Heartless (Chestnut Springs, #2)(90)

“There are physiotherapy options and alternative health options that can help with rehabilitation from an injury like this,” she carries on, scribbling on the chart before her.

“Alternative health options?” I ask, scrunching my face.

She pulls her gloves off with a snap to write something down on her chart. “I’d recommend acupuncture to start,” she replies without even looking up at me.

“Okay.” I glance at Willa, who is still staring at her best friend’s sister, almost like she’s seen a ghost. “Let’s go the more conservative route.”

“Great.” She smiles but it’s pained. “I’ll get someone in here to fix you up and then you can be on your way. I’m sure you’re tired of waiting.” She stands and marches out the door, the picture of unaffected professionalism.

But Willa takes off after her.





31





Willa





Summer: Is Cade okay?

Willa: Yes. A couple of broken fingers. Will need 6-8 weeks to heal. So he’ll be an extra grumpy bitch for the foreseeable future.

Summer: Could have been worse. Luke is asleep. All good here.

Willa: Hey, Sum, has Winter responded to any of your messages?

Summer: No. I keep sending them anyway. I know she’s reading them. Why?

Willa: Because she’s our doctor tonight.

Summer: How does she look?

Willa: Sad.





“Winter,” I whisper-shout as I follow her down the beige hallway with a random green stripe down the middle of the wall. Why the hell do hospitals do that? It doesn’t make them any more appealing. “Winter, stop.”

Summer has been trying to contact her for a year but gets shut down at every turn. I’m not leaving this hospital before I talk to her.

She rounds the corner but stops in a little alcove that plays host to a couple of vending machines.

“What?” she snaps primly, nose tipped up as she stares down at her nails.

I’ve known Winter since we were teenagers. When Summer was in the hospital, we spent some time together. Winter isn’t as bad as everyone has made her out to be. She’s been dealt a shit hand.

One that money and education can’t undo. What Winter is missing is love.

I stare at her, breathing more heavily than the distance I just covered warrants. “I just want to give you a hug,” I say.

Her long lashes blink slowly, and she’s forced to look up at me because these sisters stopped growing at like twelve or something. “A hug?”

I realize now how rough she looks. Too thin. Too tired.

“Yes, girl.” I open my arms. “Get your scrawny ass over here.”

She glances away for a moment, like the bag of hickory sticks in the vending machine is super interesting. And then her shoulders droop and without meeting my eyes, she steps into my arms.

She sighs when she does, and so do I. It’s amazing how the adults around you can fuck everything up. That’s what happened with Summer and Winter—and I was there to watch it all go down.

I was also there in the hospital, sitting by Summer’s bedside, when Winter would sneak out of the house to be with her too. But only if Summer was sleeping. It’s an unspoken secret Winter and I have kept for years.

Everyone thinks Winter didn’t care, but I know better. She loves her little sister, even though her mom has made her feel like she shouldn’t. Even if she doesn’t know how to show it.

Their dad, Kip Hamilton, isn’t perfect, but he’s also not evil incarnate like Winter’s mom.

I think of Luke, and how different his life might have been if Cade and Talia had stayed together and been miserable.

He could have been these girls.

“How is life?” I whisper, and she doesn’t let me go. In fact, her fingers curl into my jean jacket and grip me like I’m her only lifeline on a sinking ship.

“Everything is fine.” Her voice cracks, and I feel her chest hitch when she sighs. “Fuck. That’s not true. Everything is a mess. And I lost the baby.”

My stomach hollows out and I almost feel nauseous. A year ago when everything blew up between her and Summer, she was pregnant.

She’s still clutching at me as she speaks. “And on one hand, I’m devastated because I tried for so long. And on the other, I’m relieved because I don’t have to be tied to him for the rest of my life. How awful am I?”

Her laugh is watery and my eyes widen. Winter has never been emotional. She’s always icy and reserved—especially in adulthood. I hardly recognize the woman clinging to me.

“You are not awful.” And I mean it. No one deserves to live in a world where the only family they have are an unfaithful husband and a manipulative mom. “You deserve so much better, Winter.”

She hums, like she isn’t so sure.

“Are you still together?” I ask, referring to the living, breathing trash she married.

“Sort of,” is her strained reply.

“He doesn’t deserve you.”

She squeezes me harder. God, this woman needs to be hugged so badly. “I know,” is her soft reply. “I’m just glad Summer has you. God knows the rest of us didn’t do her any good.”

Shocked by what she just said, I pull away and stare back at the woman before me. She’s always cool and removed, impossible to get a read on. “What are you doing here in Chestnut Springs?”