Crash into You (Pushing the Limits, #3)(97)

Beth pales. “You...you did that to me?”

Noah lowers himself to stare into her eyes. “Don’t stand there acting like I ratted you out. You’re better off and you know it. You’re happy. You’ve told me that yourself.”

Beth clenches her hands together. “But it should have been my choice.”

“Beth...you never saw your choices.” And his eyes flash to me. “And neither do you.”

I gesture with palms open. “Show me my rich uncle, Noah, and I’m game. Wait...my bad...out of the three of us, I’m the only trash here.”

Noah shoves a finger into my chest, daring me into a physical confrontation. “You’re so bent on believing what you want people to see that you forget that you’re more. Keep saying it. Keep saying you’re trash and take the f*cking swing at me, but if you do, know I’m hitting back.”

My head is so close to Noah’s that I feel the heat of his anger, or maybe it’s mine.

“You want to fight, man?” I ask. “Is that what you want?”

“No, bro. But I do want to kick some sense into your head.”

Around us, several guys leap to their feet, calling at us to back down. Most of them wear jock jackets like Logan’s. One has the balls to touch me. Ryan, Beth’s guy, has the balls to touch Noah. “Bring it down a notch.”

Beth smacks Ryan’s arm. “Let him go, Ryan.” She turns to the one with his arm on me. “You, too, Chris. This is how the two of them communicate.”

Ryan yanks on the bill of his baseball cap. “This is a fight, Beth.”

She rolls her eyes. “It’s a family reunion. A f*cked-up one, but how else would we do it.”

Noah cracks his crazy-ass grin with her words and chuckles. I pop the tension out of my neck, and Noah flexes his shoulders to relax. “You should have told me you had problems.”

I shrug. “I got problems.”

Noah pats my back. “Then we’ll figure it out.”

For the first time in a while, the pressure inside of me dips. “Thanks, man.”

The door to the emergency room opens. On crutches, Logan hobbles out of the E.R. with a man who must be his dad by his side. Some of the guys near us clap or yell out Logan’s name.

For the first time since waking up from the crash, I feel like I can take a lungful of air. Logan acknowledges his friends as he and his two poles maneuver through the mass of people. There’s no mistake that he’s making his way to me, Beth, Chris and Ryan.

Chris is the first to speak. “You’re a moron, Junior.”

Logan pops that insane grin. “But it was a hell of a rush.” He nods at me. “You okay?”

“Stitches.”

“Same with me.” He kicks out his right leg. “Twenty-four stitches on my thigh. Nothing broken.” Logan loses the spark. “I’m out for a bit.” He’s referring to helping with the money.

“It’s good,” I say. “Thanks, man.”

“Don’t thank me. You still have to fix my ’57 Chevy.”

Logan turns to Ryan and the pair embrace. Beth told me they’d been friends since elementary school. I can only imagine their bond. Beth wraps her arms around me. “Thanks for being my friend again.”

I hug her back. “No problem.”

“Hey, Isaiah,” says Logan. “Wasn’t that Rachel?”





Chapter 64

Rachel

ISAIAH HUGGED BETH.

Beth—the strong girl, the beautiful girl, the girl who twisted Isaiah in knots. He smiled at her. He hugged her. And they looked perfect together.

I’ve watched Abby and Isaiah for weeks, and never once has he touched her, much less hugged her. And Isaiah doesn’t smile easily. It’s a rare gift and he gave it to her. Our fight must have opened his eyes. The crash must have revealed his true feelings.

And his feelings aren’t for me.

I yank my keys out of my purse. They fall through my fingers and clank on the blacktop. Abby, I should go back for Abby, but I can’t stay. She went to pester a nurse for news on Logan and never returned. Isaiah can drive her home. Or Noah can. Or Beth.

All people who belong together. I don’t belong in their world. I’m weak. They’re strong.

Beth is strong.

I snatch the keys off the ground, and they clink together in my hands. I’m shaking, and it’s not because of the chill in the evening air. The guy I fell in love with never loved me. Never.

“Rachel!” Isaiah calls out.

I glance over my shoulder, gripping the keys tighter in my hand. My breathing hitches. I can’t do it. I can’t hear him say the words. Not with the memory of him holding her so fresh. Not with her probably observing through the glass door. A girl like her would enjoy watching me break.

My thoughts become a distorted mess, and my stomach hollows out as if I’ve been pushed over a ravine. I feel the sickening weightlessness like I’m falling, my arms flailing to stop.

I should run, but I’m paralyzed by the sight of him. Even moving slowly, Isaiah possesses the prowess of a panther. His muscles pronounced in the easy way he strides. The set, determined gaze on me as his prey. This only proves how weak I am. Like the animal on the verge of being devoured in the wild, I stand here stunned by his dangerous beauty.