Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 115590 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 578(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115590 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 578(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
The door clicked shut behind me, the nurse glancing through the glass wall before she walked off.
I stared at the floor, listening to the beep and hum of machines before I looked over at the hospital bed. An oxygen mask covered most of her face, and a myriad of tubes connected to the IV in her arm.
She looked bad, pale and lifeless. There was a time when my mom wasn’t awful, when her smiles made me feel safe and warm. When she would braid my hair and buy me candy on the way home from her job at the Bunny Lounge. She had never been the best person, but there was a time when she wasn’t the worst. A small bit of pain sprung to life, but it quickly morphed into anger, hot and wild. She chose this—over me. She’d rather kill herself shooting that shit into her veins than be my mother. It was something I knew all too well, and I thought I had come to terms with a long time ago. People always left. It was a fact of life. But it didn’t have to be.
Zepp wouldn’t leave me. I pulled my phone out to see if he’d texted back, but the battery was dead. Great. At least he knew I wasn’t coming so he wouldn’t worry.
I could have gone home, but for whatever messed up reason, I thought I owed it to her to at least be here if she died. Nurses came in and out throughout the night, and at some point, I fell asleep.
The next morning the doctor said he was moving her out of ICU, and I left. I wasn’t hanging around if she wasn’t dying.
My mind wandered while I drove down the back road that led into Dayton. I wanted out of this shithole town so bad. Away from her. Away from the reminders. But I didn’t want away from Zepp.
A few miles down the road, the engine coughed. Then rattled. “No, no, no. Don’t you dare!” Steam belched from the hood, streaming over the windshield before it cut out. “Piece of shit!” I slammed my hand over the steering wheel, then fought with the locked-up steering to force the car onto the shoulder.
I tried to give it a minute to cool down, then attempted to crank it. But nothing happened. Not even the tick of the engine trying to turn over. My car was dead. My phone was out of battery. I was tired. And I was miles from Dayton. I sat behind the wheel and sulked for a few minutes before I climbed out and did the only thing I could—started walking.
I must have walked close to a mile before I heard the hum of an engine in the distance. My thumb wanted to hitch up, a lift would be welcomed, but Zepp’s voice was in the back of my mind. Getting picked up by a murderer would be just my luck today.
The engine downshifted, and I glanced over my shoulder, relieved when I saw Chase’s blue Nissan. His window lowered as the vehicle chugged to a stop beside me. “Car broke down again?”
“Yeah.”
He reached across his console to unlock the passenger door. The overbearing smell of his piña colada air freshener nearly made me sick as I sank into the upholstered seat.
The Nissan started down the highway, and I leaned back against the headrest, sighing.
“You okay, Moe?”
“Yeah. Mom OD’d again.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” I watched the dried grass and busy billboards pass by the window. “You know how she is.”
“You’ll be out of here soon, though, right? Just like you always wanted.” He sounded so peppy, and I couldn’t help but snort.
“Happy to get rid of me, huh?” I turned to look at him.
His arms seemed tense, his gaze fixed on the road. “Well, actually…” He cleared his throat. “I got scouted. Looks like we’ll be going to college together.” He took a quick glance at me, no doubt seeing the confusion on my face. “Dixon wants me for football.”
“Oh. Congrats!” I probably wasn’t going to Dixon now, but he seemed so excited, and I didn’t want to shit on his parade.
He slowed as he approached the road for the trailer park. “Congrats? I thought you’d be excited,” he said.
“I uh.” I swallowed when he turned onto the dirt road. “I’m not sure I’m gonna go to Dixon now.”
“Well, yeah. They haven’t made you an offer yet, but you know they will.”
“No, I mean, I applied to Alabama State.” I fidgeted with the ratty seatbelt. “And if they make me an offer, I think I’ll take it.”
“What?” We rolled to a stop outside my trailer, the early morning sun just creeping over the top of it. “But you’ve always wanted to go to Dixon.”
Chase knew me, maybe better than anyone. He knew how badly I wanted out of here. How badly I wanted to go to Dixon—until Zepp.