Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 103918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
"I'm not—" I began, but when his fingers touched mine, I snapped my mouth shut in surprise. Heat and electricity raced up my arm. I wanted to tear my hand away but found myself unable to move. I opened my mouth to tell him that I wasn’t down but stopped when he put something in my hand.
“I found this on the coffee table in your cabin.”
It took only a second to identify the object as paper, but my brain took a lot longer to process what any of it meant. When it did, everything just hit me all at once and I did what I always did when my fight-or-flight instinct kicked in.
I chose flight.
Chapter Four
Gideon
I’d expected him to deny or try to explain the contents of the note I’d pressed into his hand. Hell, I was even prepared for him to tell me to go to hell and shut down. What I hadn’t been prepared for was for him to shove past me, knocking me on my ass in the process and causing me to hit the side of my head on the nightstand next to the bed. I instinctively tried to ward off the attack I thought was coming, but when Lex stumbled past me, I realized he was just trying to escape.
“Fuck,” I groaned when I righted myself. I could feel something warm trickling down the side of my face, but I didn’t give myself any time to dwell on the injury. I was too concerned for Lex. I knew he wouldn’t get far but the layout of my house was tricky and there were a hundred ways he could easily hurt himself. “Lex!” I called as I climbed to my feet. My head spun a bit but I managed to keep myself upright. I heard a crashing sound from the area of the living room.
“Lex!” I shouted in concern when I heard glass breaking. I raced to catch up to the young man, ignoring the trail of destruction he’d left in his wake. A few of the pictures in the hall were lying on the floor and the small runner was askew. One side of the living room was in the same condition, though this time there was more debris on the floor where Lex had knocked over a small side table my lunch dishes had been sitting on. I could only hope that Lex hadn’t cut himself on the broken glass.
I caught up to Lex as he reached the side door off the kitchen. “Lex, wait!” I called, but he didn’t stop. I wanted to kick myself for confronting him about the note. My ex had often said I pushed too hard when I wanted the answers to something. That trait had cost me everything but here I was doing it yet again.
“Lex, the stairs!” I called helplessly when I realized he wouldn’t see the porch steps.
Right after he disappeared from sight, there was a soft thud and I knew he hadn’t heard my warning or it had come too late. Fear lodged in my throat as I rushed out the door.
“Lex!” I yelled when I saw him lying in the snow at the foot of the steps. It took just seconds to reach him but they felt like some of the longest moments of my life. “Lex,” I called again when I reached his side. I was relieved to hear sounds falling from his mouth but when I realized what they were, my heart broke for him.
He was crying.
Not just crying but sobbing. The note, the one with the words forgive me scrawled on it, was clutched in his hand.
“Lex,” I said softly as I touched his shoulder. He automatically jerked away from me. It made no sense that his rejection stung. “Lex, I need to know if you’re hurt,” I said. I scanned his body but didn’t see any obvious injuries. “Does anything hurt?” I asked as I leaned over him.
He didn’t answer me. He didn’t even acknowledge my presence. I quickly stripped the sweater I was wearing off so I could settle it over his legs. Brewer had followed us outside and was anxiously pacing back and forth around Lex’s head. He stopped to lick Lex now and again, but the young man didn’t seem to notice the animal’s attention. I debated what to do. It was clearly too cold for Lex to be lying half-naked in the snow for any length of time, but I wasn’t sure I could get him to respond to me long enough to get him back inside.
“Lex,” I said again as I leaned over him. I risked running my thumb over his temple just to get his attention. To my surprise, he didn’t pull away.
“Lex, can you stand?”
No answer.
I repeated the question, but Lex remained silent. He was no longer vocal as he cried but tears continued to slip down his cheeks. It was only when his body began to shake that I made a decision. As soon as I started to work my arm beneath Lex’s body, he whispered, “Don’t.”