Free Rebel Heart by Jane Slate Page B

look of horror etched across her face was a thing Kade would never forget. He tried to stand up but she reached out to steady him, grabbing for a towel that hung behind the door.
    “I thought you were dead,” she whispered as she dried him off. Her voice cracked and faltered.
    Kade thumbed at the tears that spilled from her eyelids. He pulled her body against his chest with no regard to the fact that he was soaking wet and she was still clothed. She tried not to focus too much on the tattoos that accentuated his muscular frame.
    Now was certainly not the time.
    “I must have taken too many,” Kade croaked out, nodding at the bottle of pills.
    “It wasn’t on purpose, I promise. I was just getting ready for the day. And I just...I needed to take the edge off. I didn’t want to be tense when you woke up.”
    “Kade,” Stella whispered as she caressed his tattooed chest.
    “You know it’s not your fault don’t you? Maddox’s death...there was nothing you could do...”
    Kade shook his head and clenched his jaw.
    “It doesn’t matter.”
    His voice was deadpan and stoic. He stepped out of the bathtub and wrapped the towel around himself, pulling Stella up with him. Then, he entered his bedroom and collapsed on his bed, feeling light headed. He began coughing and Stella was next to him in seconds.
    “Are you alright?”
    Kade waved a hand in the air. He tried to hide the fact that his eyes were red-rimmed from crying. He wiped the excess moisture from his face with the back of his hand and reached for Stella’s, holding her gaze. She cleared her throat, running her hands over the miniscule scratch marks and bruising she had caused.
    “I’m sorry about last night.”
    Kade shrugged it off and leaned back in his bed, stretching his arms over his head. He was quick to change the subject.
    “You’re soaking wet.”
    Stella glanced down at her clothing and shrugged. Kade pointed to his closet and rubbed his eyes sleepily.
    “Grab a change of clothes. I just need to sleep this off.”
    He was out before Stella could craft a response. She sighed and pulled a blanket over his body, crossing the room to his closet. She pulled off her clothing and slipped on one of his t-shirts, which was more like a dress on her tiny frame.
    For the next hour, she sat beside Kade and watched him sleep, monitoring his breathing. She hated this. Worrying that he would go to sleep and never wake up.
    Maybe he wasn’t good for her at all.
    The bed shifted.
    Kade opened his eyes and stretched.
    “Hey,” he whispered groggily.
    “How long was I out?”
    Stella shrugged and glanced over at the clock.
    “About an hour, give or take.”
    “How are you feeling?”
    Kade sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
    “Better.”
    Stella smiled, but it was a sad smile.
    “How long is it going to be like this Kade?”
    Her voice was laced heavily with disappointment.
    “Difficult, I mean.”
    Kade stretched, flexing his biceps. He pulled Stella against his chest and pressed a sloppy kiss on her cheek. He didn’t answer her question, but then again, he rarely did.
    Sensitive topics of conversations were things Kade made a point of avoiding. Stella let out a sigh of frustration and stood up. She paused through the doorway of Kade’s bedroom, hoping he would stop her, but she was met instead by a deafening silence.
    “I’ll see you later,” Stella sighed.
    She left the room and Kade’s trailer without a second glance in his direction, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
    She never stayed for long.
    Later, Kade found himself standing in the doorway of a cheap motel room, inches away from a scantily dressed woman whose name he didn’t know. Blinking neon lights leaked through crooked blinds, casting a shadow on the peeling wallpaper. A sign across the street blinked once then twice, highlighting a message that indicated discounted pancakes.
    The woman, clad in nothing but translucent negligee, stretched out on the bed and placed her hands