Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 164459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 822(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 822(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Can you imagine being a witness to your own mother dying at the mere age of eight?
She was dying right in front of me. All from a bottle of Xanax and a little too much whiskey. Both were things that Flex introduced her to. He made her do the pills and the other hardcore shit.
He made her into something she knew she wasn’t. She tried to change… but she never could. She was weak for him, and I could never figure out why.
The phone rang and rang as I paced the bedroom. Someone finally picked up and my words rushed through the phone. They were asking too many damn questions and telling me too many things to do.
“Just send a fucking ambulance! NOW!”
Those were the only words I could remember before I held Grandma Marie again. I grabbed the phone that was in her hand and checked the call log.
My heart sank when I saw that she called me.
She called me?
She whimpered and I dropped the phone. She was still there. Still fighting. “Grandma?” I whispered as I cupped her face. “Grandma, you there?” My eyes grew hot, prickling with heat.
“I’m… okay… Drake.” Her voice was dry and crackly. I’d never heard her this way before.
“Everything is gonna be okay,” I said as I picked her up again, carrying her to the living room. I laid her on the sofa and then went to the kitchen to wet a paper towel.
When I came back, I bent down at her side and wiped her forehead while stroking the wisps of gray hair away.
She took in a large, deep breath.
“What happened to you, wild woman?” I teased, forcing a laugh. “You know you can’t be running around like you used to.”
“I was on the hunt for my just as wild grandson,” she returned, smiling a little. “I needed a little bit of help.”
“I was around.”
“I know.” She continued a smile and then reached up to stroke my cheek. “You like this girl a lot. I know it. You can’t even answer my calls, you’re so busy with her.” She was teasing back.
I laughed, and I wanted it to be sincere but the truth was it hurt my chest.
She started to laugh, but a heavy cough filled its place and as she did, blood spouted out. It landed on the center of her white shirt and she looked down at it.
“Oh no,” she whispered.
I placed a hand on her shoulder, doing my best to remain calm. “Relax,” I insisted. “It’s okay. You don’t have to talk.” I held her hand. “I’ll do all the talking. Is that cool?”
She nodded.
I squeezed her hand. “What do you want me to talk about?”
She gave me a look, as if I already knew what she wanted to hear.
“Jenny?” I asked, smirking.
She bobbed her head slowly.
“Well… Jenny is cool. A nice girl. She wants to meet you soon. I told her you want to meet her too. I’ve just been busy as hell, you know?”
She nodded.
“I need you to meet her. I think you’d love her. She reminds me a lot of Mom. Understanding. Fun. She asks a lot of damn questions, but I’ve gotten used to it.”
Grandma’s eyes lit up with glee.
“I don’t know what it is about her. It’s been this way since we were ten. It’s like she sees right through me and… I let her.”
Her smile was faint now.
“Mom would have loved her, too.”
“I bet,” Grandma responded quietly.
Sirens blared from a distance.
“They’re close,” I whispered as I glanced towards the windows.
Grandma Marie’s eyes shut. “I hear them.”
“Hang in there, okay?”
“I’ll be fine, Drake. And you’ll be fine, despite what happens. I know it. You’re a strong boy. A lot stronger and wiser than you think.” She swallowed thickly. “Way stronger than your father.”
The sirens were closer.
Before I knew it, they were knocking on the door. I hurried to open it and they immediately put Grandma on a stretcher. They rushed her out the front door and I rode with her to the hospital.
“You’ll be okay,” she said as she looked at me. “You’re a good boy. Your mother and I knew that. We love you. Don’t panic.”
I grabbed her hand, nodding—trying to smile but unable to.
It was a fifteen-minute ride to get to the hospital.
During it, I held her hand, watching as they placed IV’s in her arms and gave her an oxygen mask.
But it was halfway during the ride when all hell broke loose.
The EMT’s were working hard, trying to keep her stable. One of them pumped her chest, while the other worked on the tubing and kept her head lifted up.
She was choking on her own blood now.
It spilled down the corners of her mouth. I saw her face screw up with unspeakable pain.
I wanted to take it all away from her, but I didn’t know how that was even possible when I was already in too much pain myself.