This One Moment (Pushing Limits, #1)(36)

“I don’t wanna go to jail,” she said, her voice small.

“I swear you won’t go to jail. But I have a flat tire and it will take me a while to get there. The police will keep you safe until then. But while you wait, you can talk to Hailey. That way I can change the tire and we’ll be there as quickly as possible. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes,” she breathed.

I passed Hailey the phone. She took it from me, body shaking. When we had rushed from her house, she’d only been wearing a flimsy tank top and shorts that revealed her long legs. And now every part of her was drenched and covered in goose bumps.

Needing to get Hailey warm and to get to Sarah as soon as possible, I worked quickly to change the tire. Hailey continued talking to my sister.

“The police are there,” Hailey told me as I removed the tire.

“Tell Sarah I want to talk to them.”

She relayed the message to my sister. I began tightening the lug nuts and was almost finished when Hailey handed me the phone. “Hello?” I said into it.

“Is this Nolan Kincaid?” a gruff voice asked.

“Yes. Is my sister okay?”

“She will be. I’m driving her home.”

My gut tightened, and I was positive I was going to puke. “No one’s home right now.” Unless my father had returned, in which case there would be some serious shit flying soon. As far as the police knew, based on what I’d told the dispatcher, he could have been in an accident. That was the only explanation for why a normal, caring parent would be so late picking up his child from dance class.

“Where’s her mother?”

“She had a meeting tonight with the hospital foundation.” Dad allowed Mom to help them because it looked good, status-wise and all. And people might grow suspicious if she was never allowed to leave the house. “She won’t be home for another hour.”

“When do you expect to arrive home?”

“Not long. I’m almost finished changing my tire.”

“We’ll wait for you, then.”

“Okay.” I didn’t know if it would be all right. I couldn’t think that far ahead. For now, the main thing was my sister was finally safe.





Chapter 22


Hailey


Nolan was watching the TV, but I had a feeling he wasn’t seeing anything on the screen.

I shifted around and cupped his face with my hand. “Hey, what’s going on?”

Nolan blinked twice. “Sorry. I’m just tired.” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I think I’ll go to bed now.”

He reopened his eyes, and his thoughts waged a battle in his mind as he deliberated for a moment. “Would…would you stay with me tonight?”

An excited thrill trembled through my body even though it shouldn’t have. It had been over five years since we had slept together, and that had been innocent. That was before we had kissed. And I meant really kissed, not just a friendly peck between close friends.

He smirked, and the slight hint of humor eased my fears about what he was going through. “Just keep your hands to yourself. I have my virtue to protect.”

I rolled my eyes. “Duly noted.”

Once I was ready for bed, I joined him. Even though this wasn’t the first time we’d been in bed together, just like when we watched the movie, things between us felt different.

But unlike on the couch, an ocean of space now separated us. Yet an odd sense of intimacy crackled in the air between us. I felt torn as to what I should do, or if I should do anything at all.

Nolan turned around and switched off the bedside lamp. “Good night, Forget-Me-Not.”

“Good night, rock star.” I laughed at his mocked groan. I wasn’t sleepy yet, so I listened to his breathing. Though he’d told me he was tired, it took forever before his breath became slow and even.

Light from the streetlights leaked into his room and rested gently on his face. I could see his old scar partially hidden behind his bangs, and bit back the temptation to trace my finger over it, somehow removing all his pain. A pain that had started way back, when his family first developed cracks in its once smooth surface.

Eventually my eyes drifted shut.

When I woke again, the room was still dark, other than the dim light from the streetlights. It didn’t take much to discover what had woken me up: Nolan was moving restlessly on the bed.

He let out a soft whimper, and my heart broke for him once again. At some point he had kicked the bedding off him, leaving his abs exposed. In the soft light, I could just make out the thick scar cutting across his skin.

“Nolan,” I whispered. “You’re having a nightmare.”

He didn’t respond. He kept tossing and turning, the covers becoming tangled with his legs. He mumbled what sounded like his sister’s name, then whimpered again.

I rested my hand on his chest. His heart pounded hard against my palm. “Hey, Nolan, it’s okay. You’re just having a bad dream.” I moved my hand to his far shoulder and gently shook him.

His eyes opened and for a moment he stared at me like he wasn’t sure if I was real or not.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked, still partially leaning over him.

“No,” he whispered. He no longer looked scared, like he had been during the nightmare. His eyes, dark from the dim room, focused on my eyes, then drifted to my lips.