Read Online Fall from Love by Heather London - Free Book Online

than they have to. I know because the dude sitting beside me has been that kind of friend to me my entire life.
    “I guess Jenna’s not mad at you then?” I ask.
    He laughs. “Nah, she’s good.”
    In my peripheral vision I see him tilt his can of red bull upside down and chug it. When he’s done, he burps, crushes the can in his hand, and throws it on the floor.
    “Dude, pick your shit up.” I shake my head at him.
    “Do you really think one little can is going to mess up this piece of junk car you have any more than it already is?”
    “An ’83 FJ Cruiser is not a piece of junk; it’s a classic,” I correct him.
    He bends down and picks up the can. “Whatever, man.”
    We pull up to the mountain rescue headquarters and, before I shut the car off and jump out, I glance out through my windshield to look up towards the mountain in front of me. There’s a large part of me that is scared out of my mind, scared that maybe I am cursed and bad things will always happen when I’m around. I’m scared that I will have a flashback to the night of the accident, freak out once I get up there, and cause something terrible to happen. There’s another part of me that is desperate to get back up there, knowing that it’s the only way I’m going to get past this.
     
    HOLLY
    After agreeing to go out for coffee with Carter, I stare at him until he disappears back into the house. When he’s out of sight, my head falls back against the wall and there’s nothing I can do to stop the memories from coming back at full speed.
    Carter guided me to the chairs a few steps away. I remember not wanting to reach the chairs, knowing that when we got there, he would tell me what I felt like I already knew. A part of me felt thankful that he was holding onto me now because I felt as though my legs were about to give out at any moment.
    Finally, we reached the chairs and he gently guided me down to sit. For a moment he didn’t say anything. He could barely even look me in the eye. It’s as if he knew what he was about to tell me was going to shatter my world into a million different pieces.
    “Holly,” he finally said, his voice was guarded and soft. “Adam was in an accident while we were coming down the mountain and he... he... he didn’t make it.”
    The ringing in my ears began the second he started talking. The pressure on my chest and pain in my heart didn’t start until he actually said those words, though. He didn’t make it . Deep down, I already knew he was gone from the moment I got that phone call. I guess I just didn’t want to believe it. My whole body began to tremble as I looked into Carter’s eyes.
    For a moment, there was nothing except silence and no tears fell from my eyes. Even though I knew what he said, I still didn’t want to believe it. I think I was still in shock. Then, as if a light switch went off in my brain, the tears began to fall and I couldn’t stop them for anything in the world.
    Carter pulled me in his arms and held me. I couldn’t help repeating the words he just told me over in my head. Adam didn’t make it. He was gone. Never coming back. The guy I loved, who I was with just a few hours ago—that was alive and breathing—was gone. How can that be? He was just here. How can he be gone just like that?
    Without warning, anger ripped through me and the reality hit me hard, knowing that I would never see his face again—never see his smile again. I couldn’t control myself as I began to hammer my fists against Carter’s chest while I screamed and cried. There was no control in me. It felt like I was trapped in a horrible nightmare and the harder I punched and the more I cried, the faster I would wake up from this horrible dream. The entire time I was having my meltdown, Carter never said a word. He never asked me to stop punching him or screaming in his ear. He just pulled me closer to him and squeezed me even harder.
    Jenna showed up an hour or so later and had to peel me out of his