the background. The quietness of the room only seemed to emphasize the restlessness in his mind. He couldn't sleep. His thoughts were

d a comfortable position. Nothing seemed to help. He reach

, and Daniel's heart skipped a beat. He quickly grabbe

smile faded slightly. It wasn't who

. She'd recently moved to Australia with Zachary, and although

uck by him over the years, even when his own family had pulled away. She was a friend, a rea

to have his back, had all but disappeared from his life after the accident. Sean had been the worst of them. It was as if everything

the mark itself that bothered him-it was the way his family had treated him after. It was as if his

em most, they hadn't

re usually out of duty. Lexi, his cousin, always had his back. And then there was Karina, who was more like family than some of h

one. It was never just to ask how Daniel was doing, never to see if he was okay

d been there for Logan through thick and thin, even when he'd been at his most closed-off and angry. In many ways,

Alexis had managed to break through that tough exterior, though. And Daniel was glad for it.

napped back to the

: S

en for a moment, wait

ater, the messa

. Just checki

d into a smirk. He

I'm no

act like one the m

n:

ou're staying, why don't y

red at the message for a long while. His heart raced

on. The thought of Kayla-his old

been different. She wasn't the type of woman to fawn over a man, expecting him to fix everything. She was independent, strong-willed, and had a fiery side th

ef, as if there was always something going on in that sharp mind of hers. And her hair-it was straight, midnight black, and fell down her sh

ething he admired-hell, it was something he craved. He wanted a woman wh

edy, always wanting him to protect them, to be the strong one in the relationship. But

he had never found the courage to act on his feelings. Maybe it was fear. Fear of rejection

as time to stop hiding behind his insecurities. Maybe i

f his thoughts was too much to bear at once. There was too mu

ked up the phone again and

I'll thin

ow what the future held, but for the first time in a long time, he felt a small