Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
“Morning, baby,” he says, looking at me with a smile on his face. “Did you sleep well?”
I nod at him and walk into the kitchen and make myself a coffee. “Did you sleep okay?” I ask him, and he just nods.
“Better than ever,” he says, and then I smile at him.
“What are you doing?” I ask him, looking at his computer in front of him.
“I’m going to email Candace a couple of things, and then I want to attend a meeting,” he tells me. “You want to come with me?” he asks me. “I have to get to the rink by four, so I wanted to hit one at around tenish,” I look over at the clock and see that it’s just past eight. “Want to get some breakfast before?”
“Yeah,” I say and take a sip of coffee. We walk out of the house holding hands and then eat at this little diner next to his house.
“Are you nervous?” he asks as we head to the meeting.
“A little bit,” I tell him the truth. “I don’t know what to expect.”
“It’s easy,” he says, and then brings our hands to his mouth and kisses my fingers. “Relax.”
We walk through the door on the side of the building and then down the stairs. It smells old and stale, and when we walk into the room, I see a circle of chairs. Some have already been taken. “Maybe …” I tell him, and then I stop talking when he sits down and nods at the guy next to him.
“See you brought a friend,” he tells him and then smiles at me. “I’m Patrick. Welcome.”
“Zoe,” I say, reaching out to shake his outstretched hand. “I’m excited to be here.”
He leans into Viktor and laughs. “It shows she isn’t in recovery.” My eyes open wider, and my stomach sinks. “I’m just playing with you,” he says, laughing, and I shake my head.
A couple of more people come in and sit down, and Patrick greets everyone. They go person by person, and their stories hit really close to home. The struggles that everyone goes through. The darkness and the dread. I reach out and hold his hand so tight during it all, I don’t know if I hurt him or not.
“My name is Viktor,” he starts. “I’ve been clean now for almost ten months.” I look at him and beam with pride. “Today was the first time I didn’t think about the drug when I woke up.”
My eyes never leave his. “It’s been less and less as the time has been going on, but I didn’t even think about it when I was making my coffee.” People clap and then I look down, trying to blink away the tears. “I mean, it’s not every day, but today, it was really, really good.”
I look at him and smile, and he just looks down. When it’s over, I say goodbye to Patrick, and then we walk out. He looks at me. “You okay?”
“Yes,” I tell him, not wanting to burden him, but then I stop. “No, I’m not. I’m angry that you struggle every single day. I’m angry that everyone in there”—I point at the church—“struggles every day.”
“Hey,” he says, coming close to me. “That struggle led me here. That struggle made me see what type of man I want to be, so don’t be angry.” He takes my face in his hands. “And that struggle led me to you, so I’ll struggle every single day if it means I end up in this place right here.” He kisses me.
“We have to go home,” I tell him. “So I can show you how proud of you I really am,” I say, pulling him toward his house. And show him I do.
We walk out of the house with him wearing his suit and me wearing black jean and a Stingers shirt with his name on the back and a black leather jacket. It’s the first time we walk into the arena holding hands. When he pulls open the door and we walk down the hallway, Matthew is the first one to see us.
“What is that shirt you are wearing?” he asks me, and then his eyes go to our hands. “It better be a Grant shirt.”
I laugh but not before Viktor says, “You wish, buddy.” He stops at the front of the dressing room. “See you later,” he says, smiling. He leans down and kisses my lips.
“Dude,” Matthew says. “Seriously, that’s my sister.”
“Dude,” Viktor says. “Seriously, that’s mine.”
“I have no words,” I say, shaking my head and then walking away from them to the box, hoping someone will be there. I walk in and see Karrie and Vivienne sitting at the bar with Allison. “Hey there,” I say, and Vivienne looks up at me.
“She had the sex,” she says with a gasp, and I look at her shocked.