Forever (Cruiser & Lex, Book 3) Read Free Page B

dream, and he doesn’t want to hear about it. Jamie’s class is throwing him a goodbye party because he’s leaving for Phoenix tomorrow. They don’t know how long he’ll be gone, but it’ll probably be a few months. I know Rosie is going to miss him terribly.
    I lean forward to give her a kiss, but she pulls away. I rub her head instead. “Have fun, okay?”
    She shrugs.
    Holly Bedford, captain of the squad, texts me that she’s outside. I wish my mom and Rosie goodbye (Dad already left for work) and head outside. Once I get in the car, Holly says, “How’s Cruiser?”
    “He woke up.”
    I can see the curiosity in her eyes. The whole school wants to know why Cruiser is in the hospital. I don’t know how much they know, but I’m not saying anything. It’s really no one’s business. Dani told me yesterday that a rumor is going around that he got into a fight with some shady people and got arrested.
    Holly is still looking at me, the curiosity practically eating her face off. “Can we get to the hospital, please?” I ask.
    She steps on the gas.
    The ride there takes about twenty minutes. Holly talks about the dance meet, how she’s seen the routines of other schools and knows we’re going to kick their butts. I love dance and want to listen to her, but right now all I care about is Cruiser. I’m beyond relieved that he’s going to be okay, but I can’t stop the feelings nestling in my stomach. The fear, the dread. He was attacked by a group of guys. Is he in trouble? Is Rey?
    I know we’re not together…I mean, I hope we’ll be together again. I think. Oh, I don’t know. Every part of me yearns to be with him, but can I accept the bad and the ugly parts of his life? Dani told me it’s easy to accept the good things about a person, but not so much about the bad stuff. When Cruiser and I got together last month, I thought the past was behind us. I admit we pushed unsolved issues under the rug, but for the most part, I truly believed Cruiser’s past wouldn’t follow him. He changed so much in New York, for the better. I was positive that only good things would follow him. No drugs, no sleeping around, no acting out. But I learned that the past has a way of creeping in. Erica Sandford, one of the girls from Cruiser’s past, tracked him down and tried to hook up with him. When I saw them together in Juice Me, when I saw her smash her lips to his and tug him into the storage room, it nearly destroyed me. But I learned that Cruiser was not responsible for that. That didn’t stop me from exploding on him, though. That’s part of the reason I broke up with him—because I couldn’t handle it. I found myself hurting him. He didn’t deserve it. I understood that if I wanted to have a future with him, I had to sort out my issues.
    But things are on a whole new level now. Cruiser was attacked . I want to be with him, I really, really do. But I’m so scared of all the secrets. Am I ready to accept every single part of his life, no matter what?
    Yes , my heart begs. You love him and need to accept him wholeheartedly .
    But will I just continue to hurt him?
    “Um, Lex?”
    I raise my head and see we’re outside the hospital. “Oh.” I unfasten my seatbelt and reach for the door handle. “Thanks for the ride.”
    “No problem. How will you get to school?”
    “I’ll catch the bus.”
    She nods. Then her eyes move to the entrance of the hospital. “Hey, Lex, do you think I can come? I want to see how he’s doing.”
    I’m not sure if she genuinely cares about his well-being, if she hopes to score some intel, or if she wants to see how Cruiser looks all battered up. It’s no secret he’s one of the hottest guys at school. Maybe she wants to see what he looks like vulnerable. She doesn’t understand that I’m probably one of the only people in the world who knows what Cruiser looks like when he’s raw and open. It’s one of the most amazing sights in the world. Most kids at school see him as a