Read Online Every Heart by LK Collins - Free Book Online Page A

directions, I’m glad to know you’re alive. I wouldn’t have wanted to go through life with you alive and me never knowing.”
    Her words give me hope. Hope that she is here to mend our relationship so we can move on to the future – together. Jesus, I’d love nothing more.
    “Then, I’m glad I told you.”
    “I’m sorry that I didn’t take Zeus to the city with me,” she says.
    “Don’t be. I’m glad I got some time with him when I got home.”

I can’t believe she’s gone. She’s really fucking gone. My biggest fear in life is living without her and right now that is exactly what I’m fucking doing.
    I knock back another glass of Highland Park. It’s so smooth, but still not enough to take me to the level I need to relieve this pain. There are only two things in the entire world that can do that, Arion and…pills. I know I swore when I stopped taking pills that I’d never start again, but I also stopped because of Arion and now she’s gone.
    I can’t get ahold of her, she’s not texting me back like normal, and I just don’t know what to do. I could pay someone to kill Nate, that’s what I could do. Without him in my life, fucking everything up, things would be exactly as they should be. I know it’s just the Highland talking though. This was Arion’s favorite, we bought it when we moved into our condo to celebrate and she loved it so much that she wanted to savor every glass. Now here I sit, drinking it all alone.
    My phone rings again, and of course, it’s not Arion. I ignore James knowing he will leave a voicemail. Fuck, he’s so much to handle right now. I listen to it curious about what he wants.
    “Glad to hear you went to practice today. I heard you came down pretty hard on your knee again. I hope it’s doing okay.”
    As I set my phone down and take the last drink of my ten thousand dollar bottle of Scotch, something clicks. I know that I shouldn’t do this, but I have to find some relief somehow. I function well on pills and if the team prescribes them to me, then I can’t get in trouble for taking them.
    I grab my phone and scroll through the contacts ’til I land on the team physician’s number. It might be a long shot, but what the hell. I clear my throat while it rings, hoping I sound sober enough to talk to him.
    “Hello,” he answers.
    “Hey Lawrence, it’s Bain Adams.”
    “Hey Bain, how are you, man? Is your knee doing okay?”
    “Actually that’s why I called…it’s not feeling great. I’ve been icing it since I got home today, but it’s been killing me. The ice has kept the swelling down, but Jesus, it’s sore.”
    “I was worried about that. Do you want to swing by my office before I leave and I’ll check it out? I can do a quick x-ray and maybe I could give you something for the pain.”
    “Yeah, I think that would be best.”
    He gives me the address to his office, then we hang up.
    I hop up thankful that my knee doesn’t really hurt. I head into the bathroom and look into the mirror, studying my own reflection as it stares back at me. Fuck, I look buzzed, so I turn on the shower and hop in right when it’s cold, hoping the jolt will sober me up. Damn, it burns, but at this point, I’d give anything to feel something other than my own heart being torn from my chest.
    My body is shivering and I’m wide awake. As I turn the water off and get out, I envision Arion is in front of me. I can see her soaking in our large tub, so comfortable and relaxed and beautiful. I know with shit like this happening, I need these fucking pills.
    I finish getting ready and then head downstairs, hailing a cab to Lawrence’s office. I rub my knee as the driver weaves in and out of the crowded New York streets. I hope this will make it red so it doesn’t completely look like I am lying. Even though I totally am.
    His office is just a few blocks from the condo, I could have walked, but considering my fake injury, I chose not to. Plus, I’m not 100% steady on my feet