Page 13 of Maple Sugar Mix-Up
“Me too. I’ll see you around.”
“I hope so,” I said softly.
As I trudged away, I resisted the urge to turn back. I’d text him to let him know when I got home… but gods, I had a feeling it would be hard to not ask him on another date.
“Never should have let Paul talk me into this,” I grumbled.
I skidded on a patch of ice, cursed as I regained my balance, and continued on my way.
Chapter Five
Ashton
“Fuck, fuck,fuck!”
I leaned heavily against my door after closing it. Part of me wanted to open it again, follow Jace to make sure he got back to his car.
Why did he have to be so damn great? I didn’t want to be interested in another alpha. I didn’t want one. I didn’t need one!
But Jace was everything I would have looked for in an alpha.
It was then I decided I couldn’t spend the night here. There was no way I’d do anything but feel sorry for myself and think about how Jace could still be here. And he would be here; I was sure if I had asked him to stay he would have. I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep and wake up here by myself. I rarely felt alone without an alpha; in fact compared to my time with Buck being alone was downright heaven. But after an evening with Jace… shit.
I threw my stuff into my bag and headed out. Home wasn’t too far away, after all, and the roads couldn’t bethatbad.
After locking up I headed down the lawn to my car and unlocked it. I tossed my bag into the passenger seat and started around the front to the other side.
Just as I stepped off of the curb my foot flew out from under me like some sort of cartoon and I flailed wildly for a moment.
Stars burst in front of my eyes and everything went black.
~~~***~~~
I blinked open my eyes and tried to roll over onto my side, but couldn’t move. What the hell? Frowning, I looked around the dimly lit, unfamiliar room. I tried to sit up, but couldn’t do that either. The movement made me dizzy. Instead of trying to move again, I just looked around and spotted my foot, suspended above the bed.
“Ashton!” gasped a voice, just as I was starting to panic.
I turned in surprise to see my mother. She jumped out of a chair and threw her arms around me.
“Thank goodness you’re awake! You had me so worried.”
“Mom? What… what happened?” I asked. My throat was sore too. “Where…”
“You’re in the hospital, sweetheart,” she said.
“What?!”
My mother sat down on the bed next to me and gently patted my leg. “You slipped on some ice and hit your head.” I could hear the tremor in her voice. “A neighbor walking his dog found you; we don’t know how long you were out there, but you were borderline hypothermic.”
“Holy shit,” I murmured.
For once, she didn’t even bother telling me not to curse. “You’re very lucky; you only have a mild concussion.”
“And that?” I pointed to my suspended foot.
Her lips pursed and I knew it wasn’t great news. “You somehow trapped it between your tire and the curb when you fell. You’re scheduled for surgery tomorrow; I’m afraid it sounds like a pretty bad break.”
“Great,” I muttered.
