Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
The pressure.
It’s a ton of pressure on my legs.
I can’t sit up. I twist and the Chevy Suburban is on me. My legs are pinned under the tires. I hear the sounds of motorcycles approaching as the shock kicks in and I pass the fuck out.
“Come on, buddy,” I hear my dad as I feel my body lifted from the ground. “I got you, Wesson. Hold on.”
Those were the words he said as he lifted me away from the car that pinned my legs down. I passed out again in the ambulance. When I finally came too, I had lost both my legs just above my knees. The damage was too much to save them. It was my legs or my life. The doctors saved my life … or some of it.
I’ll never be the same.
“Put him to the bed,” Boomer tells someone, “He can sleep it off here.”
“I’ll stay with him,” this comes from Karma.
I don’t give a fuck where I stay or who stays with me. I’m too drunk for anything to matter. My body lands on a bed somewhere and I promptly black out again.
“Don’t fuckin’ go, Emmalee,” I beg.
“Wes, you can’t give me what I need anymore. This isn’t enough.”
Anger, sadness, frustration, and all the emotions overwhelm me. “Fuckin’ hell, Emmalee, you’re a virgin. I know it and you know it. I’m trying to do right by you. I’ll take you to a courthouse right now and marry you. I want to give you the world.”
Her eyes lock to mine with unshed tears. “I can’t,” she whispers.
“No, you fuckin’ won’t there is a difference.”
Yes, I let her sleep right there in my arms. I didn’t get a wink of shut eye. The thoughts of how to keep her from running plagued my mind.
“Why are you running from us? What we have is good, I know you feel it. You know I fuckin’ love you. I know you love me. I don’t understand why you are leaving.”
“I’m not running, Wes. I tried to tell you. This isn’t enough for me. I’ve decided I need to see more in the world.”
“Bullshit, what are you hiding?”
She drops her head avoiding my gaze. “Wes, you say you want to marry me, but you can’t get on one knee to propose. I’m not blind I can see that. I’m here when the ghost pains seize you in the middle of the night. I watch the way you look at the bikes when everyone pulls away. I see you, Wesson Vaughn. I feel your pain. But I can’t do this. I can’t pick you up. I can’t watch you be half a man. And that’s what you are.”
Her words cut.
Her body shakes as my mind races. “You don’t have to watch me be half a man anymore,” I whisper.
I have never hated myself more than right now. I fell in love with a woman who saw me as me, not a man trapped in a chair. That woman is gone and what’s left of her, I have to let go.
I watch her carry the bag of her clothes out to her car without so much as a goodbye.
It’s for the best I tell myself. She’s wrong about what she can and can’t do. I don’t need her to pick me up. Her breathing the same fucking air as me keeps me high on life like never before. But she’s right about me.
I’m half a man and that’s all I’ll ever be.
“Are you fuckin’ with me right now, Link?” Karma yells into his phone waking me.
My head pounds while my mouth feels like I swallowed a pack of cotton balls. I look around taking in the space. We are in one of the duplex crash pads. Roundman had these built ages ago on the compound so when other charters came to visit Haywood’s Landing or one of the brothers didn’t need to drive home, we had a place to sleep, shower, shit, and exist.
Apparently, I let the alcohol do my walking which landed me in this bed. I’m still in my shirt, cut, and shorts. My chair is wheeled to the side of the bed ready for me to transfer. That tells me it was my brother, mother, or Boomer who set me up because they know how to set the chair.
“Why the fuck did she do this?” Karma roars. “He’s my fuckin’ son. She can’t leave Onslow damn county without notifying me. Are you one hundred percent it’s his tracker pinging?”
Oh fuck, this can’t be good. He is pacing the space. As I begin to transfer to my chair, the noise gets his attention while he’s still on the call.
“Where did she ping last?” He pauses, “send the link to Busted’s phone. He’s here with me. I can look while we plan.”
I get my chair turned, grab my phone from the nightstand and wheel to him. His eyes are full of fury. “Bitch took my son out of state. Link got the alert when Hollis crossed into Georgia. He’s sending you a video from a business she’s at.”