Fractured

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Book: Fractured by Erin Hayes Read Free Book Online
Authors: Erin Hayes
trip.”
    Bash’s cheeks flushed. She didn’t want this trip to end, but they might have to end it quickly.
    As a group, the five of them slowly made their way down the mountain, silence settling over them. It wasn’t turning out to be the fun trip it was supposed to be.
    Darius met them at the bottom of the mountain.
    “Did you see...?” Seth started.
    “Yes,” Darius said. “They took him to the hospital. We’ll head there now.”
    Seth turned to Bash. “Listen,” he whispered, “I think I should go to the hospital,” he said.
    “It’s fine,” Bash assured him. “I’ll be fine.”
    Seth pressed his forehead against hers. “All right. I love you, Sheba,” he whispered.
    “Love you too.”
    He kissed her lips. “I’ll make it up to you,” he promised.
    “No need.” She flashed what she hoped was an encouraging smile. “Take care of Scott.”
    Seth hurried off to the hospital with Darius, leaving her with Maria, Rick, and Lily, who was somewhere back at the lodge.
    “I ain’t skiing again,” Maria told her.
    Bash sighed. Yep, this is going to be so much fun . Even though she had only done two runs, she felt tired. Maybe it was time to retire for the day.
    “Let’s find Lily,” she said. “It’s getting close to lunch anyways.”
     
    *****
     
    While Lily’s motto was that it was always six o’clock somewhere, she wasn’t at the bar trying to find a good time. Instead, she was trying to self-medicate her headache and shakes with a good dose of alcohol. The bartender seemed bewildered by her eagerness to drink so early in the day, but he complied, giving her shots of straight whiskey. By eleven-thirty, she was already drunk.
    The good news? Her shakes were gone, as well as the writhing in her stomach. It felt like she was finally in control of herself.
    The voice in her head, however, continued to be insistent.
    Let go, Lily. Let go.
    She bit back her own reply, refusing to acknowledge its presence in her mind. Ignore it, she told herself.
    Don’t, the voice warned, its tone ominous.
    Lily felt a change in air pressure, and she winced in response to the sudden headache. The shot glass in her hand exploded, shattering shards of glass everywhere, cutting up her hand. She cried out, toppling backwards out of her barstool and landing on the floor.
    She gasped for breath. The way she had fallen had knocked the wind out of her, and it didn’t help that the floor kept tilting. Her hand was bleeding from a large cut on her palm from the shot glass, and, she realized, her nose was bleeding as well.
    “Miss, are you okay?”
    She looked up to see the bartender looking down at her, his face a mask of mock concern. He probably thought it was her drunkenness that had caused her to fall from the bar. She saw his name tag. Steve , and inwardly groaned. She never met a Steve that she liked.
    “I’m...fine...” she mumbled dazedly, her words slurring together. She pushed herself up to a sitting position. “Just...cut my hand...”
    Ignore me, Lily, and bad things will happen , the voice told her. She hated how smug the voice sounded. She felt...no, knew ...that something bad had happened just then, and it wasn’t her falling off the stool.
    “I’m going to have to ask you to leave, Miss,” the bartender said. “I’m cutting you off.”
    Something took control of Lily’s faculties, forcing her to glare up at him. A sharp pain rang through her head and she cried out. The bartender reacted as well, his face going slack, and he staggered back a few steps, like he’d been punched. A drop of blood dripped from his right nostril. They both regarded each other for a few moments, before the bartender stiffly went back to his duties behind the bar, Lily’s incident forgotten.
    “Fuck,” Lily muttered in surprise. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand again and pushed herself onto her knees. Her hand was aching, although she couldn’t feel the extent of her injuries due to her inebriated

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