Honey steels herself, painting herself as the perfect picture of indifferent and reserved, before stating, ‘Your leg’s broken, by the way.’
She’s all too aware that I’m one step away from crumbling at the high possibility my bull-riding career could be over. I let her know me too deeply.
‘No shit. It’s in a cast,’ I deadpan back, ready for thisnightmare to end so I can wake up. Maybe I should call the nurse in to dose me up with something strong enough to knock me out for a while after all.
It’s then that my best friend, Wolfman—Miles, as Honey knows him—walks through the door, coffee cup in one hand. His smile lights up beneath his thick brown beard when he sees me. ‘Hey! He’s alive!’
‘I should go.’ Honey scrambles to grab her purse, hooking the straps over her shoulder. She briefly pauses at the end of the bed again, mouth opening as she stares into my eyes, readying to speak, but then she just twists to face Wolfman and says, ‘See you on Monday, Miles,’ before hurrying out the room.
My mind screams at me—at having to watch her leave again after finally getting another hit of her attention. At being the reason she left.Again.
‘Okay …’ Wolfman’s forehead creases as the door slams behind Honey. He deposits himself in the armchair next to my bed, taking a sip of his coffee before sighing. ‘What did you say to her?’
I furrow my brow. ‘What do you mean?’
‘That’s Honey Goldman—you remember her, right?’ Wolfman rests his long legs on my bed, one on top of the other, getting incredibly comfortable considering we’re in hospital. And his feet are inches away from my freshly broken leg. ‘She’s like the nicest girl ever. You’d have to be damn mean to piss her off so much.’
‘I didn’t say anything. I hardly know her.’ I shrug, unable to keep myself from glancing at the door, wondering if she’ll come back, even though I know it’s futile.
She never came back before. Why would she now?
Wolfman just narrows his eyes, then perks a brow at me. ‘Weird that she wanted to come and check on you, then, isn’t it?’
‘Her kid is a fan, apparently. I spoke to them before the show.’ I meet his stare, revealing nothing. Because I’ve never told anyone what happened between me and Honey. It’s never felt like my story to tell. Even before we came to our calamitous end, she was always worried about the truth behind our tutoring sessions slipping out. I was a mark on her record she didn’t want.
I don’t need to share that humiliation with everyone.
Wolfman nods, then sips his coffee. I don’t like the silence that follows. I don’t like that my mind’s too heavy and jumbled to come up with something to say like usual. This isn’t me.
Though, Wolfman only breaks it to say, ‘You’re an idiot, you know that?’
I scoff, even though I can think of plenty reasons why he’s right. ‘What else have I done now?’
He barks out a laugh, head tipping back. ‘Oh, I don’t know, maybe fractured your leg and continued to ride without letting it heal so that when you get thrown off a bull it just ends up breaking even more.’ His raised brows punctuate his point.
Got to love having a best friend who’ll give it to you straight. There’s a reason Wolfman’s been my number one since we were seven. That and the fact he’s too easily convinced to do stupid shit with me.
‘Well, fuck. You got me there.’
Both of us fall into a rumbling laughter then, the small moment of joy needed amongst the heaviness that’sthreatening to pull me down as my once clear future crumbles away.
‘How bad is it?’ I ask, wincing.
‘I don’t know.’ Wolfman rocks his head from side to side, weighing up his answer. ‘Is it better or worse if the bone goes through the skin?’
‘Jesus Christ.’ I wipe a hand over my face. That explains how it must be the middle of the night. Guessing I was out from surgery.
‘You didn’t have to look at it.’ Wolfman snorts, grinning too manically, then admits, ‘Pretty sure Wyatt threw up in his mouth when he saw. Might’ve even shed a tear.’
ThatI wish I had been awake to see. Wyatt, one of my other best friends from high school, likes to act all stoic and tough, but ever since he met his fiancée, Rory—a British wellness influencer he runs a retreat and ranch with here in Willow Ridge—that exterior has slowly been melting.
‘Man, am I gonna give him shit for that when I see him,’ I chuckle out, the deep ache in my bones starting to dispel.
But that short moment of distraction is interrupted when a doctor marches through the door, clipboard in hand. She greets me with a terse smile, her brown bob brushing her shoulders. ‘Good to see you awake finally, Mr Nash.’
Wolfman quickly yanks his feet off the bed when she eyes them. Her expression hardens, transporting me back to high school, as if I’m getting told off by one of my teachers. ‘I’m Doctor Morgan.’
‘Pleasure to meet you, Doc,’ I respond, trying my best to lace my words with my usual charm, and throwing out my smirk, which normally softens even the harshest of shells.