Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
"Antonia," he clipped. “You’re looking well.”
“I’m doing okay.” I picked up the menu and looked it over as I asked, “How are things at the office?”
“Busy.”
“Aren’t they always?” Before he could respond, I told him, “I just got hired to handle a new big case.”
“Good for you.”
That was it. He didn’t ask who or what the case was about, so I didn’t bother to share the details. “What about you? How are things with your work?”
“Busy. Always busy.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“That it is.”
An awkward silence fell over us. It was thick with the weight of our strained relationship, and I hated it. I loved my father and wanted things to go back to the way they used to be. Our relationship had grown more tense since his marriage to Kay, although I loved her and thought she was perfect for my father. However, spending so little alone time with him since their marriage had ultimately changed our relationship to a more forced one, and I didn’t know how to change it. So, I did the only thing I could. I sat there with him, ordered my dinner, and hoped that maybe, just maybe, tonight would be different.
Once our waitress brought our food over, I bided my time until I found the opportunity to ask, “So, have you heard anything from Kay about what happened to Wes?”
“Oh, yes. She called earlier, and she was pretty shaken. He’s taken quite the tumble.” Before I had a chance to ask what he was talking about, he started to ramble, “Those motorcycles are dangerous vessels. They shouldn’t even be allowed on the road, and anyone who chooses to ride them needs to have their heads checked. It’s reckless to put your life on the line like that.”
“Okay, Dad. I get it. Motorcycles are bad.”
“Don’t get me wrong. Weston is a good kid. He was just led astray by that delinquent father of his, and now, he’s paying the ultimate consequence. It’s a real shame.”
“What do you mean ‘ultimate consequence’? What happened to Weston?”
“He was on his way home from work, and he had a terrible wreck. They’re not sure what happened, but he laid out there on that road for hours before anyone found him. And now, they’re not even sure if he will pull through. It’s a mess. Kay said...”
Dad continued rambling on, but I was too shaken to hear a word he said.
I felt completely numb. It was like the world had stopped turning on its axis, and I was spinning all on my own. I kept seeing images of Weston lying out on that road, hurt and alone, and it had me spiraling. I’d told myself time and time again that there was no chance for me and Weston. I told him the same thing, but there was a piece of me that held onto a sliver of hope that we’d end up working things out.
I wanted so much to step back in time to that moment when Wes was going to kiss me by the pool. I wouldn’t have pulled away. I would’ve thrown caution to the wind and kissed him long and hard. It could’ve been the start of something really amazing. It could’ve been our chance.
And now, it might be gone for good.
Memphis
“He’s holding his own.”
If I’d heard my father say that once, I’d heard him say it a million times since the accident.
I’d also heard, “He just needs some time.”
The response was always the same. “He’s young and strong. He’ll bounce back in no time.”
It was all bullshit.
The doctors said I had a spinal cord contusion, and the bruising and swelling had caused temporary paralysis. They kept saying that I just needed some time to heal, and things would get better. I’d spent over a week in the hospital before they moved me to Cain Creek to start my rehab. I’d been busting my ass for weeks, and I was basically dead weight from the waist down.
I was over it.
I’d done their fucking therapy.
I wore the brace and took the pills.
Even when it hurt like hell, I did what they told me, but so far, I hadn’t gotten much in return.
Dad tried playing it off by saying the lack of feeling was a blessing; otherwise, I would have been in a world of pain with all the road rash, but as far as I was concerned, there was nothing good about it. And if he was being completely honest, he would say the same. It’d only been a few months since we’d lost my brother Beckett, and now, I was laid up, and it wasn’t looking good.
He was trying to put on a brave front, but I knew it was killing him to see me laid up. It was written all over his face, and you could hear it in his voice. He was standing in the doorway, talking with the doctor and Blade, and while they were trying to whisper, I could hear everything they were saying. It was tough to hear the concern in his voice as Dad said, “You told us to be patient and we’re trying, but damn, Doc. It’s been weeks.”