One Moment

Fourteen

Cole

Bloody fucking hell.

Panic seizes my chest as I shove the door open, breathing in the winter air. Sweat beads on my brow.

Kinsley Hastings.

Noel McLean.

Kinsley Fucking Hastings.

Noel Fucking McLean.

Her family name was kept private post-accident. They wanted privacy, which I can understand. Despite social media, I kept that promise. It wasn't my business to look into the lives of people who wanted their names kept private. But that didn't prevent me from investigating the headlines. It was almost an addiction. I wanted to analyze every word of each article. 

I think back to the headlines.

Fatal crash on Highway 1, five dead, three in critical condition.

Local family dies in a car accident, leaves one member behind in critical condition.

Critical condition. Deaths. Family. Winnipeg.

None of these words are helping my mental state. Hearing Noel and Jack discuss the accident reminded me of the brutal truth I carry. Somehow, I've planted myself in the middle of a pending disaster.

I collapse on the bed, resting my face in my hands. The window is open, allowing the icy breeze to fill my bedroom. Although I have no jacket and chills are causing my skin to pattern with goosebumps, I sit in the cold, staring at the scuffed floor. Disbelief has paralyzed me, as it has since my run-in with Kinsley.

Noel's dad murdered Kinsley's family.

Yeah, I said it.

Murdered.

He's a bloody murderer.

Even Noel can't fathom how much I despise his father. He killed my best mate. Ever since Noel and I became friends, I've watched my best mate lose his confidence and personality. Noel is a ghost of who he used to be. As time went on, it continued to chip away. Until Josiah McLean shattered him. His son. My best mate. Noel.

I run my hands through my hair, tugging at the strands.

He broke Kinsley. A woman who is brilliant and destined to make a difference in the vet world. Josiah drove Kinsley to attempted suicide. He killed her family. Put a permanent limp in Kinsley's stride. 

Wrapping my head around the connection between Noel and Kinsley is pushing me over the edge. After seeing Kinsley breakdown and knowing how unstable Noel is... Hell is on the horizon.

And there's nothing I can do to prevent it.

Like or not, Noel and Kinsley have a connection—one that doesn't relate to the accident. They're two old souls with mutual interest. Noel admitted it. Kinsley is far from admitting it. But if she saw nothing in Noel, why would she agree to spend an evening with him? Be it a friendship or a romantic relationship, they're attracted to each other. They both understand what it's like to suffer. They don't like wasting their time with pointless events. They're driven and passionate. 

God, they have too bloody much in common. 

Flopping back on the bed, I stare at the high-vaulted ceiling. I'm torn between my options. Telling Noel and Kinsley would be painful and require long, healing paths for both of them. But their stories... they're not something I can tell. Being part of their lives and pasts doesn't mean I'm allowed to say anything. Telling them each other's stories removes any credibility. It's not right. Allowing them to get to know each other and heal a little more before the truth is revealed is the better option. It's the only moral one. 

I can't say the realization doesn't hurt.

Tears leak down my cheeks, making a bloody mess of my character. I can't control them.

My heart is bleeding for Kinsley.

For Noel.

For every bit of this fucked-up situation.

Removing my phone from the nightstand, I tap the screen, wondering what she's doing right now. I can't imagine how difficult it is for Kinsley to return to Winnipeg for the Holidays.

With my free hand, I wipe my tears away. More follow. They're inevitable.

I close my eyes, rubbing the heel of my hand against my forehead.

Wherever the hell this goes, I'll be there for both of them.

After I'm finished grieving for them.