by J. Nathan
Since Drew
J. Nathan
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not considered to be real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by J. Nathan.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Edited by Stephanie Elliot
Cover Design by RBA Designs
Cover Photo © Vishstudio | Andrei Vishnyakov via Dreamstime.com
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition April 2015
PROLOGUE
I pushed back the blonde strands that escaped my ponytail and stuck to my sweaty face. My sneakers clapped off the pavement in even successions. My pace was good. Breathing controlled. Heart rate just right.
Late night jogging along the coast always gave me the jolt of adrenaline I needed before a big race. And since only one spot remained on the Olympic team, tomorrow’s qualifying race was the mother of all races. It’s what I trained for. It’s what I worked for. It’s what I thought about every hour of every day for as long as I could remember.
It was the first week of May. And though beachgoers had already descended upon Wilmington, the road remained deserted. Just the way I liked it. I’d purposely left my phone at home so my feet on the pavement and the waves crashing on the shore could serenade me, soothing me like nothing else.
I began the slight uphill incline, focusing all my attention on winning the gold. Not my parents thousands of miles away on their latest crusade. Not my final exams—which if I hoped to graduate from UNC at the end of the month, I probably should’ve gotten my ass home to hit the books. And not my ex who dumped me right after spring break for someone not nearly as wonderful as me—just saying. But it didn’t stop me from mentally plotting a painful demise. One that included him contracting an incurable STD after discovering the tramp was underage and her parents were pressing charges. Again. Just saying.
With a wide grin and proverbial pat on the back, I picked up speed.
Lights from a vehicle approaching from behind lit up the upcoming bend in the road. Now I could actually see the guardrail to my right and the fierce waves crashing down below. Had I not checked the weather, I would’ve assumed a storm approached. And there was nothing, except running, that I loved more than a storm. The violent winds. Dark clouds. Mighty waves. Pitter-patter off the window panes. Pure serenity.
The vehicle’s tires crunched over the sandy pavement as it neared, tearing my attention back to the road. My eyes shifted, only to be blinded by headlights. The car was close. Too close. My only hope was that the driver had seen me.
They hadn’t.
My feet ripped out from beneath me. Pain tore through me as my body flipped over the car with unfathomable speed. My limbs shot out, contorting in unnatural positions as I slammed into the unforgiving concrete.
Then nothing.
Nothing but blackness.
CHAPTER ONE
Pain pounded through my body like a jackhammer let loose on a slab of cement. Everything felt fuzzy. Distant. Silent. Eerily silent. Nothingness filled the void surrounding me. Not the ocean. Not a siren signifying help. Not my own desperate screams lost in the darkness.
I needed to get up. I needed to get home. I needed to open my eyes. But they were stuck. Thick crust rendered them incapable. Was it tears? Blood? Something else? I tried again, feeling the top lashes wrench free from the bottom as my eyelids split apart.
Blinding light pierced my retinas, forcing them shut.
I drew a deep breath, prepared this time for the intrusion. Sunlight infiltrated the stark white hospital room where I lay in a bed. A curtain cocooned me on my left. A drip bag and the monitors attached to my body sat on my right. My eyes shot down to the white blanket covering my body. Something was wrong with me. Something was seriously wrong with me.
My breath hitched.
Fear grabbed hold of me.
My heart thumped harder.
My legs.
I couldn’t move my legs.
As if I’d removed ear protectors, sounds whooshed through my head like a vacuum, rattling my ear drums. Noisy monitors beeped around me. Nurses shuffled by my open door. The voice on the hallway PA requested a doctor on the second floor.
But the only thing that mattered, the only thing that had the power to make or break me, lay underneath the covers.
Terrified, I grabbed hold of the blanket, bunching it in my hands until I worked up the nerve to actually go through with it. I inhaled a deep breath and yanked it off.
Oh. My. God.
A bulky cast covered my right leg from my knee to my ankle. A pillow elevated my left knee, which was stabilized with a brace and surrounded by ice packs.
Sweat beaded on my hairline. Numbness washed over me. Too many thoughts bombarded my mind at once. I wasn’t drunk, but my head spun as though I were. I buried my face in my palms, feeling a bandage covering my right cheek.
“Fuuuuuck,” I roared into my hands.
The curtain to my left ripped open.
I stilled, knowing whoever just overheard my breakdown stood waiting for me to work it out.
Fat chance of that.
But I was Andi Parker. And I could fake it like no one’s business.
I sucked a deep breath in through my nose, pulling it together long enough to face whoever waited. Dropping my hands, I let my head fall to the left.
A dark-haired stranger lounging on the opposite bed grinned. “You’re up.”
My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as I pushed the words out. “Tell me I’m dead.”
His dark brows scrunched as he shook his head. “Nope.”
“Is this a dream?”
His lips slid into a slow cocky grin. “It’s definitely not the first time I’ve heard that one.”
“A nightmare then?”
Amused, he swung his legs off the side of the bed and sat facing me. “If waking up next to a hot guy constitutes nightmare for you, I guess there’s a first time for everything.”
