Since Drew

by J. Nathan

  Were my cheeks lobster red? Was my scratch cracking? Was it something else? I couldn’t take the not knowing. “What?”

  He shook his head, his eyes drifting to the bustling grounds. “Is there any reason someone would have to hurt you?”

  My head jerked back. “Hurt me?”

  He turned to me, looking me straight in the eyes. “The tire tracks on the sandy road. They were clear as day. There was no indication the driver even attempted to stop.”

  My brows bunched. “But you said they lost control.”

  “It’s what I said I presumed happened.”

  “Well did you ask the driver?”

  He shook his head. “I needed to ask you first.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s still not well enough to give a statement.”

  To say my mind spun would be an understatement. It was a tornado pulling in houses and spitting them back out with ruthless force. I couldn’t focus on a single thought. Too many bombarded my head. Too many faces I’d come across over the years. Too many moments of teenage drama I wished I could erase. Too many exes I’d like to forget.

  “I didn’t come here to worry you. I just like to cover all my bases—Are you still in school?” His subject change yanked me back to the present.

  “I’m graduating from UNC in a few weeks.” My words were slow, my mind and body competing for balance.

  “Do you work?”

  I shook my head. “I run.” I glanced down at my cast. “At least I did. I was supposed to be heading to the Olympics this summer.”

  His head recoiled. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Tell him? “Why does it matter?”

  “You’re probably too young to remember. But some years ago, two ice skaters were in the news when one allegedly conspired to hurt the other to secure a spot on the Olympic team.” He glanced to my cast. “Ironic, don’t you think?”

  My eyes shot around as I fought to make sense of what he’d suggested. “So, you think the driver was doing someone else’s dirty work?”

  He shrugged.

  Fuuuck.

  I considered who would’ve benefited from my being hurt. Those I’d outrun. Those who rubbed me the wrong way. Those I rubbed the wrong way. It seemed so far-fetched. People actually conspiring to hurt me. But there I sat. Broken bones and torn ligaments to prove it.

  I begrudgingly gave him two names, Marley and another girl who’d often finished tenths of a second behind me. I hoped to God—after throwing them under the bus—they had nothing to do with it.

  “I’ll look into their whereabouts at the time of the accident. Or any other evidence that could link them to it.” Sensing my unease, he gave me a fatherly look. “There are a lot of people out there willing to do whatever it takes to be in the position you were slated to be in.”

  I nodded. I didn’t know an Olympic hopeful who hadn’t dreamt of landing the coveted sport’s drink commercial or cereal box cover. But hurting someone to make it a reality, when that someone was me, stung like nothing else.

  Officer Roy helped me back into my chair before heading back to the station. I opted to stay outside, the fresh air easing my frazzled brain. He must’ve felt sorry for delivering such bad news—or I really did look like a lobster—because he left me his hat and made me wear it, making me promise to stay out of the sun.

  Had someone tried to hurt me? Had I really been a target when all along I believed it was some freak accident? I hated thinking people I knew, girls I’d competed with, could’ve planned something so devious. So hurtful. So selfish. Yet there I sat. Incapable of running. Incapable of competing. Incapable of winning a medal.

  A short time later, visons of my bed carried me back toward the building. I needed to lose myself in my dreams and hope they weren’t anything like my living nightmare. I rolled to the sliding doors I used to exit the building, but when I stopped in front of them, they didn’t open. Were they broken? Locked for the night?

  My head whipped around, realizing my only option was the main entrance on the other side of the building. Fan-freaking-tastic. I made my way slowly around, giving my arms an unexpected workout. When I rounded the corner, I stopped short. Television cameras sat aimed at the front doors. Photographers with long-lensed cameras around their necks paced. Reporters with phones to their ears spoke animatedly. Others held their phones in their palms with their eyes glued to them.

  “What’s going on?” I asked one of the men looking down at his phone who stood off to the side.

  He didn’t even bother looking up. “A big shot football hopeful’s inside.”

