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)
“Serena?” I asked, approaching them.
“I came as soon as I heard.”
“Where did you hear?”
She glanced around. “It’s all over the news, Dax.”
“The news? Like…the news news?”
“There was a bit on CNN…and a few local stations are covering it.”
“Of course they are. How silly of me.”
I’d expected the local news and even the paps outside, but fucking CNN?
As much credit as I gave to Jace before we’d begun his campaign, I had underestimated just how popular he’d become.
Or maybe I was so rattled, I wasn’t using my goddamn brain.
I chatted with Serena about his condition as she helped me grab some coffee. With one hand on my phone, I googled Jace’s name to see what the top stories were.
Hottie Firefighter Injured in House Fire
Hottie Firefighter’s Injury Evokes Memories of Adoptive Father’s Passing
“Shit,” I said, realizing he and his family would end up seeing these sorts of stories. Up to that point, Crawford’s passing had been an annotation to his story, a footnote even, not the center of attention. But apparently, the media had found a connection worth mining, one I well knew was at the heart of serious pain within Jace’s family, and for good reason.
I tried to figure out how I was going to break the news to them as Serena and I headed back to Jace’s room. I opened the door and spotted Keegan with the TV remote in his hand, his, Nance’s, and Jace’s eyes on the TV, their expressions revealing that they’d already discovered the news, in the worst way possible.
I slid into the room, Serena in tow, to see the headline at the bottom of the screen: Jace Kruse Hospitalization a Reminder of Crawford Kruse’s Death.
Fuck.
36
Jace
Like when the accident in the house fire had unfolded, I lost all feeling as the news dredged up the nightmare from my family’s past. I wanted to turn the TV off or break the goddamned thing, but there was no point turning away from it anymore now than there had been all those years earlier.
Keegan was the smart one. As the story continued, he excused himself to the restroom, leaving me, Nance, Dax, and Serena to watch the tragedy unravel. I couldn’t look at Nance. I didn’t want to see her reaction to the old photos they displayed of Crawford from various news clippings and even from his yearbooks.
It was cruel to be trapped in that bed when all I wanted to do was run far away and break down. I heard Nance sniffling. I wanted to be in tears too, but I couldn’t break. I wouldn’t allow myself to. I could be strong like him. I could fight back the pain and the tears for them, no matter how hard it was. They needed Batman right then, not some crying-ass Bruce Wayne.
However, considering how distressed I was from the events of the day and the news my family had just been assaulted with, it was hard to muster the strength.
All this over some stupid accident. Although, I knew how even stupid accidents could be fatal in my line of work.
As the commentators on the news station offered their well-wishes regarding my condition, Dax asked, “Do you mind if I turn off the TV?”
He sat in a chair between Serena and Nance. I’d noticed them entering the room, but hadn’t realized they’d sat, clearly having been too absorbed in the TV and working to keep my shit together.
“Please,” I said through gritted teeth.
Dax grabbed the remote attached to the arm of my bed and turned the TV off, leaving us in deafening silence. The air was thick with worry, like a fragrant cologne that made me cringe and feel unsettled, wishing I could have been anywhere else.
“I think I’m just going to step out for some air,” Serena offered, surely feeling like the odd one out since she didn’t know us well enough to be privy to everything she’d just witnessed. But then again, neither did most of the people who now knew that part of my past.
As she left, Nance set her hand on mine.
“You should probably call the aunts and uncles, let everyone know everything’s okay,” I told her, hoping she’d take the hint, which she did, which left Dax and me alone with one another.
He stayed put in his chair at first, giving me some space, before pushing to his feet and approaching.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said in a low, breathy whisper. I could feel his concern, and as I looked at him, saw the sadness in his expression.
It was hard…not just having to deal with the pain from my past, but knowing how much I’d worried Dax. When I was a kid, I was concerned about Crawford every time he went to work. I knew what it felt like to hear that he was injured, to fear that it could be the worst. And I knew how that affected Nance and Keegan.