Now how the fuck am I going to get out of this mess?
The water wasn’t doing enough to slow down the blaze, and I saw that they had even brought out the reserve hose to hook it up to the fire hydrant nearby. The house might as well have been a matchbox. I looked out the window next to me and saw that I was definitely too far up to jump. The lower part of the house was elevated, so while I could get the woman to safety, I couldn’t exactly jump. My knee was far too fucked up to survive a fall like that without shattered the reconstructive work I had done. If forced to choose between my life and my knee, I’d definitely choose my life, but it wasn’t a choice I was going to make easily. Suddenly, I heard something outside—it was a loud noise—an engine roaring. A few seconds later there was an explosion and the wall at the bottom of the stairs was torn open as a car smashed into it. I looked down and saw Hudson in the driver’s
seat.
Oh my god, he’s a fucking lunatic—but he’s a genius.
I was able to make the jump from where I was to the hood of the car without much trouble and then crawl over the top. Hudson couldn’t get the door open, so I smashed the back window of the car with my ax and helped him crawl through it. We dropped safely to the ground and headed back to the fire truck. The other firefighters were stunned as we approached. Obviously, they had never seen a man drive a car through a Bed & Breakfast to save his brother. It wasn’t the first time Hudson had saved my life, although the first time hadn’t been quite as theatrical. I ripped off my helmet and mask, tossing both of them on the ground at my feet. I could practically taste the air on my tongue and the sky looked like a brighter shade of blue than I remembered.
“Thank you.” I walked over and gave Hudson a hug.
“No problem, bro.” He embraced me quickly. “You didn’t think I was going to let you die in there did you?”
“The owner of that car may not be very pleased with your methods.” I looked over at the car that was jutting out of the side of the Bed & Breakfast.
“Let the mayor pay for it.” Hudson shrugged and looked towards the building that was still burning. “If we had better equipment, we could have gotten you out of there a lot easier.”
“That’s probably true.” I nodded.
And just like before—my brother saved me when I needed him most. I don’t even fucking deserve him. Especially after what I did to him all those years ago.
* * *
Three years ago
“Give me another one, Sam.” I motioned to the bartender in front of me.
“Don’t you think you’ve had enough, Preston?” He walked over and put his hands on the counter.
“I’m fine. If I’m not drinking here, I’ll just be drinking at home.” I pointed towards the bottle behind him. “At least here I know the people who talk to me aren’t just in my head.”
“You need help.” Sam shook his head back and forth, but he reached for the bottle.
“Yeah, maybe so.” I shrugged and waited for him to finish pouring the glass of whiskey. “Some people aren’t worthy of redemption though.”
Least of all me.
Taking that shot to the knee on the field in Bryant-Denny Stadium was the end of everything for me. My football career. My future. Everything I cared about. I returned to Andalusia as a broken man, but I wasn’t the only lost soul wandering those small town streets. My brother was shattered—he was a shell of the man he should have become. He became a firefighter, just like he planned, but there was no life left in his eyes. The worst part of all? I was the one that snuffed it out. I was the one that betrayed him. I stole his one chance at happiness because I was nothing more than a selfish fuck afraid of my own feelings. I thought I had the world at my feet, but I couldn’t even stand on them—not without feeling the pain that was a constant reminder of what I chose over what I could have been.
“Okay, you’re cut off.” Sam took my glass. “You can’t even hold your fucking head up anymore.”
“Yeah, whatever.” I grimaced as I put weight on my knee and started to stumble towards the door.
I lied to Hudson when he asked me why Eliza stopped by. I told him that she came to say goodbye and didn’t reciprocate any of the feelings he had for her. He watched her drive away, believing that she was the one who chose to leave instead of knowing the truth—I drove her away. I crushed her with my cruel words, even when saying them made me sick. The reality—the harsh reality that I refused to admit to myself, was that I was in love with Eliza too. The two months we spent together changed who I was, and that scared me. I had my future in front of me—I couldn’t let feelings get in the way of that. If I had an ounce of my brother’s bravery, I would have fought to make her stay—I would have told her how I really felt. I wouldn’t have broken her heart and ruined everything that meant so much. I walked back to my father’s house after leaving the bar—technically it was my house. My father had moved out and so had Hudson. They let me wallow in my misery, which is all I really deserved.
“What are you doing here?” I looked up as I approached the steps and saw Hudson sitting at the top of them.
“I’m worried about you man.” Hudson stood to his feet. “Sam called me.”
“Sam’s a fucking idiot. He should appreciate having a paying customer.” I started walking up the steps without even looking at Hudson.
“Don’t shut me out.” Hudson reached over and grabbed my arm as I passed. “You’re better than this.”
“Am I?” I pulled away and shoved my key into the lock. “I lost everything. This is who I am now.”
“So fucking what?” Hudson followed me into the house. “Yeah, maybe you would have made it to the NFL—maybe not. Maybe you would have still ended up right here in Andalusia, living with a bunch of fucking regrets.”
“Regrets?” I turned towards him. “Are we talking about me or you?”