Fighting Our Way (Broken Tracks 2)

This information can stop us from looking over our shoulders and help us focus on what really matters: getting Amelia the help she needs to recover, and focusing on our life from here on out.

I startle awake, springing from the bed and looking around the room after feeling something crawling on me. My gaze lands on Amelia’s amused expression and I blow out a breath, scrubbing a hand over my face. “You scared the life out of me, woman!”

“Me?” She pinches her lips together, trying to hold in her laughter as she points at herself innocently. “What did I do?”

I crawl back into bed, pulling her into my chest. “You know there’s nicer ways to wake me up than tickling me.” I kiss the soft skin underneath her ear.

“There are?” Her brown eyes meet mine when I pull back, grinning at her.

I kiss the side of her mouth. “There are,” I confirm as I trail kisses down her jaw and she chuckles softly.

“I’d really like to…” She moans when my hand trails along her collarbone. “I… Dammit, Nate.” I kiss my way ac

ross the path I just created with my hand, loving the way she’s squirming. “I have to pee!”

I drop down onto one elbow, groaning. “Right now?”

“Yeah.” Her gaze bats back and forth between my eyes. “I need to… pee.”

My gaze falls on the alarm clock on the nightstand, seeing it’s nearly eight in the morning and I start to do the calculations in my head. After last night’s conversation, I brought her straight to bed so she hasn’t changed her catheter in a lot longer than it should’ve been left.

“Shit!” I’m up and out of bed, stumbling into the wall as I look for her chair. “Erm…”

“Living room, Nate,” she says, a soft chuckle floating out of her.

My gaze clashes with hers. “Right, I knew that.”

After collecting her wheelchair, I run back to our bedroom, narrowly missing Jan as she walks out of the bathroom.

“Sorry, Amelia needs her wheelchair!”

I hear her chuckle as I turn into the master, scooping up Amelia and placing her in her chair.

“Nate,” she admonishes. “You know I can do it myself.”

I wheel her into the en suite bathroom and take a step back. “I know, I just wanted to get you in here faster.”

I lean against the doorframe and she raises a brow at me. “You can leave now.”

“Right. I’ll go and make us coffee.” I shut the door behind me as I step out, walking over to the closet and pulling on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

The smell of fresh coffee has me sniffing the air as I walk into the living room and through to the kitchen. Jan is leaning against the counter and Carl is reading the newspaper at the table.

“Morning.”

They both look up at me, questioning expressions on their faces.

“Morning,” Carl says folding the newspaper up. “How is she?”

“She seems okay,” I say, walking over to the coffee pot and pouring out two cups. They both look relieved at my words as Jan and I join Carl at the table. “It was a huge shock to the both of us, but it seems like she doesn’t want to talk about it.”

There’s not one point this morning where a flicker of doubt, fear, or sadness has crossed her features and I don’t know whether that’s because it’s not hit her yet or because she really has gotten over the shock of finding out Phoebe is actually gone.

Carl folds his hands around his cup. “Do you think she’ll be alright to go shopping with Jan today? With us leaving tomorrow it’d be nice for them to have some time together.”

I nod in Amelia’s direction as she enters the kitchen. “I guess we’ll find out now.”

“Morning,” she murmurs, coming over to the table and parking her chair in her usual spot. I slide over the coffee I got for her and she takes it from me, smiling. “Thanks.” She lifts it up to her lips, taking a sip before moving her gaze over all of us. “What are we talking about?”