AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A low growl leaves my clenched jaw. “If you’re lucky and smart, you might still walk out of here with your teeth. If you decide to keep being a fucking idiot, then I’ll take them with me as little trophies.” Getting even more in his face, I spit the words through my teeth. “Don’t look at her. Don’t talk to her. Don’t ever step foot in this bar again. Am I fucking clear?”
Tears are streaming down his face as he makes his first smart decision tonight. “Y-yes, I g-got you.”
I release his shirt, and when he falls a couple of inches to the ground, I realize that I actually lifted him into the air against the wall. Without giving him a moment to run, I reach into his wallet and take out his ID. Ripping my phone out of my pocket, I take a picture of it.
“Chad Boer. At 1435 Freelance Avenue. Got it.” I hand his wallet back to him, which he takes with shaky hands. “If I hear about you drugging other girls, Chad, losing your teeth will be the least of your worries. Understand me?”
He nods rapidly and shoves his wallet into his pocket. My gaze follows the motion, and I see the front of his light denim jeans are now navy blue and wet.
He is staring at me, waiting, and I give him permission to leave.
“Go.”
He and his little friend scurry out of here like they are on fucking fire. The bouncers come over and check that we’re cool and don’t need anything. There are certainly perks for being friends with the entire staff.
Before we head to our seats, I walk over to the bar and get the bartender’s attention. “These have drugs in them. I don’t know if they need to be cleaned differently, but can you replace whatever they had, please, and just put it on my tab?”
She is absolutely disgusted with what happened and says, “This round is on me for the girls.”
We quickly sit down, and I tell the guys, “Don’t say anything about what just happened. Please.”
They all acknowledge my request, and I check to see if the girls have come back out, but I don’t see them. I glance once more at where they were sitting and see their drinks have been replenished.
Not ten seconds later, Laura and Charlotte are walking back over to their seats. They look around, and I would bet money they are looking for those two guys. Thankfully, they don’t waste much more of their night worrying about them, and soon, they are back to chatting and smiling with one another.
Deciding that I have had enough of everything tonight, I take the final swig of my drink and head out. There’s still time left before I completely pass out, so I can try to work with Hatty some tonight.
He still isn’t my biggest fan. But we are making big progress. He has started lying down in the same room as me. Granted, it is usually the farthest away from me he can get. But last week, he wouldn’t even come out of his hiding holes, aside from eating and drinking when I was asleep. So, I consider this a big win.
I’m hoping in the next few weeks, maybe he’ll let me pet him, and maybe one day, we could even snuggle. I’m patient. I’ll wait for him to come around at his pace, no matter how long it takes. I’m in it for the long run. Part of me wonders if that potentially applies to more than Hatty.
12
Charlotte
Lost, confused, and utterly exhausted—that’s how I’ve been feeling these last two weeks since my treatment. Every time I think I’ve hit rock bottom, I somehow sink even lower. The chemo fog is having a far stronger impact on my life than I anticipated. I kind of thought it would be like when you have a bad cold and feel that you’re slower. But this is so much worse. I’m zoning out for minutes or hours at a time. Everything is hazy right now, like I’m a ghost drifting through the motions of everyday life, but not fully here.
I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up. I went to work every day last week, and my body is still paying for that decision. I doubt Laura will continue letting me work from home. Even she has her limits. But she’s going to have to accept at least one more day because this morning, I barely have the energy to get out of bed, let alone go to work.
If only I could chug a Red Bull or two, surely, that would help. But unfortunately, I’m supposed to avoid caffeine with my treatments.
Throwing my comforter off of me, I force myself out of bed. My to-do list this morning is fairly basic, but it’s still going to take me everything to get through it.
Brush my teeth.
Shower.
Eat something.
Drink an annoying amount of water.
Crawl back into bed with my laptop.
Walking into the bathroom, I avoid looking into the mirror altogether. Quickly, I undress and start the water for my shower, and step into the steaming hot water.
“Shit, too hot.” I wince and practically slap the handle to turn the temp down.
The water cools down, and when it’s nice and warm, I sigh and relax. I used to take the hottest showers—like, so warm that you could barely stand it. But now, my skin is so much more sensitive, so the water is currently more lukewarm.
