There it was. Everything was out in the open, and I knew Carl hadn’t betrayed my secret.
I should have been feeling better about everything, but a pit of uncertainty formed in my stomach. I wasn’t sure if this was the end of trouble or the beginning of it.
Chapter 16
Alex
A massive explosion threw me across the room. I slammed into the wall with a grunt, all the air knocked out me.
On the ground, I gasped, trying to suck in precious air. Pain wracked my body, but as far as I could tell from feeling around, nothing was broken.
Escape. I needed to escape before it was too late. Before I ended up dead.
The fire roared around me. A chunk of the ceiling fell, slamming into another man: a man in a welding mask.
“Help me,” screamed the man from underneath the rubble. “Help me, or I’m gonna die here, Alex!”
Another explosion slammed me against the wall. This time when I landed, pain shot from my leg.
“No,” I shouted. “No!” I tried to move, but my leg wouldn’t budge.
I woke up, sweating soaking my body, my breathing ragged. A nightmare. It was only a nightmare.
I shook my head as I thought over what I’d been dreaming about. The welder hadn’t even spoken to me during the real accident. I’m sure there was a bunch of deep meaning some headshrinker could pull out of that, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to sleep without having nightmares.
Why had they come back? I hadn’t had a bad dream for several days, and I almost thought they’d be gone for good. I supposed I shouldn’t have expected it to be that easy. That didn’t mean I wasn’t grateful for the nights of peace I had managed to find.
It wasn’t like I didn’t have a lot of things going for me to help me fight the bad dreams. I’d even reconnected with Aspyn and found out I had a daughter. Things were looking good for me. Not just good, but great.
I’d even kissed Aspyn with all the passion I’d felt three years before.
Sure, I’d said it was to thank her, but it was also because I wanted her badly. I wanted her to remember what we’d shared and how we could make each other feel.
She talked about us not being a couple, but I wasn’t crazy. I knew what I felt. She kissed me back. The woman wanted me as badly as I wanted her, even if she was still confused and angry.
I didn’t want to rush her. I got it. She’d been pissed at me for a long time. It’d take her a while to work th
rough things. The one thing I had plenty of was time.
I glanced over at the pictures on my nightstand of Kadie. Everything wasn’t about me anymore, or even Aspyn. I had a daughter, and I needed to be strong for her. I wouldn’t lose to the nightmares now that I had a kid to live for.
With that in mind, I got out of bed and headed into the shower to rinse off my sweat-soaked body. After finishing off, I threw on jeans and a shirt. Before heading out, I grabbed the small photo of Kadie in the hospital and slipped it into my wallet. I might not have been there for her short life yet, but from then on, I was going to make sure she was with me everywhere.
I headed out to go find Carl. I still had some unfinished business with my friend. I wasn’t sure if Aspyn had talked to him or not, but since he always seemed to be going somewhere other than where I was, it made me think she hadn’t.
A good 15-minute hike followed until I finally found him out behind his barn hammering in some loose nails on replacement siding.
Lucky for me, Carl was so focused on his work, he didn’t even realize I was coming until I was right on top of him. My shadow tipped him off, and he turned around and stood.
I spotted the panic in his eyes immediately. He wanted to run, but he probably knew it’d be too weird and suspicious.
“You don’t have to worry about it anymore, Carl,” I said. “Aspyn told me.”
He eyed me. “She told you? Told you what?”
“Everything. I know Kadie is my daughter. I also know she made everyone promise not to tell me. I know that’s why you’ve been avoiding me.”
Carl nodded slowly before whistling. “Told you everything, huh? Wow. That’s some shit. Three years.” He averted his gaze. “I wanted to tell you, bro, I really did. But I can’t go back on my word.”