Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 124451 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 498(@250wpm)___ 415(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124451 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 498(@250wpm)___ 415(@300wpm)
The girls talk among themselves, and when Jax’s doctor strolls past the open door, he glances in and shakes his head, as though the few hours treating him is already enough to know he shouldn’t have been surprised by this shit. He comes in and decides it’s probably best to speak with Jax’s father out in the hallway. The moment he’s gone, Jax’s head snaps toward the girls, a strange hesitation in his eyes. “Where’s Ari?” he questions, making Bri press her lips into a hard line.
“She said she had something to do today,” Bri lies, averting her gaze.
Jax’s stare falls into his lap. “In other words, she didn’t want to see me.”
“No,” Bri cuts in to save him from the heartbreak. “That’s not it at all.”
Chanel scoffs. “That’s totally it.”
Bri glares at her friend. “Really? The guy just got stabbed and nearly bled out. You couldn’t just break it to him softly?”
“It’s Jax,” Chanel throws back at her. “He doesn’t take anything softly. Hell, I don’t think he even understands what softly means. He’s a literal guy. You have to give it to him straight or don’t give it to him at all.”
I can’t fault Chanel, she’s right. Jax doesn’t play games … Well, technically, he plays a lot of games. He loves that shit, but when it comes to something as serious as this, he needs the cold, hard truth. Tiptoeing around it isn’t going to help anybody.
“You think she’ll come around eventually?” Jax questions.
Chanel shakes her head. “Not unless getting stabbed has made you see the errors of your ways, and now you’re ready to pull your finger out of your ass and truly be with her. She’s done being nothing but a hook-up to you, and every time you treat her like one, you’re breaking her just a little bit more.”
“That’s not fair,” Jax says. “She’s one of my best friends. She knows she means more to me than that.”
Chanel shrugs her shoulders as I make my way to Bri’s side, indicating for Ilaria to get out of my spot. “I don’t know what to tell you,” Chanel says. “She’s hurting and needs time to heal before facing you again.”
Jax sighs, and Logan takes pity on the guy and goes to sit by his side as I move to pull Bri against me carefully. “You okay?” I ask, hating seeing her stuck in this bed. Though from what I can see, having Addison and Jax rooming with her seems to be helping them all.
“I should be asking you the same thing,” she says. “Did you sleep?”
I scoff and she rolls her eyes, putting an end to that topic, each of us knowing exactly what’s going through each other’s heads. She lets out a frustrated sigh and pulls back to better meet my eye. “Have you heard anything more about Colby?”
I shake my head, seeing the messed up, confused emotions flickering through her bright blue eyes. She doesn’t know how she’s supposed to feel about this. Our whole lives, society has told us how terrible someone would be for wishing another was dead, but right now, that’s all any of us want.
“I’m scared for you,” she tells me.
My brows furrow and I press a kiss to her forehead. “Why?”
“You know why,” she says, raising her brows to give me a pointed stare. “If he dies … it’s going to mess you up.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” I lie, knowing damn well just how right she is. “I want him gone.”
“I know,” she says. “But you’re not a killer, Tanner. You’re kind and sweet, and yes, you would do absolutely anything it takes to protect the people you love, but you’re not a killer.”
I nod, pulling her back in and keeping my lips on her warm skin. “It’s all going to be okay,” I promise her. “I swear, Bri. We’ll find a way through this, and if he does die … we’ll find a way through that too.”
“You don’t sound so sure,” she says, her hand falling into mine.
“Would I make you a promise I couldn’t keep?”
“I don’t know,” she teases. “You have been known to talk shit from time to time.”
Bri laughs at her own wit as I shake my head, but when a seriousness comes over her again, I glance down, meeting those eyes I’m so completely in love with. “You know at the track … when we were walking back?” she starts, nervousness flickering through her gaze. “You said there was something you wanted to talk to me about, but when everything happened, we never got a chance to talk.”
Blood rushes through my veins, my heart racing with the thought of having to discuss this now. My stomach clenches and I try to give her an encouraging smile. “It’s okay,” I tell her. “We can talk about it once I get you home.”