AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ricky sighed. “Then you’ll get through it with me by your side. With your friends by your side. With Amelie by your side.”
Corey sat up, wiping his eyes. “I wish I could believe it was that easy. It’ll be harder than that.”
“Nothing worth fighting for is easy, Corey. Our bar is a mess and we’ll have to shut down until we can fix it. Does that mean we throw in the towel and say screw it because it’ll be hard? Because we’ll be throwing money into something we shouldn’t have to? Hell, no.”
“I’m done with the pep talk for now. No more talking.” Then he leaned his head against the wall and shut his eyes. Hopefully, it would shut his brother up, too.
Until he knew Genevieve’s prognosis, he didn’t care about anything. Not even the bar and how much work they’d have to put into it to get it back in tiptop shape.
“You can shut me out for now, but not forever. I’m going to call Jezebelle and check on Amelie for you. Remember, you still have a daughter that needs you no matter what happens. Mom never gave up on you, so don’t even think about giving up on your daughter.”
And knowing that—being reminded of that—would get him through everything. It would be hard as hell, but deep down, Corey knew he couldn’t fail his daughter. That he had to be as strong as he possibly could for her.
He sat there for the longest time with his eyes closed until he felt the air shift around him. Ricky was back. He didn’t have the strength for any more talking, especially the deep shit his brother had made him do.
“Genevieve is out of surgery.”
His eyes popped open and he sat up, turning to her brother, Oliver, who was sitting next to him.
The man looked like he’d just gotten off a weekend bender that he regretted. Red-rimmed eyes, hollow cheeks, hair sticking in every direction telling Corey he’d been running his hands through it too much.
“Besides her arm that was broken, she had internal bleeding, which they stopped. A bit of swelling in the brain, but all neurological signs are good so far. She’s in a coma, but the doctors aren’t worried. They said as soon as the swelling goes down, she’ll wake up and be on the mend, like it never happened.”
“Are you dolling up the words or did the doctor actually say all that shit to you? Like they believe it?”
Oliver didn’t say anything for a minute. Corey counted the seconds. A full minute. When he started going to NA after putting himself in a drug treatment facility all on his own to kick his bad habit, his counselor had taught him to count from one to sixty to center himself. To pull him out of the unwelcome thoughts crowding his mind. He had done a lot of counting in the beginning. As time went on, it decreased. Each day got better and better, the temptation inside to do just one hit not as strong.
“I dolled it up. What the doctor said wasn’t pretty.”
Corey’s bottom lip trembled, but he held strong. It was one thing to break down in front of his brother—who he didn’t notice hanging around—but it was another to do it in front of Genevieve’s brother or family. Which was why he wasn’t even sitting with the rest of them. He’d picked the farthest area away from them, not wanting them to see his weakness. Shit. They didn’t want him near them anyway. While they had been pleasant at the birthday party, they hadn’t exactly welcomed him with open arms.
Correction. Her brothers hadn’t, but her parents had been kind to him. He hadn’t seen any animosity while chatting with them.
It was odd to him why the two brothers he met didn’t like him. He hadn’t done anything to Genevieve. If anything, she had hurt him. They hadn’t met on friendly terms in the beginning, yet he knew her brothers hadn’t liked him from the start.
“So what’s the truth? It’ll be a miracle if she survives, won’t it.”
This time, Oliver only starred at him for forty-five seconds before replying.
“She’ll make it.”
Corey narrowed his eyes. “You’re still dolling shit up. You’re lying to me. I can hear it in your voice. You’re saying one thing, but wanting to say something else.”
Oliver looked at his lap. “I don’t know you, Corey.” His eyes slowly lifted and met his. “I only know what Genevieve tells me. And what I found when I investigated you how many months ago.”
He clenched his jaw hard, his teeth hurting. “And what did you find? How far did you dig?”
“To the damn bottom of the pile. If it involves my sister, I dig as deep as I can go. If you love my sister as much as I think you do…I’m only trying…I don’t want…”
Corey’s entire body relaxed as he watched Oliver struggle to say whatever was on his mind. He imagined the guy was trying to keep him from falling down the rabbit hole of drugs—like his own brother had.
“I have a daughter that needs me. We—” He sniffed once, swiping at his eye. “Genevieve and I have a daughter that needs us. I can be strong for her. It’ll be hard as hell, but I can do it.”
Because his brother would be by his side. His friends would be there, too. And he never thought it possible, but Genevieve’s family was right in the mix of it as well.
Oliver touched his shoulder. “That’s good to hear. I never wanted you near Genevieve. Not with the past you have. But I see how happy she is. How happy you make her. You’re a good man. I see that now. I’m sorry I failed to see it sooner.”
“Water under the bridge.”
