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“Okay, keep holding on with your hands, and let your legs guide you, just keep pedaling.”
“Oh my god, this is scary.”
“I’ll walk with you, okay? You just need to steer.”
“Okay—okay, I can do that…I can do this.”
“You’re doing really good. Sunshine.” She’s breathing heavily, steering the wheel and pedaling at the same time. We keep walking in circles, slowly gaining speed. I’m holding onto her with my pointer finger. “I’m going to let go now, okay?”
“Yes, I got this.” I let her go as she pedals all on her own. “I’m doing it!” she yells excitedly. “Look Cars. I’m doing it!” I smile widely, clapping my hands when she’s nearing the end of the street.
“Brake!” I yell. “Use your brakes!” She’s going faster and faster, not slowing down in the slightest.
“How do I do that?!”
Oh fuck, I didn’t teach her to brake.
“Near your handles!” I yell, but it’s too late she crashes. Right into a tree.
Fuck.
“Alexis!” I run over to her, she’s lying in the grass, the bike covering her legs.
“Are you okay? Baby, are you hurt?” I kneel down on the grass, pulling the bike off her. Searching her body for any injuries, my heart ramming against my ribcage.
She’s quiet until I hear loud snickers. She’s laughing. She crashed into a tree, and she’s laughing. What the fuck?
“Can we do that again?” she asks through her laughter.
What?
“What?” I choke out my hands, still shaking. I can feel my heartbeat drumming in my ears.
“That was fun.”
“Fun?…You almost gave me a heart attack.”
She waves me off, standing upright and brushing off the grass on her bare skin.
“It was just a little stumble.”
“Stumble?” I raise my eyebrows. “You crashed into a tree.”
“Like I said, a stumble.” She picks up the bike straddling it again while I’m still standing here trying to keep my heart in control.
Holy shit, I’m in trouble.
Killian is staring at me. He’s been doing that ever since I walked into the firehouse. His hair that’s always styled is now messy, his clothes are disheveled even though he just put them on, even his shoelaces are undone. But his eyes are the worst, the pain and regret shining in them makes my chest ache.
He stands behind me while I’m searching for my shirt. “Can we talk, please?” He’s pleading, I don’t think I have ever heard him beg before.
I drop my head to my chest. “Yeah.”
He sags in relief hearing my words. “Thank god.”
I nod towards the empty dinner table he takes his place first. I debate if I should sit next to him or across, then decide to take the seat on the other side of him. I fold my hands on my lap, an awkward silence fills the room.
“Carson, can you look at me?” I snap my head towards him my face void of emotion. God, this sucks. I want to make a joke to make this better, but it wouldn’t help. In the fifteen years of our friendship, we’ve never been so awkward with each other. I hate that I feel this way, that I can’t get over the fact it happened. “I just want to say what Connor and I did had nothing to do with you.” I open my mouth to reply.
