“Thank you,” I rush out, grabbing the cup and taking a sip. “Are you okay? You look like you barely slept.”
“That’s because I did barely sleep,” he mumbles as he walks into the closet and grabs a shirt from the hanger, pulling it over his head. His muscles contract every time he moves, and I’m caught in a daze before I shake myself out of it.
“Anything you want to talk about?” The warmth of the coffee feels good going down my throat. The cooler Midwest air has been a nice change from the humidity I’ve grown accustomed to though.
Nate sighs and there goes his hand again, pulling through his brown hair.
“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to,” I assure him.
“I dreamt about your accident.” His voice is low and hoarse as he stands at the edge of the bed, staring at me. Pain pulls at my chest, briefly remembering what I can from that night.
“Ma’am, are you okay? Can you hear me?” My eyes flutter open and shut as bright lights are shining in my face. A man I don’t recognize is standing above me. Fuck, my leg hurts. Wow. It really fucking hurts. What’s going on? “Ma’am, you’ve been in an accident, we’re here to help you.”
The year that Nate left to come play football in Tampa, I was in a car accident. There was a party off-campus that I went to. Which isn’t something I’d do often, but I thought, what the hell, you know? I was the passenger. It was a single car accident, the guy I was casually seeing lost control and we ended up hitting a tree. I broke my leg, dislocated my shoulder, and had quite a few bumps and bruises. Josh had a lot of cuts and scrapes too, but ultimately, I got the brunt of it.
“It felt like it was happening again. Like I was right there. All the rage and fear I had that night came rushing back in that dream, Mi. I swear I could feel it all as if it were repeating itself. I woke up sweating, trembling, full of all the anger and frustration all over again.”
He walks over to where I’m seated on the bed and just hugs me. His strong arms wrap around me as we sit there in silence for a moment.
“I’m sorry you had to relive it,” I whisper.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be over it. I wish I could have protected you from it.” His grip gets tighter as his breaths get deeper.
“There isn’t anything you could’ve done. It’s okay. I’m okay.” I take his face in my hands, focusing on his tired and sad eyes. The blue in them looks dulled down and it’s heartbreaking.
Nate clears his throat and nods his head at me as he presses his fingers into his eyes.
“You’re okay,” he confirms.
I nod at him, offering a smile. His hand grazes my cheek as he takes a seat on the bed next to me and quickly changes the subject to something lighter.
“Are your feet sore? You were dancing quite a bit last night.”
“No, thankfully. I feel good. I only had one beer too, so no hangover.”
Nate leans back against the headboard and brings his arm behind his head, displaying the perfect definition of his biceps.
“Good. I think maybe I’ll go on a solo hike today,” he states, confidently.
“I love that.”
When I bring my attention back to my phone and scroll up a little further, I see the text Summer and Abby were referring to. I can’t help laughing out loud at what Abby says and then Summer’s reply.
“What?” Nate asks.
“Nothing, I was just reading a text from Abby.” I shake my head and lock my phone, placing it in my lap.
“What’d little Hunt have to say?”
I take another sip of my coffee, shielding my face from his for a moment, allowing myself to gather my thoughts.
“She was just saying how sore she is from all of the sex her and Ford apparently have been enjoying.” I can’t even say it with a straight face. Nate shakes his head laughing.
“Must be nice,” I say under my breath, but it’s still loud enough where Nate hears me and replies instantly.
“Having sex is nice.”
“Yeah, but not the sore part.” The admission flies out of my mouth and I realize I’ve opened a door to a conversation that Nate and I have never had before.