My eyes drifted over his white T-shirt, khaki cargo shorts, and bare feet. Was he a patient? “Do you always refer to yourself as hot?” God, my voice was weak.
He threw his head back and laughed. There was something soothingly warm about his raspy laugh. Something calming. Something ethereal.
“Who are you?”
He pointed to himself like I’d asked a crazy question. “Me?”
I nodded my throbbing head.
“Well, it seems as though having a name like Andi confused admissions. I’m your roommate Drew.”
Roommate? I stared blankly at this guy who couldn’t be much older than me, perusing his slightly tanned face and rosy cheeks. His perfect nose and scarlet lips. He didn’t look sick. My eyes lowered to his muscular arms. His strong hands gripping the edge of the bed. His well-defined thigh muscles and calves dangling off the side of the bed. He certainly didn’t look hurt.
“When the nurses took one look at you…”
My eyes shot up to his face. “What?”
His eyes drifted over my hospital gown. “Let’s just say, on top of it being against hospital policy to have us in the same room, they’re pretty concerned we’ll…” His voice drifted off, purposely prolonging the suspense.
Seriously? Did I look like I needed suspense in my life? I was a mess. “We’ll what?”
His big emerald eyes jumped to mine as his lips twitched wildly. “Go at it like rabbits.”
Under normal ci
rcumstances, I would’ve laughed, finding him a little charming—okay, a lot charming. But in that moment, with my entire future hanging in the balance, I just needed to know one thing. “What’s wrong with me?”
He tilted his head, those pretty eyes boring into mine. “The nurses said you broke your leg and tore your ACL.”
A whoosh of air punched out of my lungs as the stark realization slammed into me like an eighteen-wheeler. I squeezed my eyes shut, keeping any tears that dared to creep to the surface at bay.
I’d never stand on that platform.
I’d never wear a medal around my neck.
I’d never hear the national anthem played as American fans looked on with pride.
I’d. Never. Run. Again.
I pressed my palms into my eyes, pushing everything away. The heartbreaking thoughts. The tears prickling the backs of my eyes. The monotonous pounding in my head. The intense need to throw myself out the nearest window. My luck I’d be on the first floor.
This was the moment. The moment I realized everything I’d worked for my entire life had just been ripped away from me.
The twisting ache in my stomach tightened. If I were standing, I would’ve keeled over. It hurt. It hurt like hell. But I wouldn’t cry. Andi Parker didn’t cry. She also didn’t refer to herself in the third-person. But here she sat doing just that. Again.
Mother-effer.
I dropped my hands and steeled myself.
“I told the doctor I’d get him when you woke up.” Drew stood from his bed, taller and broader than I expected. If I hadn’t just been delivered a life-shattering blow, I might’ve taken a moment to admire the way his chest filled out his T-shirt or the way his shorts hung low on his hips.
“How long have I been out?” I could barely hear the sound of my own voice. I was under water and sinking quickly.
“They pumped you with some heavy pain meds. You’ve been in and out for a couple days.”
A couple days?
Drew shot me a regrettable frown as he made his way to the door and disappeared into the hallway.
Within seconds, a doctor in a white coat stepped through the doorway with Drew on his heels. “Good morning. I’m Doctor Evans.” His tall body stopped at my bedside, towering over me. “You had quite an accident.”
I nodded.
“I’m sure you’re wondering about your newest accessories.” He gestured toward my legs.
“Will I be able to run?” My voice cracked with emotion.
“Well, you fractured your tibia and fibula in your right leg and needed open reduction and internal fixation surgery. You suffered a complete tear of your ACL in your left knee which we also repaired.”
My voice became firmer. “Will I be able to run?”
“The ACL will be fine once we get the physical therapist up here to help you regain movement. After that, the goal is to achieve and maintain full knee extension and increase muscle function in your quadriceps.”
I felt myself slipping as I sat dazed by the information overload and his reluctance to answer my question.
“Thanks to all the hardware in your right leg, prognosis for a full recovery is high.” He crossed his arms. “As for running?”
I held my breath.
“You’ll be non-weight bearing for quite some time.”
All the air rushed out of me.
There was no way, in even four years when the next Olympics rolled around, I’d be able to compete at the level I’d been at. And then, there’d be younger and faster runners who’d surpass me.
“On top of that,” Doctor Evans’ voice broke through my spiraling thoughts. “You suffered brain swelling—clinically referred to as cerebral edema.”
And the hits just keep on coming.
“I know this is probably a lot to take in right now.”
Ya think?
“From what the EMTs said when they brought you in…” He tipped his head thoughtfully. “You were extremely lucky to have survived the accident.”
I glanced to Drew sitting on the edge of his bed, his lips twisting regrettably.
“On a scale of one to ten, what’s your pain level?” Doctor Evans asked.
I wanted to ask which pain he referred to. The physical or emotional? “Five.”
He slipped a flashlight from his coat pocket and shined it into my eyes. “How’s the head feeling?”
