“I liked me better when I didn’t trust or love anyone,” I said, but I knew that was a lie. Because even after Jace had pushed me away, I knew that even if he never wanted to speak to me again, being with him, the time we shared, had been the most magical time in mylife.
“Come on,” Serena said. “Let’s watch a terrible movie, drink martinis, and put on some mudmasks.”
And as only Serena could, despite our past and differences, she found a way to my heart once again. “I’d really likethat.”
40
Jace
Stepping into Fever Pitch,I made my way through the crowd until I spied Dax at the bar, martini inhand.
I approached, noticing a few glances from the tables and booths. Some I recognized from around town, some I didn’t. The ones who seemed to have caught the news wore familiar expressions, reminding me of the way people had looked at me after Crawford had passed. Just another reminder of the painful memories evoked by myaccident.
I reached the bar, and Dax, who turned tome.
“Dude, what are you doing?” he asked, pushing to his feet. “Should you even be running around town rightnow?”
“Give me a break. Wait, I think I already got one. Now sit your ass back down, or I’m gonna start assaulting you with some more Dadjokes.”
His concern transformed into a smirk, and he returned his ass to thatstool.
“You’re lucky you’re charming, even in that boot.” He took another sip of his drink before setting his glass on thebar.
“Hey, Dallas, you mind grabbing me a—” Before I had a chance to finish my sentence, Dallas was already handing me a coldone.
Dax glanced between us. “I take it this is more than a serendipitousmoment.”
“A little birdie might have given you away. —Thanks,Dallas.”
“Anytime,man.”
Dax shook his head as though he disapproved, but his persistent smile assured me he was glad I’d showedup.
As Nance and I had been finishing off a good bit of pie, Dallas had messaged to let me know Dax was hanging at the bar. Nance hadn’t hesitated to fetch me an Uber to get my ass out there to see my man…if he’d still have me after what an ass I was at my placeearlier.
I took a sip of my beer, and Dax said, “You’ll be happy to know Serena isn’t doing the interview. She never had any intention of doing it after she saw you wereinjured.”
“That sounds more like the woman Imet.”
“I’m starting to realize that myself,” Dax admitted, and I could tell by how he said it that it surprised him. “I think she showed more compassion when I talked to her today than I’ve seen from her in our whole life together. I was going to text you about our talk tomorrow, but felt like you could use somespace.”
“Sorry if it felt like I was kicking you outearlier.”
“No need to apologize. It wasfair.”
“It wasn’t fair. It was a dick move I pulled. I did need space, but that wasn’t the way to get it. Shutting down, leaving you in the dark like that, that’s not me. It’s just…a hell of a lot happened over the past few days…the past few months, really. It’s crowded my thoughts and left me confused asfuck.”
“I don’t blame you. I know what it’s like when the press gets on a roll like that. When the media strikes the most sensitive nerve at just the righttime.”
“They did that, for sure.” I sighed, reflecting on the pain I saw in Nance’s and Keegan’s expressions when we watched the story unfold on the hospital roomTV.
Dax snickered, but it seemed a sort of bitter amusement about something. “I really thought when I met you and you told me what you wanted to do with giving all that money to Fever Fight, that it was going to be different. For the first time in my life, I believed something could withstand this whole system. Me, the guy who’s played a role in this kind of performance so many times, seen what happens when the curtain opens and we get to act three…I actually had some fucking hope. I thought, if anyone could survive it, you could…because I’d met a real-life superhero. And then, the very thing I feared…well, it happened, and ripped right through your family in theprocess.”
“Hey, now. Don’t underestimate the Kruses. We can take a good beating. Nothing we haven’t lived through before, nothing we’re afraid ofnow.”
He beamed as our gazes met, the first time he’d looked me in the eyes since I arrived, and I reveled in the sensation stirred by being lost in his gaze once again. He seemed just as distracted as I was for a moment, then shifted his look to his drink, and as if trying to remember what we were talking about, said, “No, I don’t doubt you all are plenty tough, but it certainly wasn’t a fair fight, and it never is when it comes to the machine because it’s a beast that doesn’t think or care. It has no compassion. It justdestroys.”
“Dax, you talk about it like it’s some kind of monster, but it’s not a monster. A fire’s a monster that can drag the people you love out of your life. This is just people being curious and intrigued about shit they have no business knowing anything about, but onlypeople.”
