Chapter 2 02

02

Daniel looked over at his phone. It was 2 in the morning, and the only thing he could hear was the soft hum of the air conditioner in the background. The quietness of the room only seemed to emphasize the restlessness in his mind. He couldn't sleep. His thoughts were too loud, buzzing with everything that had happened, everything that hadn't happened, and the weight of his family's distance from him.

He tossed and turned in the bed for a while, trying to find a comfortable position. Nothing seemed to help. He reached for his phone, hoping to distract himself for a moment.

A ding from the phone suddenly interrupted the silence, and Daniel's heart skipped a beat. He quickly grabbed it, hoping it was the message he'd been waiting for.

But when he looked at the screen, his smile faded slightly. It wasn't who he thought it would be. It was Karina.

Karina Hart was a diagnostician who worked for his cousin Dave. She'd recently moved to Australia with Zachary, and although the distance was vast, she still found ways to keep in touch.

The message from Karina made him smile nonetheless. She was one of the few people who had stuck by him over the years, even when his own family had pulled away. She was a friend, a real one-someone who could crack a joke and make him laugh in moments when everything felt heavy.

But even with her friendship, there was an ache inside him, a gnawing sense of insecurity. His brothers, the people who were supposed 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 changed that day-his scar, a constant reminder of what he had lost, seemed to carve a divide between him and the rest of his family.

Sean had pushed him away after the accident. Daniel still carried that scar proudly, but it wasn't the mark itself that bothered him-it was the way his family had treated him after. It was as if his injury was a reason to distance themselves, as if his survival had somehow made them uncomfortable.

And when he needed them most, they hadn't even bothered to call.

Among all the people in his life, there were only a few who ever checked in. His mother, Cassandra, of course-though her calls were usually out of duty. Lexi, his cousin, always had his back. And then there was Karina, who was more like family than some of his own relatives. She was the one who'd kept in touch, who still cared enough to make sure he wasn't slipping through the cracks.

Logan, his older brother, would only reach out when there was something to be done. It was never just to ask how Daniel was doing, never to see if he was okay. It was always about business, always about what Daniel could do for the Hunts.

And then there was Alexis. Alexis was everything that could go right for the Hunts. She was kind, selfless, and had been there for Logan through thick and thin, even when he'd been at his most closed-off and angry. In many ways, Alexis was the balance Logan needed, but Daniel often wondered how she'd ever fallen in love with someone like him.

But that was the thing with Logan-he never seemed to understand why people cared about him. Alexis had managed to break through that tough exterior, though. And Daniel was glad for it. He liked seeing his brother smile, even if it was just in small moments when he was with her.

Daniel's thoughts snapped back to the message on his phone.

Dan: Sup?

He stared at the screen for a moment, waiting for Karina's reply.

A few seconds later, the message came through.

Kari: Nothing. Just checking up on you.

Daniel's lips curled into a smirk. He typed back quickly.

Dan: 😒 I'm not a kid.

Kari: No. But you act like one the moment you step home.

Dan: 🙄

Kari: Silly. So now that you're staying, why don't you ask your old flame out?

Daniel paused, fingers hovering over the keys. He stared at the message for a long while. His heart raced a little at the thought of what Karina was suggesting.

He didn't respond to her suggestion. The thought of Kayla-his old flame-still made his chest tighten.

Nobody knew he liked Kayla, except for Karina, of course. She had a knack for reading people, for picking up on signals that others missed. Kayla had always 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 that he admired. That was something Daniel had always wanted-someone who could hold her own weight, someone who wouldn't fall apart the moment things got tough.

Kayla was beautiful-there was no doubt about that. Her brown eyes were like a puzzle, full of secrets and stories. They twinkled with mischief, 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 shoulders in waves. There was always one strand that escaped her messy bun when she was cooking, and that little quirk always made Daniel smile.

She was full of attitude, unapologetically so. That fiery spirit was something he admired-hell, it was something he craved. He wanted a woman who could challenge him, not someone who would cling to him like a lifeline.

Most of the women he had dated in the past were nothing like her. They were clingy, needy, always wanting him to protect them, to be the strong one in the relationship. But Daniel didn't want that. He wanted someone who could stand beside him, not behind him.

Kayla, with all her strength and sass, was everything Daniel had wanted in a woman. And yet, he had never found the courage to act on his feelings. Maybe it was fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of messing things up. Maybe it was the uncertainty of how she'd react, how she'd feel.

But Karina's message... it had him thinking. Maybe it was time to stop hiding behind his insecurities. Maybe it was time to stop letting the past dictate his future.

He sighed, pushing the phone aside for a moment. The weight of his thoughts was too much to bear at once. There was too much going on in his head-too many questions, too many what-ifs.

After a few minutes, he picked up the phone again and sent a quick reply to Karina.

Dan: Maybe I'll think about it.

He sat back on the bed, the quietness of the room creeping back in. He didn't know what the future held, but for the first time in a long time, he felt a small spark of hope. Maybe it was time to stop running from the things he really wanted.