“Like I had a killer night out with friends.”
Drew snickered as Doctor Evans stared into my eyes. “So, you feel hung over?”
“More like I did too many shots, went home with a guy I didn’t know, and let him do dirty things to me that I can’t remember.”
Drew choked out a laugh.
Doctor Evans lowered his light wearing a slight smirk. “Tell you what. I’ll have the nurses get you something for that head.”
“Thanks.”
He tucked the flashlight back into his pocket. “Smart move carrying your license. We were able to get your parents on the phone long enough to get their consent to operate before losing the connection.”
“I’m lucky you got them at all. They’re off the coast of Antarctica.”
“Oh?”
“Stopping whale hunters,” I explained, like it was the most normal thing in the world—though I knew it was the complete opposite. “They usually can’t be reached out there.”
He crossed his arms. “Any other relatives we can contact for you?”
“No.”
“Friends?”
I nodded. “I can call my best friend.”
“That must be the young woman who’s been causing quite a scene in the waiting room.”
I closed my eyes on a slight nod. “That would be Logan.”
“Is she your roommate?”
I shook my head. “I live alone.”
A look of disappointment passed over Doctor Evans’ features, crinkling the aging skin around his eyes.
“What?”
“I’d have a difficult enough time discharging you if it was just limited mobility in your legs. But with cerebral edema and knowing no one’s at home to assist you…” He shook his head. “I won’t discharge you. Not yet anyway.”
I should’ve felt angry. Alone. Devastated that he planned to keep me a prisoner. But he was right. How would I ever be able to maneuver around my tiny condo alone? And even if Logan left her sorority house to stay with me, I’d still be in a wheelchair which wouldn’t fit down my narrow hallway.
“I’ve got to finish my rounds, but I’ll send a nurse in with those meds. And your friend, if she’s calmed down.” Doctor Evans shot me a small smile before he headed out the door.
“So, hot guy? Dirty things?” Drew kicked up his bare feet and linked his hands behind his head, settling back onto his bed. “Why do I get the feeling it was me you were referring to?”
My eyes drifted to his penetrating eyes. All that was missing was the baseball hat pulled down low. “Nope. Not my type.”
He leveled me with a skeptical look.
“I’m totally into blondes with blue eyes.” Sarcasm beat wallowing in self-pity. Being angry at the world. Crying until I was out of tears. I was a fighter. A devastated fighter, but a fighter nonetheless.
Drew stifled a grin as he jumped to his feet and headed to the door. “I’ll go make sure your friend’s not freaking out.”
Within minutes, Logan burst through my door with her arms flailing. “Oh, thank God.”
Anyone witnessing the scene might’ve assumed we were sisters. Both natural blondes with blue eyes. But our similarities stopped there. I was tall, skinny, and painstakingly average while Logan was petite, curvy, and drop-dead beautiful.
She shook the entire bed as she dropped down beside me and threw her arms around me, holding on for dear life. “Are you okay?”
“Do I look okay?” I mumbled into her shoulder.
She pulled back, her eyes drifting down to my legs. That’s when I noticed tears running down her cheeks. “The Olympics?”
I shook my head.
She lifted her hand to the bandage on my cheek. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry.”
I nodded, stopping my own tears from leaking out.
“If you weren’t all broken and bruised, I’d kick your ass for jogging alone in the middle of the night, you know that, right?” She wiped her eyes, fixing her smudged mascara in the process.
“I know.”
“But I love you and will do whatever you need me to do,” she assured me.
I managed something resembling a smile. “I know that, too.”
That was the last thing I remembered before sleep pulled me under and despair filled my dreams.
CHAPTER TWO
I hung up the phone, unable to reach my parents. Sure, I’d been enduring their disappearing act since freshmen year in high school. But seriously? Right now I needed my mommy and daddy.
I often wondered if it was my fault. If I’d made it too easy for them to just pick up and take off across the globe on one of their crazy adventures. If knowing I was at home getting good grades, focusing on track, and never giving them a reason to worry had backfired on me. Maybe if I’d thrown the occasional party, been caught sneaking out to meet a guy, or come home drunk off my ass, it would’ve given them cause to rethink their getaways. But I hadn’t. So there I sat. Alone once again.
I grabbed the remote and flipped on the small flat screen across from my bed. My head was a tenuous place to be. I needed a distraction to keep me out of it. To keep me from dwelling on my loneliness, my misery, my shattered dreams. To keep me sane.
“Knock. Knock.”
My eyes flashed to the doorway where a welcome distraction stood in faded jeans, a navy T-shirt, and a grin. He wasn’t there when I woke the previous night or that morning. “You’re up early.”
Drew shrugged. “Yeah, I couldn’t really sleep without your cute little snoring next to me.”
My eyes flared. “I don’t snore.”
“Yes, you do.”
My forehead creased. “Wait. Where’d you sleep?”
“Now that you’re awake, they kicked my sorry ass out of here.”
“I had no idea.”
