Page 25 of Digging Deeper

“What the fucking hell!” he yells.

I cringe. “I’m sorry, I—”

“It’s not your fault. What a stubborn, idiotic, dumbass. I’m going to kick his ass.”

“Um…”

“Um, what?”

I bite the inside of my cheek for a few seconds, then say, “I think we need to find out exactly what he’s thinking before we give him an ass-kicking.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, my brother isn’t really the talk-about-your-feelings kind of guy.”

I think about it for a moment, then smile at Holds. “I have a plan.” He lifts a brow. “Give me your phone.”

Since he’s the best, he hands it over without question, so I open up his texts and pull up his chain with Drix. Holden moves closer to look over my shoulder, and Nana licks my cheek before settling down beside me as I type out a text.

Me from Holden’s phone: I’m glad you’re doing better there.

Holds and I stare at the phone for a minute before he huffs and takes it out of my hand, saying, “Sometimes I swear he takes forever to write a damn text back to me.”

I don’t say anything because I’ve never felt like Drix takes long to write me back. Sure, we haven’t texted a bunch of times, but he usually responds quickly after reading my texts.

Holden types out another text as I stare at the screen.

Holds: Gav says if you keep it up, you’ll be walking in no time.

Holds grins at me. “There. Straight to the point.” A text comes in a few minutes later.

Drix: He’s been a great help.

Something warm settles in my chest as I read the words. Knowing I’ve helped him even a tiny bit makes me feel a little proud and overjoyed. He was such a pain in the ass at the beginning of this, so having him come so far, having gained his trust, has been rewarding to watch. I only wish he’d trust me entirely and tell me exactly how he’s been feeling. I’ll have to work harder for that, I guess.

Holden chuckles and says, “You should see your face right now.”

“What?” I ask.

He shakes his head at me, then frowns at the phone. “Now what?”

“Um…” I grab the phone. “I know.”

Me from Holden’s phone: Do you know when you’ll get to try walking on the parallel bars?

“Wait!” Holden grabs the phone before I can hit send and adds “things” at the end.

Us from Holden’s phone: Do you know when you’ll get to try walking on the parallel bar things?

I roll my eyes. “Was that really necessary?”

“Yep.”

I nudge him with my shoulder as I snort.

Drix: I can’t even feel my legs, Holds.

Holds: I’m sorry, big bro.

Okay. So that’s what his problem is. He truly thinks there’s no hope of his legs working again. I frown down at the phone. If he’s thinking that, he’s thinking he can’t be a cop anymore, and according to Holds, that’s been his dream forever. Drix has got to be devastated. My poor grumpy dude.

---