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)
Now Dax carried that burden too, and it was all my fault.
“I’m sorry,” I told him.
“Sorry? You don’t have anything to be sorry about.”
“Not that something happened, but…” I couldn’t finish my sentence. How could I tell him that the only reason he had anything to be worried about was because he knew me. Because there was always a chance that one day it’d be my face up there on the TV screen, and I’d be leaving him and Nance and Keegan, same as Crawford did.
“I just meant sorry your day got interrupted over a fractured fibula,” I lied.
Dax took my hand, interlocking his fingers with mine.
I felt like such a selfish bastard.
I’d done this to him. Nance and Keegan were a part of my life because of their relationship with me, but by wanting to be closer to Dax, by enjoying every moment we spent together, I’d lassoed him into all this bullshit too. The worry, the fear, the possibility of losing me the way I lost Crawford.
He’d snuck up on me, though. I’d considered the thought the more my interest in him intensified, but I never expected for our relationship to blossom and flourish the way it had. And in some ways, because of how it all transpired, amid this ridiculous celebrity-status fiasco, it felt like this thing outside of my day-to-day life.
We were just supposed to be having a bit of harmless fun. I was supposed to be able to play with that spark we’d ignited, watching as my feelings for him spread about carelessly like kerosene, in hopes that neither of us would get burned.
Hadn’t I been around fires long enough to know that wasn’t how they worked?
Dax leaned down and rested his free hand on my face. “You need me to get you anything?”
I shook my head. “I’ll be fine.”
However, I could see in his concerned expression that he knew better. I was so forthcoming with him about so many things, but not that part of my life I tried to bury away, even from myself.
“Would you mind checking on Keeg?” I asked. “Make sure he’s alright?” I wanted him to check on my bro, make sure he was okay, but I also needed a moment alone.
“Of course.” Dax offered a kiss, and even at my worst, even when I thought my soul couldn’t recover, it brought me life.
As soon as he stepped out, my face quivered, and the tear I’d been holding back shifted around in my eye.
That was all I’d permit, though.
I took a deep breath.
I could fucking get through this. I’d been living with this for so long already. It was just another day without Crawford, I reminded myself.
But damned if it didn’t sting, and damned if I didn’t hate myself for dragging Dax into it all.
37
Dax
I checked with the reception desk, asking where the men’s restroom was located. En route, I thought about how distressed Jace looked over the reveal about Crawford’s death.
That was the media’s game. It wasn’t newsworthy until it struck a nerve, and boy, did it ever strike one for the Kruses.
It was apparent the news had rattled them, and for good reason. They’d seen the mention already, but having it pulled open and dissected under the guise of a human-interest piece, that was a whole other ballgame.
It wasn’t human interest—it was intrusion.
I opened the door to the restroom, and as I rounded the corner, I discovered Serena with her arms around Keegan as he cried.
She held him close, whispering, “It’ll be okay.”
I froze in place.
The sight didn’t just confuse me—it baffled the fuck out of me seeing Serena acting so maternal, so understanding, to a kid who wasn’t even hers. I was glad someone was there for Keegan, but at the same time, why the fuck did it have to be her?
I almost said something about her being in the men’s room, but stopped myself because clearly she was helping ease Keegan’s grief.
I headed back out, my mind a swirl of conflicting thoughts and impressions as I struggled with what I just saw, the image of her nurturing Keegan through his pain superimposed with the image of the callous woman I so vividly remembered from my childhood, that shell of a person who never would have shown that sort of compassion for me in my moments of pain.
I tightened my fist and tensed my jaw as my frustration mounted.
I tried to reassure myself she was soothing Keegan in his time of need, and that was all that mattered, but it didn’t relieve me of my anger, which seemed to only escalate by the second.
I decided to grab myself another cup of coffee.
Everyone needed their space, and I needed a chance to fucking sort through my thoughts on everything that was happening.
Jace didn’t become any more talkative throughout the night, though Keegan and Nance had clearly calmed down. Beau, Ash, and Zed eventually all headed home, and Serena agreed to check on Mac while I kept watch with the Kruses, despite Jace assuring us that we could leave. None of us were willing to go, likely because we were all detecting the same concerning behavior he’d exhibited since the news about Crawford had broken.