Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 74005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
She sighs. “Yes, and I’m second to last. But you’re still her son, Hawk, and her baby is fighting for his life while her husband still can’t communicate. She needs all of us right now.”
“You go.” I turn back to Eagle. “I’m staying.”
4
DANIELA
The hospital cafeteria.
The ice cream machine. Vanilla soft serve. Topping bar.
Hawk’s entire family, minus Eagle and Mr. Bellamy.
One of these things is not like the other.
Me.
I consider Vinnie and Raven my family, but I’m hardly a Bellamy. Hawk and I have slept together once. We’re not even in a relationship, really.
So why am I here, exactly?
I came to be here for Hawk, but clearly he doesn’t want my presence.
So now I’m eating ice cream with his family in the freaking hospital cafeteria.
I hold my dish under the machine, watch the ice cream coil into it. Then I take a bit of every topping. Every single one. Screw it. Life is short. My father’s rules for my eating have been drummed in my head for so long, and I’m going to fight against him.
The Pink Cadillac ice cream I ate the other day was the first step.
This is the second step.
Rainbow sprinkles. Cookie crumbles. Peanuts. Chocolate sauce. Caramel sauce. Banana slices. Strawberries. Pretzel pieces. Mini M&Ms. Gummy bears.
Every one of them, even the ones I’m not crazy about like bacon bits. Why are there bacon bits at an ice cream bar? I’m a chef in training, and I get the salty-sweet contrast, but this seems to go too far.
The others are all sitting down together, hovering over Star. Her eyes and nose are pink and puffy. No surprise there. Her child is fighting for his life. And her husband is still here as well.
Raven rises and walks to me as I turn away from the machine.
“Hungry?” she asks, looking at my ice cream.
And I realize—funny thing—that I’m not even slightly hungry.
“Not really.”
She forces out a choking laugh. “I hope you get hungry. That looks delicious.”
“Are you doing okay?” I ask.
She sighs. “We’re all hanging in there. He’s strong. If anyone can get through this, it’s Eagle.”
I simply nod.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
For a moment I don’t reply. Why is anyone concerned about me right now?
“Fine,” I finally reply.
“Is my brother treating you right?”
I widen my eyes slightly. “Raven, you have so much else on your mind. Please don’t worry about me.”
“I do worry about you, Dani. You’re like family now.”
“I appreciate you saying that. I consider you and Vinnie family as well. Right now, though, we should be focusing on Eagle.”
“To be honest,” she says, “it would help if I had something else to focus on. God knows I’m sick to death of hospitals and what they mean.” She leans in. “So tell me. About you and Hawk.”
I glance toward the table. None of them are paying any attention to us. Of course they’re not. Eagle is fighting for his life.
So I answer.
“Yes, he’s treating me very well.”
Except when he told me to get out of Eagle’s hospital room, but I leave that part out.
“Good.” She narrows her eyes. “What exactly is going on between you two?”
I bite my lip. “I don’t think I need to spell it out. I spent the night there.”
“I know, sweetie.” She squeezes my shoulder. “And I think you know that I want to ask if you’re okay.”
“I am, actually. I know I’m young, and I know I’ve been through…”
“You don’t have to go into any detail.”
“I know that, too. But in a way… In a way, I lost my virginity last night.”
She raises her eyebrows.
“You know. I mean…consensually.”
“Your emotional virginity,” she says.
“That’s it, exactly. So I’m trying to look at this without getting too emotional. I mean, it was amazing, and I don’t have any regrets.” I look down. “But I’m also feeling some things that I never thought I’d be capable of feeling. But I’m young, and it seems too soon to be feeling anything like that. It was just sex, right?”
She smiles. “Do you care for him?”
“Of course. That’s what I mean by feelings.”
“Then it wasn’t just sex, Dani. It was something very special between the two of you. If he has any sense at all, he’ll return your feelings.”
“So you don’t disapprove?”
“Why would I disapprove?”
“Because I’m so much younger than he is.”
She grabs my hand. “Dani, I fell for Vinnie so quickly. Before I really even knew anything about him. Love can be like that, you know? It can sneak up on you when you least expect it.”
My cheeks warm. “I didn’t say anything about love.”
“You don’t have to, sweetie.” She grins. “It’s in your eyes.”
I blink.
“You can try to hide it, but it’s there. I know you’re young, and I know you’re confused, given your past. But my brother is a good man. I love all my siblings equally, but Hawk is special.”