My Brother Came Back, and He Destroyed Them

Chapter 2

Nash froze, that flicker of pity back in his eyes. He gently wiped my tears, then pulled me into his arms. "Freya, don't talk about yourself like that. Whatever you become, I'll never walk out on you. You're the only woman I'll ever want to marry, Freya."

My tears soaked into his shoulder. I reached up and pushed him off. "If I'd known Lyra was this hung up on you, I never would've been with you… I wish I'd never met you… Then my life wouldn't be wrecked, and my baby wouldn't be dead…"

Back when Nash first asked me out, someone had already told me he and Lyra were childhood friends, close as anything. He kept swearing he only saw her as a little sister, that he'd never cross a line, that they kept their distance. But any time things got a little too cozy between them, he'd tell me I was reading into it. A friendship of more than 20 years wasn't going to end over me—and I kept telling myself I was reading into it. I never once thought it'd land me here.

Nash let go of my hand all of a sudden, a flicker of impatience in his eyes. "You know, once you get used to the prosthetic and put pants on, you won't look any different from anybody else. I already told you I won't think less of you. So you can't dance—that's fine. I can provide for you. And kids, if you want them, we'll adopt, as many as you like. It'll all be fine, Freya."

When he finished, we both went quiet. He didn't wait for an answer, just kept going. "Lyra's just too young and impulsive. She never expected it to turn out this serious. It's not easy for a girl her age to swallow her pride and come take care of you. You shouldn't be so sharp with her sometimes."

That was Nash these past few days. Say a couple things to me, and the conversation always looped right back to Lyra. Always the same excuses. She's young. She's had it hard.

I'd suspected for a while that Lyra had caused the crash on purpose. Why did it have to be me?

Nash frowned and said I was being paranoid. "Then what do you want me to do? You're my girlfriend, but she's my oldest friend! Lyra panicked and couldn't hit the brakes in time. Quit being so paranoid."

All at once I felt completely wrung out, and I curled up under the covers.

Nash sat a moment, then stood. "Get some rest, then. I'll head back and make you something to eat."

I waited until he was gone to call Jude back. He picked up almost right away. "Freya? Did you and Nash have a fight?"

I bit down hard on my finger, trying to keep my voice steady. "I just feel like there's no point to any of this anymore, and I don't want to be so far from you…"

Jude went quiet a second. "Yeah. I'm out here on a project. I'll be back to get you in two weeks, tops."

I said, "Okay," and I still didn't tell him about the crash. I didn't want him worrying. I just hoped he'd come back for me as fast as he could, so I could get out of here.