Backrush by Jana DeLeon

Author:Jana DeLeon [DeLeon, Jana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J&R Publishing

Chapter Fifteen

Blood rushed from Alayna’s head and the entire room tilted. Luke’s grip was the only thing that prevented her from crashing onto the floor.

“Alayna!” Luke’s voice sounded like a distant echo. “Are you all right?”

She felt him moving her across the living room floor and then he lowered her onto the couch and sat beside her.

“Alayna?” He spoke again, his anxiety clear. “I’m going to call for the paramedics.”

She shook her head. No paramedics. She just needed to breathe. One breath in. Another out. A breath in. Repeat slowly.

Luke placed his hands on each side of her face and turned her head to face him. His eyes searched her, looking for an indication that she was all right.

“You’re white as a sheet,” he said. “If you don’t say something, I’m going to call.”

“Don’t,” she finally managed, although it came out as a whisper.

“Stay here,” he said and headed into her kitchen.

He returned quickly with a small glass of the whiskey she’d picked up because it was Bea’s favorite. He lifted the glass to her lips, and she took a sip, then clutched the glass and took another. Her hands shook as she lifted the glass and Luke placed his over hers to steady them. Finally, the room stopped spinning, but her mind was still whirling from what she’d heard.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean…I’m fine. I just need to go to bed.”

Luke looked at her as if she were crazy. “No way I’m leaving. Look, I know about Patterson. I read it online.”

Tears welled up, and she tried to choke them back but couldn’t. Mortified, she swiped her hand at the traitorous drops as they ran down her cheeks. She shouldn’t be surprised. After that run-in with Melody at the pizza place, Luke had probably googled her. She couldn’t blame him. Given the cryptic things Melody said, she would have done the same thing. But it didn’t lessen the humiliation.

“I don’t want you involved in my mess,” she said. “Just go back to your house and forget you ever met me. You don’t need this.”

“You don’t need it either. I already told you I wasn’t leaving. So you might as well get used to me sticking around. I’m not the kind of guy who takes off at the first sign of trouble. In fact, it’s the opposite. I run right toward it.”

Her chest tightened and she struggled with the overwhelming desire to have him at her side while she tried to make sense of this and the right thing to do, which was turn him loose to go on with his life, unencumbered with her baggage.

He must have sensed her issue because he enclosed her hand in his. “Look, I can either go to my house and sit there worrying all night, or I can stay here and help you deal with this. Either way, you’re going to be the only thing on my mind, but if you let me stay, at least I won’t feel useless.”

“I don’t know what to say.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.