you’re stuck in Dayton.
Connor: Some space will do us both good.
Noah: You don’t think you’ll have enough of that when she’s back in Lakeshore and you’re not?
Connor didn’t reply, and Noah sent me a text to our separate chat.
Noah: Do you think we should be worried?
Austin: He’ll pull himself out of it.
Noah: Yeah, and if he doesn’t?
Austin: It’s Connor, Holden. He’s the best of us.
If anyone could get through this, it was him.
But as I re-read my words, I wasn’t so sure anymore. Everything was different now.
Connor was injured.
Ella was hurting.
And I couldn’t get a girl I barely knew out of my mind.
* * *
I didn’t get to see Madison again. But it was probably for the best, considering Ella returned to Lakeshore unannounced after Connor, the idiot, fucked things up again.
She looked half-asleep as I banged and slammed around the kitchen, grabbing everything I needed.
Noah had texted to say she wasn’t in a good way, and I saw it the second I opened the door to her, looking red-eyed and hungover.
“Here you go,” I said. “It’s the best I could do.”
She lifted her head to find me pushing a plate of pancakes and bacon toward her. “I’m impressed.” She gave me a weak smile. “It smells good.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not completely useless.” I moved back to lean against the counter. “So you haven’t talked to Con?”
“Nope. I’m not sure I’m ready to hear all his excuses.”
