Ryder’s POV
My hands trembled violently as I tipped the small bottle of high-dose painkillers into my palm. I didn't even bother counting them. I tossed the pills into my mouth and dry-swallowed them, letting the sharp, bitter taste burn down the back of my throat. Gripping the edge of the locker room bench, I fought like hell to hold onto my sanity as a vicious wave of vertigo slammed into my brain. Even breathing felt like inhaling shattered glass.
But every time I closed my eyes, all I saw was Mary.
Waiting. Trusting me to keep my promise. And there wasn't a force on earth strong enough to keep me off that ice.
Within minutes, the numbness started to creep in. The drugs worked fast, muting the screams of my muscles and replacing them with a fragile, artificial deadness. I took a dee
