Allyson Reed shapes her life to make her parents proud, but whenever she's with Daxson Winters, the star wide receiver with a troubled past, her perfectly-crafted existence crumbles at the seams.
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The gunshot ripped me from existence, it silenced my thoughts and shredded every fiber of my heart. It wasn't simply loud, it cracked into the air and echoed through the fields, magnifying the feeling of vulnerability and betrayal. Daxson had shoved me to the ground a few feet away from him and a scream escaped my lungs when he grabbed his chest, stumbling backward in an awkward motion before crumbling to the ground.
The dirt dug into the palms of my hands as I rushed to his side without hesitation.
"Dax, please. Dax, no, no." All I could do was tremble as I tried to shake him, holding back my tears.
My hands were met by a warm, sticky substance that continued to flood his black shirt until it was completely soaked. Daxson cringed in pain and pushed his hands against his chest where the bullet had entered.
My hands fumbled to gather a piece of his shirt to help curve the bleeding.
"Ally." Daxson breathed out, grabbing my wrist.
When he removed his hand, I could see where the bullet entered. If the entry wound was small, the exit had to be a gaping mess. I kept my face passive to try and give him hope, but I was panicking on the side. There wasn't enough oxygen in the air for my constricted lungs.
"I'm right here, Dax. You're going to be okay. I promise." I stared down into his eyes.
He groaned and gasped for air like it was becoming hard for him to breathe too. "I love you," he breathed out.
Why did it feel like he was telling me because he didn't think he'd get to again?
Streaming tears cleansed my red cheeks. When I wiped my face against my shoulder, a few tears remained, forgetting their way as the path was swept from beneath them, consequently blurring my vision with waves of sadness only the broken encounter.
My free fingers rubbed against his cheek while my other hand pressed his shirt against the wound in an attempt to stop the blood flow. "I love you too, Dax. More than I think you'll know."
My mother yelled at my father. "John, what the hell have you done?"
Footsteps behind me forced me to look over my shoulder.
"Allyson, Honey, this was all an accident." His shaky voice replaced the fear in my body with anger.
My teeth snapped together as I glared at my father through the darkness. I could only make out his form and the glistening metal of the gun barrel still in his hands beneath the moonlight.
"Get the hell away from me." I snarled.
"Ally." Daxson's muscular body squirmed beneath me when I added an extra amount of pressure to his wound. He seemed so weak and only growing weaker with each second he bled. "I need you to..."
I turned my attention back to him. "Dax. You need me to what?" I pleaded for him to talk again. Anything to let me know he was still here.
"What can I do?" My father's hand touched my shoulder.
