SWNOVELS Twisted Collide: Chapter 24
I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to punch another person as badly as I did that reporter. Her condescending demeanor was so unprofessional, but having Dane come to my defense was worth the insults she threw.
He cares.
Whether he admits it or not, he does care about me in some capacity. Our night together mattered.
I matter.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Dane asks, peeking out the corner of his eye at me.
“Nothing. Just thinking about where we might be off to since we have a jam-packed day.” I air quote, repeating his earlier words.
“Anywhere far from her.”
I laugh and nod in agreement. “She was awful.”
“She was, but I guess a necessary evil, or at least that’s what Molly would say.” He grunts. “If that woman had talked to her like that, I would’ve come unglued.” He shakes his head as if imagining the scenario in his head.
“Molly sounds pretty great,” I say, wondering what she’s like.
Is she broody like him, or the sunshine to his dark clouds?
“She is,” he says, and his voice is lower and softer.
So that’s what his voice sounds like when he loves someone. I wonder if anyone loves me like that.
My heart tightens in my chest.
Despite my mom being cold at times, I know she loves me. She’s the only person I know who cares for me. I don’t really have anyone else.
I had a few friends in college. Obviously, the girls I partied with, but the sad truth is since I was shipped off to live with my father, not one of them has called me.
No one cares.
I was a fun girl to hang out with and get drunk with, but when push came to shove, they weren’t real friends. There were never phone calls just to check in or chat. Every call came with a motive, and it was always attached to a night on the town and me acting as the wingwoman for one of my more flirtatious friends.
I also realize that I was the one initiating the friendship. I always went out of my way to remind the girls that I was there and ready to hang out.
And it’s even more obvious that I was a last thought, being as though none of them have bothered to check on me.
“She’s nothing like me.”
I look up, eyes narrowed in on Dane. “Huh?”
“Molly. I was saying she’s not like me.”
I’d been lost in my thoughts and had forgotten what we’d been talking about.
“Can you tell me about her?”
I doubt he will, but when he pulls the car up to the now empty practice facility, he pivots in his seat and looks at me.
“She’s incredible. Smart, funny. Full of love.” He smiles warmly, thinking about his sister. “She’d give a stranger the shirt off her back. She’s just that way.”
“Got it. The opposite of you.” I wink, but I see a flash of hurt and immediately regret the bad joke. “I’m sorry. I was just—”
“Don’t apologize,” he says more seriously. “She is my opposite, and I don’t mind admitting it. She deserves so much more than this life has given her so far. I intend to ensure the rest of this life is different for her.”
I can tell there’s a long story there, and I hope he tells me. That’s all I wish—for Dane to open up to me. To trust me with his secrets.
I’m not sure when it happened but over the past few weeks of working with the team, I realize I wish he would confide in me. I wish I could get him to open up. Truly open up. Sometimes I do, giving him little glimpses into my life. I know in my heart that I can trust him completely with my truths, but I want that trust reciprocated. I’m greedy and hungry for it.
“Growing up—” He starts and stops, and I reach across the console, taking his hand in mine. I give it a reassuring squeeze.
He will pull away any second, but when he doesn’t, I feel lighter and happier than I’ve felt in weeks. Instead, he keeps holding my hand, and in my mind, it feels like he’s pulling the energy out of me to find the strength to open up to me.
“Growing up, it was just us. Well, that’s not true . . . It was just us when I was eighteen and she was eleven. I’m not sure how much you know about me, but I raised Molly.”
“You did?” The word comes out reverently, shock and awe taking root.
“I didn’t have a choice and wouldn’t change it for the world. Our parents died in a car accident, and my sister almost died with them. It was just her and me, and there was no way she would live with anyone else. Not when I was old enough to care for her.”
I swallow, thinking about how young and brave he was.
With every new detail I learn about him, I grow even more desperate for more.
“Will you tell me the full story?” I ask, voice barely a whisper.
He takes a deep breath. “Maybe one day. But not today.”
And with that, the conversation is over, and broody Dane is back in full force.