Page 61 of Beautifully Broken Control

At least, I had new ones. I was no longer at risk of twisting an ankle or splitting a toenail because I was dancing on dead shoes. That was enough to be grateful for.

I yawned as I placed my dance bag in the basket on my bike. The day had taken more out of me than I’d realized. Mostly the talk with Jensen. I didn’t think I’d ever felt this light, even before I’d realized I was living a nightmare. But I was spent. The worry and anxiety of how the conversation would go, having to talk through it all, it had used up all my reserves.

“Just a few hours at the shelter. You can do it.” I threw a leg over my bike. I’d get a burst of energy as soon as I saw Anna and Lizzie.And Cain. A little voice in my head whispered the last part. I promptly ignored that voice.

I headed away from the dance studio and towards the community center. The air was so warm, I didn’t even need a long-sleeve shirt. Summer was officially here, and I’d finally get to fully enjoy the lake for which the town had been named. Jensen had already told me we’d go out tubing on her family’s boat, and I couldn’t wait.

I turned and headed down the familiar hill, the wind picking up my hair and swirling it behind me. I squeezed the brakes to slow my speed a touch, but there was no resistance. I pressed harder. Nothing.

My heart hammered against my ribs as I scanned the sidewalk in front of me. The bottom of the hill was fast approaching, and there were only two options: fly into traffic or send myself into an empty lot of gravel, dirt, and weeds.

I tried the brakes again, squeezing as hard as I could. There wasn’t even the slightest catch. I turned the handlebars, doing my best to aim for the empty lot. The second my tire hit the gravel, it skidded, and I was airborne. Everything was a blur. A kaleidoscope of colors that ended in shuddering pain and then nothing but darkness.

24

Cain

I navigated the country roads,heading towards the community center. I shouldn’t even be going. I’d made even less progress on the program today than I had yesterday. What I should be doing is picking up a six-pack of energy drinks and pulling an all-nighter. Sometimes, that was just what it took. The slightly manic feel the lack of sleep brought on occasionally meant a breakthrough.

But I wasn’t doing what I should. This program could cement my company’s future, and still, I was driving to Hope House. To Kennedy. The pull of her was almost impossible to understand. She snuck up like a damn riptide. The tug was gentle at first, but before long, I couldn’t break away, no matter how hard I tried.

I rolled to a four-way stop just around the corner from the community center. A flash of color caught my attention, and I saw someone flying down the hill opposite me. Not just someone, Kennedy. And she was going way too fast. What the hell was wrong with her?

Her head jerked in panicked movements, taking in everything around her. Could she not stop?Fuck.Blood roared in my ears as I watched in time that seemed to move both too fast and in slow-motion. She steered into an empty field of sorts, her bike hitting some gravel and pitching her over the handlebars. Kennedy flipped in the air, making almost a full rotation before her body hit the ground in a sickening crumple.

I didn’t think, I just moved. I jumped out of my SUV and ran across the intersection, ignoring the honking cars. She wasn’t trying to get up, wasn’t moving at all. I couldn’t even see a flicker of a hand or foot. This wasn’t happening.

I skidded to a halt, crouching beside Kennedy’s fallen form. I didn’t think I breathed as I carefully slipped her hair away from her neck, pressing two fingers there. A pulse. Nothing had ever felt as good as that flickering bump against my fingers.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and tapped 9-1-1.

“9-1-1, what is your emergency?”

“There’s been a bike accident on the corner of”—I had to look up to find the street names—“Crest View and Main. The woman is unconscious. She has a pulse. I don’t know what I should do. She’s on her side. Her face…it’s in the dirt. Should I roll her to her back? I don’t want to hurt her.”

“Sir, an ambulance is en route, don’t move her, we don’t know if there’s a spinal injury.”

I closed my eyes as though that would erase the possibility. Kennedy, my beautiful dancer, not being able to walk? No. I refused to believe it. A small moan sounded, and my eyes flew open. “Kennedy? Kenz? Can you hear me?”

She let out another moan and rolled to her back. My hand went to her shoulder. “Don’t move, they don’t want you to move, baby.”

“What happened?”

I started to answer, but a man jogged up. “Is she okay? Did you call an ambulance?”

“No, she’s notokay,” I gritted out. “An ambulance is on its way.” I could faintly hear the sirens in the distance now.

“How can I help? Do you want me to move your car?”

I glanced over my shoulder to see that people were driving around it, but it was still somewhat blocking traffic. “Sure, the keys are inside.” I didn’t give a fuck about my Rover, all I cared about was Kenz. My gaze focused back on her. “What hurts?”

She squinted up at me. “Cain?” The confusion in her voice was apparent. Not good.

“It’s me. I’m here. You’re safe. Can you tell me what hurts?” I made an inventory of her the best I could. The right side of her face was all scraped, blood trickling down to her chin, but I knew it could’ve been so much worse if she hadn’t been wearing a helmet. The purple plastic had a large crack down the side, and I winced, thinking of how much force it would take to do that. Her shirt was torn and stained red on the right, and her pants were covered in dirt.

“Everything. It all hurts.” Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper, but as it did, her feet moved. It was a small, testing action as if to see if her legs hurt, but it was movement nonetheless.

The sirens were closer now. “Try not to move. The ambulance is here. They’re going to help you.”

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