Nothing Feels Like You (Book 2) (SAMPLE ONLY)

3 - A Reckoning is Coming

Ariana

The annoying buzzing of the digital alarm broke into my slumber. A dissatisfied groan sounded from my mouth. I desired to roll onto my stomach and pull the pillow over my head in attempt to block out the sound, but that wasn't an option for me currently. The bulky cast on my leg and tape around my broken ribs made it impossible to do.

"Xav, turn it off." I mumbled hoping without hope that he would hear me. He was like the dead when he slept. Nothing could wake him. His snore was all the answer I needed to know that his eyes remained closed and breaths even. "Xavier," I tapped his chest blindly. There was no response. "Xav, get up." My voice was whiny as I tried with minimal effort to wake him. I huffed, "Xavier!" My hand struck his cheek.

He jolted up in the bed rocking me. I hissed in pain. "My bad."

"I'm fine. Your alarm is going off," I grumbled. I could feel him reach over to silence the annoying sound before laying back. He rolled onto his side throwing his arm over me. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," I responded softly.

His eyebrows rose in question. "Honestly?"

"Honestly, I feel fine. You need to go before you're late."

"I don't have to be at the stadium until ten," he responded. It was already 8:30. "Do you want breakfast?"

"Do you?" I countered as my bottom lip jutted out. We had gotten into a habit of me cooking him breakfast before a home game. He never ate much, but I did it anyway.

His head shook, "I'm good." His eyes narrowed roving my face. He was looking for signs of more tears. When he had arrived last night, I was a sobbing mess in Mila's arms. Without question, Xavier had joined me in the bed relieving Mila from playing caretaker. He didn't ask what was wrong. He didn't try to get me to talk. He simply held me while I cried. When the tears stopped falling and the sobs went quiet, he retrieved the box of pizza and silently offered me food.

"Do you want to talk about last night?" He questioned although it was obvious that he already knew my answer.

I shook my head. "Not right now. You're going to be late."

His mouth twisted as his face pulled back. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

My eyes rolled up the ceiling. "I'm trying to go back to sleep. I need my rest if I'm going to the stadium to watch you play today."

He frowned and sat up. "You're not coming to my game."

My bottom lip jutted out as my eyes widened. "Yes, I am. The girls will be with me although I'm perfectly fine going by myself."

Xavier was shaking his head as he pulled on his pants. "You're not going to the game. I know that you think you're ready. I get that you want to get back to life as normal, but not today. Not this game. It's going to be a massive crowd with people bumping into you and jostling you. You have two broken ribs. One wrong move and you can puncture a lung." His voice was thick. Concern was laced through every word he said. The sincere caring shining in his eyes caused a warmth spread in my chest. There was a part of me that wanted to fight back. Years of striving to not allow anyone else to control my life had me ready to go head-to-head on the issue. Except this time was different. I wasn't about to face off with my dad. Xavier wasn't trying to dictate my life according to some plan he had for it. He was genuinely worried that my own pigheadedness would exacerbate my injuries.

Carefully I sat up in the bed and nodded my head in agreement. "You're right. It's not safe. I'll watch at home."

His wide shoulders fell with relief. "Thank you for listening to me for once."