Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 49669 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 199(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49669 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 199(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
“Christopher?”
Rush’s voice was full of concern, and his hold on my hand almost bordered on painful. But I welcomed his firm grip. I used it to try and ground myself.
It just wasn’t enough.
“Did it live?” I managed to grate out, even though it felt like broken glass was being raked along my brain.
“What—?” Rush asked worriedly. I managed to look at Rush as the car slowed down and he began letting out soft curses as one car horn after another went off behind us. I figured it had something to do with me. I suspected he was trying to find a place to pull over.
“Rush,” I managed to call out. “I’m okay,” I lied.
“The fuck you are,” Rush growled. “You look like you’re going to fucking pass out—”
It was only when Rush began to pull his fingers free of mine that I truly began to panic. I saw him grab his cellphone.
“Rush, please” was all I managed to get out as flames of unbearable heat pulsed throughout my entire body.
I must have finally gotten something right in just those two little words because Rush dropped his phone in the cup holder and then covered my hand with his. The car began to speed up again, and the horns stopped.
“Did it live?” I repeated. “The rabbit?” Just speaking those few words felt like it had taken every ounce of energy in my body.
“The rabbit,” Rush softly repeated. The concern in his voice was apparent, but he had a calmness about him that helped slow my racing heart and eased the pounding in my head. “Yeah, she did. I named her Thumper because it was the only rabbit name I could think of besides Bugs, who was clearly a guy, and the Energizer Bunny, which was just wrong…”
Despite the direction his answer was taking, I couldn’t help but find it both amusing and relaxing.
“I was fully expecting to find a horse’s head in my bed after that… well, not a real head or anything, but Catrice was a huge fan of movies, so nothing was really off the table when it came to her getting back at me. Creative and vengeful… not the best of combinations.”
As the pain in my body began to fall away, leaving only the stinging in my hand, my lids began to feel heavy. In truth, all of me felt heavy… like cement blocks were tied around each limb. But something about Rush’s voice made all of that fade to the background.
“Did you keep her?” I managed to ask.
“Catrice? Hell no, kicked her ass to the curb real quick. Crazy bitch said she’d call the cops if I didn’t give her back the rabbit.” Rush let out a little laugh.
“What did you do?” I asked.
“I let her.”
I chuckled. “What happened?”
“I got rid of her for good when she found out she was facing jail time, I got to keep Thumper, and one of the cops gave me his number. He and I dated for six months before we mutually agreed it was over. Guess what he gave me as a parting gift.”
I closed my eyes and smiled. “What?”
“Guess,” Rush prodded.
My brain felt too foggy to do anything more than tell my body to keep converting oxygen into carbon dioxide, but I managed to throw out a nonsense answer. “A rabbit.”
When Rush didn’t respond, I opened my eyes and lifted them. He was shifting his eyes between me and the road. The little grin on his mouth reminded me of the Cheshire cat.
“Oh my God, am I right?” I asked in disbelief.
Rush nodded. He looked so light and happy that it made all the things that usually felt cold inside of me a little less so.
“After that, it became this running joke. Whenever one of my relationships ended, if the guy or girl didn’t give me a rabbit, my parents made sure to.”
I laughed. “How many did you end up with?”
“Five,” Rush responded. He had to wait until I was done laughing before he added, “Thankfully, after that, they switched over to stuffed animals because of the whole ‘fuck like bunnies’ thing. Turns out that shit’s true. I probably found homes for more than forty bunny babies before I managed to get the single boy bunny fixed.”
I shook my head before resting it on the seat. I was still sitting in a way that I was facing Rush rather than the dashboard, but I didn’t care. I liked looking at him. I couldn’t believe I’d even once thought of him as a cool, aloof guy who masked his emotions. Maybe he was like that while he worked, but aside from the first minute or two when I’d met him four years ago, I felt like I’d been privy to parts of the man not everyone was fortunate enough to experience.