Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
“Nance, come on. Be honest. You guys are nothing alike.”
“No, maybe not, but not so different either. We are both mothers who care about our children, who want to see them happy.”
“Not sure it’s quite the same,” I said, reflecting on some very different times with my mom. “It’s nice of you to say that, but Serena’s a special breed of parent that I think only exists in Hollywood. Some sort of cross between Mommie Dearest and Valley of the Dolls.”
“Now don’t be harsh. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t know some of the gossip, but she seems to have everything together and wants to be in your life. And you seem to want the same.”
“Eh, you can think of it as parental probation.”
Keegan snickered. “She’s gotta finish PPing?” he asked, stressing the pee-peeing.
Nance worked to stifle her smile, but she couldn’t resist, and neither could I.
A ringing sound chimed, and Keegan pulled his phone out. “It’s Beau,” he blurted out, turning to Nance, his expression rife with concern.
We stopped together on the path as he answered. Nance patted herself down. “I must’ve left my phone in the car,” she said, her expression painted with worry.
Nance and I waited in suspense as Keegan’s face turned white enough to concern us even more.
“Jace is hurt,” he murmured, as though struggling to even get out that much, “but he’s fine,” he added shortly after, though it felt like far too long to hear those words, and I hadn’t realized how fast my heart could beat until he offered that addition.
* * *
A few paps, likely freelancers who lived in or around Fever Falls, waited outside the hospital. It aggravated me that they’d arrived before Nance, Keegan, and me.
Since the media frenzy with Jace had begun, I’d been able to handle the press and the expected attention, but in that moment, getting to Jace was my primary concern. Keeg had said he was okay, but I needed to see that he was safe before I could feel it in my heart.
As we headed inside, the paps called out questions, which only served to further disorient Nance and annoy Keegan. Up until then, the press had worked in our favor, been on our side, but I knew as well as anyone how easily that fandom turned on a person. Because privacy wasn’t a thing the public understood. Truly, once you stepped into the realm of public figure, even the law recognized a shift in your rights as a citizen. While Jace and I might’ve signed up for the attention, Nance and Keegan certainly hadn’t. They were caught in the crossfires of this endorsement deal, and it tore me apart to see what should have been a private moment for them being invaded.
“Nancy, Nancy,” a man with a camera called out to her to get a response. She glanced around, confused, but I was mostly pissed that whoever the fuck it was clearly didn’t even know her well enough to call her what any of her friends would have.
“Come on,” I said, guiding her into the lobby, where we inquired about Jace, and then we were escorted to his room.
As we hurried through the halls, I kept reflecting on visiting Serena in the hospital in the past…after ODing. I remembered being ushered to her room, fearing the state she’d be in. It roused so many powerful emotions within me, and when the nurse opened the door, when I saw Jace chatting with another nurse as well as Ash, Beau, and Zed, I was so worked up, I wanted to kick Jace’s ass for making me worry. It wasn’t his fault, but I’d be damned if anything could have made me feel as protective over that ass than in that moment when Keegan told us he was hurt.
“Dude, I just feel like this is all my fault,” Zed said.
“Don’t do this to yourself,” Jace insisted before they all turned together to us. “Oh, a party? For me?” Jace joked, smiling, but I could see the tension in his expression as we approached, his eyes shifting between us as he seemed to be working to ascertain our concern.
We hurried to the bed. Nance put her arms around him, and Keegan tried to act cool, but Jace pulled him in. While I waited my turn, Jace gazed at me and smirked, though I could tell by his somber expression that it was forced. “Oh, come here, Dax,” Nance insisted.
I joined them, offering a hug, touching my nose against the side of Jace’s face. As worked up as I was, I was relieved he was okay.
“Sorry about the scare,” Jace said. “Not sure where my phone is, but I was trying to call on Beau’s phone, and apparently the reception is shit in here.”
Nance started to cry.
“Come on, Nance. Aren’t you gonna rag on me about not cursing?”