AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He grins. “Sure. By the way, you and I will have something in common now.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m getting the amputation.” He taps his leg. “Last time you’ll get to see me on two feet.”
“Hell, we should start a club.”
He snorts.
The second I stroll into the gym, all action stops and the other guys crowd around, some of them jumping out of the ring in the middle of a sparring match in order to say hello and slap me on the back. In a weird way I feel like a celebrity. This must be what happens to Conner all the time.
Elijah helps me pack up the gear in my locker. I don’t even bother to take everything, leaving some stuff behind for whoever needs it.
Then I sling the gym bag over my shoulder, bid my old friend farewell for now, and leave the way I came in.
After dumping the bag in Tess’s trunk, I give Dildo a wave with my handless arm. He stares through his Scream mask for a second, then enthusiastically waves back.
Once I’m behind the wheel I realize two things.
First, I left my phone back at the house.
Second, I’m fucking starving because I only ate two bites of breakfast.
The first oversight I can’t do much about, even though I’d really like to call Tess and let her know there’s nothing to worry about.
The second item I can solve with ease.
My favorite lunch spot is a taco truck that usually hangs out next to a local park on weekdays. The girl who takes my order acknowledges me with a nod, recognizing that I’m a frequent customer. She does a double take when I pull out my wallet and it becomes clear that I’ve lost something since the last time she saw me.
If anyone wants to know what happened I’ll tell them the truth. She’s too polite to ask, handing over a bag and a soda without a word.
An empty bench overlooks the park where some guy plays catch with his dog on the dead grass. The playground, badly in need of repair, has yellow caution tape around it.
While I stuff my lunch in my mouth, a woman and her son stand beside the taco truck and wait for their order to be called.
“Mommy, that man has NO HAND.” The kid points and bounces on his toes. He’s excited, having discovered something novel and different.
My stump waves him.
His mother looks, becomes mortified. “Liam, don’t point. It’s not kind.”
There’s an apology written on her face.
And pity too.
She feels sorry for this unfortunate fucker who’s slumped on a park bench and missing something important. Maybe she’ll dig around in her purse for some spare change.
The thought strikes me as hilarious and I bark out a loud laugh, which prompts the young mother to get alarmed and quickly usher her kid out of my sight. She looks over her shoulder with fear in her eyes and then I feel like crap because I didn’t mean to scare her.
But I’ll take this as a sign that I’m not doing anyone any favors by squatting on a public bench and glowering at the world.
After the woman and her kid are out of sight, I make one more trip to the truck and order a dozen tacos to go.
The ride out of the east side is bittersweet. This was home for a long time and I don’t know when I’ll be back.
Traffic is light and driving with one hand isn’t hard. Like a lot of things, it’ll just take some getting used to.
There’s still tons of shit to figure out. Before that can happen I need to know who did this and why.
