Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“Oh my God! What happened?”
My mother’s voice pulled me from my silly thoughts.
“She tripped, or lost her balance, and hit her head on one of the stall doors.”
“I would have, um, caught her, but…I was so surprised.”
The last voice was Ben’s. And that was when I remembered the conversation I’d been having with him before I apparently tripped and hit my head.
“I’ll call Dr. Waters—”
Maverick interrupted my mother. “Already called him. He’s on his way.”
“Then let’s get her up to her bedroom. Second door on the right,” she told him. Then, a second later, “Ben, please—you’re in the way.”
“Dr. Waters is going to start charging us extra,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.
I peeked my eyes open to see Ben standing at the base of the steps, staring at me…or maybe Maverick. I wasn’t sure.
“I would have gotten her, you know. You just swept in and picked her up before I could do anything.”
Maverick drew me even closer to his body as my mother stepped over to Ben.
“Are you seriously doing this right now? Get out of the way so Maverick can get Lily up to her room. This isn’t some kind of game, Ben.”
His cheeks turned bright red as he stepped out of the way. “Of course not.”
Maverick started toward the stairs.
“Stop—wait one second.”
Maverick froze.
Turning my head to look at Ben, I said, “You don’t have to stay. Go be with Abby.”
“But you fainted. Are you feeling sick? What even happened?”
Maverick mumbled, “Stupid bastard,” under his breath. He glanced over his shoulder. “She didn’t faint, she fell.”
“No. I’m pretty sure my news caused her to faint.”
My mouth fell open. “What the hell?”
“It’s okay, Lily,” Ben said as he stepped forward, attempting to take me out of Maverick’s arms.
“What are you doing?” my mother demanded.
“I’m her best friend! I can take care of her,” Ben argued as Maverick held me even tighter, stepping back.
“Ben!” I shouted, then winced when it felt like someone hit the back of my head with a two-by-four. “Just leave. You’re making things worse.”
My mother stepped in front of Ben, putting a hand on his shoulder to gently push him back. “Lily obviously doesn’t want to see you right now, Ben. Please, just head on out. She’ll call you later.”
Before I could say another word, Maverick flew up the steps, once again taking them two at a time. He walked into my bedroom and carefully laid me on the bed.
“I’m really okay,” I said as I tried to sit up. I stopped when the room spun slightly. Now I knew how Maverick felt when he was sick.
“You’re not okay, Lily. You hit your head pretty hard.”
“Maverick is right, sweetheart. Please just rest until Dr. Waters gets here.” Turning to Maverick, she said, “Will you find Tanner?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
And just like that, Maverick was gone.
“Mom, he took the steps two at a time while he carried me! Twice! Up the porch steps and then the steps up to my room!”
She chuckled. “You clearly didn’t hit your head that hard if you noticed something like that. Lily, do you know what happened? Why did you fall? Are you coming down with the flu that Maverick had?” She placed her hand on my forehead to check for a fever and then used two fingers to hold my eyelids open as she studied my eyes. When she told me to open my mouth, I rolled my eyes.
“Mom, what are you doing?”
“Trying to figure out why you lost your balance and fell. Have you been dizzy at all?”
“No, I can tell you—”
“Did you maybe overheat while training Juniper?”
“I didn’t over—”
“You drank enough water today, right?”
“Mom,” I sighed as I rubbed my temples. The head throbbed. “I know why I fell, if you’ll just let me speak.”
She pressed her mouth shut and waited for me to go on.
I drew in a deep breath and blew it out. I suddenly felt foolish. I’d just been so utterly shocked by Ben telling me Abby was pregnant—and that they were getting married—that I lost my footing.
“I feel so stupid.”
Taking my hand in hers, she kissed the back of it. “Tell me, Lily.”
“Ben told me Abby was pregnant. And they’re getting married. I was so shocked that I took a step back and tripped over something. When I tried to regain my balance, my ankle twisted and I went down.”
“Wow. Well, that news would surprise anyone.”
I nodded. “Ben’s also giving up our friendship because Abby doesn’t like me.”
Then, without even knowing why, I started to cry.
“Oh, Lily, sweetheart.” Drawing me into her arms, my mother held me tightly.
“I don’t even know why I’m crying. Maybe because, after all these years, I realize that he doesn’t value our friendship at all.”
Gently rocking me, my mother said, “Are you sure that’s the only reason?”
I drew back and wiped at my tears. “What do you mean?”