What Hurts The Most
OLLIE
DECEMBER
My head pounded. Hard. Furious. Over and over and over.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Fucking hell. I needed some Tylenol or something. That meant getting up though, which was, like, the last thing I wanted to do right now. But I also had to pee.
Rubbing at my eyes, I pushed myself upright, hating how unsteady I felt.
The pounding continued. Louder this time. Why did it have to be so loud?
Only…that wasn’t in my head. The doorknob jiggled and then another vicious round of knocking. “Ollie! Wake the fuck up!”
What the fuck? The voice on the other side of the door sounded vaguely familiar and masculine. Was it Cash? No, Cash would’ve just used one of the extra keys I gave him. I hurried to the door just as another series of knocks started.
“What the hell?” I snapped, whipping it open.
Ryder and Maverick stood just outside my door, Ryder’s fist held up midair.
Maverick paced back and forth, his fingers spearing back over his close-cropped hair.
The minute our eyes met fear flooded through me, chasing away any lingering remnants of a hangover.
I was stone-cold sober now and freaked the fuck out.
“What happened?” I asked, the words barely a cracked whisper, though they felt more like a shout in my head.
Maverick’s jade eyes were bloodshot, and there was this scared, wild look swirling in them. He opened his mouth but then shook his head and continued his pacing. Ryder looked equally as frazzled, his face set into a severe scowl that I didn’t see all too often on him.
“What the fuck is going on? Where’s Cash?” I asked.
Neither of them answered.
“Where the fuck is Cash?” My throat felt like it was closing. It was as if all the air in my lungs had been vacuum-sealed out of them. I couldn’t breathe.
Where was Cash? Was he okay? Why wouldn’t they tell me what was going on? Panic surged up, welling inside me like a great raging wave.
Ryder settled before me, gripping my shoulders tightly. “Ollie…Ollie! I need you to stop fightin’ me.” I drilled in his grip. “Cash was in an accident.”
A chill ran through me. What? I sucked in breath after breath, but it did little to help me breathe. My hands, my body trembled and my legs might as well have turned to jello. Thank God Ryder held me steady or I might collapse altogether.
Cash…in an accident?
No. No, that wasn’t right. Cash was invincible. Untouchable. He couldn’t be—
I couldn’t even think it.
“Is…” My vision blurred, white-hot tears searing my cheeks. “Is he okay?”
Ryder’s answer was like a death knell. “I don’t know.”
The end for now…