Page 87 of Forever Only Once

“I’m going to go to her. I gave her some time, but now it’s time for us to talk it out and figure out what the fuck we’re doing.”

“And if she tells you she doesn’t want to see you again?” Prior asked.

My gut churned, and my jaw tightened. “Then I’ll go. But I was a little drugged when I let her walk away before, not to mention that I was strapped to the bed and an IV. I had to just let her walk away. And I know we both have a lot of shit to deal with now, fuck, all of us do, her friends and our family included. And we’ll deal with it. But we need to talk it out. Together. I can’t just walk away because it’s easier. Even if it seems like it could be easier.”

Prior searched my face and gave me a tight nod. “Good. She’s good for you. I know she probably blames herself for what happened, but that was all on that asshole. Both assholes. But Chris wasn’t a murderer. And we both know that.”

I nodded, swallowing hard. “He just made some really bad fucking decisions.”

“Sadly, he paid the price with his life,” Prior said. “That’s something we’ll all have to deal with for a long fucking time. But we will. For now, however, I’m going to make you dinner, even though I’m not as good a cook as Arden or you. Then we’ll eat and pretend that everything is fine, and you can tell me exactly how you’re going to get Hazel back.”

“I don’t have a plan,” I whispered.

“Then it’s a good thing I’m here.”

“When’s the last time you had a serious relationship?” I asked.

“I haven’t. Not really. So I guess I’ll learn from you while I try to teach you. It’ll be a symbiotic relationship of what the fuck.”

I laughed, wincing a bit at the pain in my side.

I knew I wasn’t going to let Hazel go, not without talking first.

I still had nightmares, picturing what had been done to her, the pain we’d both had to endure. That was something I would have to deal with for the rest of my life.

But I wasn’t going to let myself wallow in solitude and misery when I knew that I loved her, and I needed to tell her as much.

If she said she didn’t love me and wanted nothing to do with me, I’d figure out how to live with that.

But until then, I had to bare my soul to her.

I just didn’t know how to fucking do that.

How did I even start?