No scholarship.
No college football.
No WSU.
No making my parents proud, making them love me enough to stick around.
It’s done. It’s all over.
The next few days go by in a blur. Getting wheeled off the field, rushing to the hospital, going into surgery. I was so doped up, I couldn’t even tell you my name if you’d asked. When I awoke in the hospital, monitors beeping all around me, my parents are there.
They fill me in on my injury and confirmed what I already knew. My dreams are over. I suffered a torn ACL and a tibial plateau fracture. They performed surgery on both injuries, and my entire leg is in a cast. It’ll stay that way for weeks.
Then there’ll be physical therapy. Basically, the rest of my senior year is shot.
Over the next few weeks, I spend a lot of time resting. My parents both surprisingly took time off work to be home with me continually. Mom makes dinner for us at night, we eat together, watch movies together. It feels like old times, and I start to think maybe this injury is a blessing in disguise. Something that needed to happen to bring my family back together. A silver lining.
I was hopeful. Until yesterday.
I’ve been home from the hospital for two weeks now. The living room is my makeshift bedroom for the time being since I’m not able to climb up the stairs with the crutches. As I was getting ready to get up for the day yesterday, my parents came to let me know our time as a family has expired.
Not their exact words, but basically.
They apparently had a trip to the Turks planned for the last few months, and they don’t want to cancel it. They informed me that a nurse by the name of Abigail will be staying here for the next few months to take care of me while they travel all over the fucking globe.
They left last night for the airport.
Silly me for thinking a life-altering injury would be enough to reschedule a goddamn vacation. I should’ve known better, though.
Nurse Abby—she doesn’t like to be called Abigail—is nice enough. She’s in her late twenties, cute in an ordinary way, and easy to persuade. The first few days were awkward and quiet, with her trying to get a feel for me and learning what makes me tick. She is much more than a nurse, though. She does my laundry, makes my meals, feeds me my meds, bathes me. She does it all.
After about a week of us co-existing together and her caring for me, we get into a nice groove, and I learn that Nurse Abby is somewhat of an unprofessional flirt. Her eyes start wandering—and lingering—during bath time, and her giggles get a little more frequent when we chat throughout the day. It’s easy to figure out if I flirt back, flatter her a bit, she’ll give me anything I want.
Alcohol.
More pain meds.
Sex.
Sex is a plus, obviously, but it’s actually a great way to get everything else I want. It’s amazing what a screaming orgasm will get you. We started fooling around a few days ago, and since I let her ride my face, she turns a blind eye when I double my dose of pain pills.
This goes on for several weeks—all the sex, alcohol, and pills I could want—and by the time my parents come home from vacation and relieve Nurse Abby of her duties, Kalen is dropping by the house once a week to supplement my meds, because my prescription isn’t enough anymore.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Crew
Present Day
It’s been three days since Anderson showed up here, beat the shit out of Kalen, and dipped. Three days, and each day gets harder to fucking manage than the last.
He won’t take my calls. Won’t respond to my texts. Rightfully so, of course. It’s the least I deserve. Not only did I ignore his attempts to talk to me, but I also hooked up with Kalen and he found out.
A hook-up I wholeheartedly fucking regret.
It was a miracle Kalen didn’t hate my fucking guts by the time he left, bloody and fucking bruised. Not that I really care if he likes me, but heismy dealer after all, and it would fucking suck to lose access to the shit that keeps me sane.
It’s almost noon, and I’ve been up for several hours. Sleep has been evading me for days… since Anderson left, actually. I’ve never missed someone the way I miss him. It’s an ache that’s felt in my bones. My stomach physically hurts knowing he isn’t speaking to me. It’s only been three days, but it feels like a lifetime.