  “And that’s news?”

  “When he’s supposed to be the number one draft pick, and now no one knows if he’ll even be able to enter the draft, yeah. It’s a big deal.” He finally looked up. “Surprised you didn’t know. Women seem to love the guy. Nothing like a wounded athlete to get them all hot, bothered, and buying magazines.”

  I nodded, wishing those women knew what their good-looking football star was really like.

  Once I’d cleared the small crowd, I made my way over to the elevator. I pressed the button and watched the red glowing numbers until the car reached the lobby. When the doors slid apart, I rolled forward.

  “Watch it,” a voice growled.

  My eyes shot up from under Officer Roy’s hat. Drew’s cold face glared down at me. I shook my head in complete and utter disgust. How could he be some different from the Drew I fabricated? “God, you’re such a prick.”

  He didn’t move. “What did you call me?”

  I held his cold glare. “A prick.”

  “Bitch.”

  “That’s original.”

  He stared at me long and hard. A mixture of anger and exhaustion clouded those once pretty eyes. It had clearly taken effort for him to get himself downstairs. Of course, the stubborn ass wouldn’t take a wheelchair.

  “Well, go ahead.” I swept out my arm. “Don’t let me stop you. Get wherever you were going. Maybe try the front door. Seems like a lot of fun out there.” Asshole.

  His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t budge.

  I huffed out my annoyance. “I’ve got no interest in whatever game you’re playing. I’m tired and just found out someone tried to kill me. So, yeah, I win.”

  He blinked hard. I assumed my words had struck a chord because he stepped aside to let me enter.

  Moving forward, I jabbed my finger into the number five button. I spun my chair around, jolting back when Drew stepped beside me as the doors sealed us alone inside.

  We waited in silence as the elevator ascended. He was delusional if he thought I’d let his presence bother me any more than I already was. But I still wished I was on my feet so I could move into the far corner, as far from him as I could get. I was sick and tired of being dumped on…by the world.

  The elevator stopped on the second floor and the doors slid apart. As if the ride wasn’t awkward enough, no one waited to get on. I could hear Drew’s heavy sigh as the doors closed and the car ascended. Still, I wouldn’t look at him standing there, a foot away, towering over me in my chair. No matter how silent the car was. No matter how much tension existed in that small space. He would not get that.

  The car stopped on the third floor. Again, no one waited.

  Damn button-pushing kids.

  The doors shut, leaving us to more torturous silence. Eventually, they split on the fourth floor. I expected Drew to step off and leave me alone, but he remained still and the doors closed again.

  “Why would someone want to hurt you?” His deep voice tore through the silence.

  I forced my eyes to him. “My big mouth?”

  “I’m serious.” His eyes cut to mine. “Why would someone purposely hurt you?”

  “I don’t know. Why are you always purposely hurting me?”

  It was as though I’d slapped him across the face. His head flinched and his eyes darted away. I could’ve cut the silence with a sharp object, or at least stabbed Drew with it.r />
  A sense of relief washed over me as we stopped on my floor and the doors split. Drew shot me a slanted look. His way of asking for the true answer to his question.

  I rolled forward and called out without looking back. “Long story.”

  “I’ve got nowhere to be.”

  I glanced over my shoulder. He stood with one foot on my floor and one foot in the elevator, stopping the doors from closing. “That’s not how it looked downstairs.”

  He buried his hands in his pockets. “So, you’re not gonna tell me?”

  I stared into the eyes of a guy I wished was someone else. Someone sincere. Someone I could rely on. Someone who claimed to know me. But now I could see. That just wasn’t him.

  I tore my eyes away and grabbed hold of my wheels, rolling away without bothering to glance back.

  He stayed on the elevator.

  And that was fine by me.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “What are you doing this weekend?”

  Logan’s eyes flashed up from the foot of my bed where she painted hot pink polish onto my toenails. “Well, remember Luke from my sociology class last year?”

  “The one who never called?”

  She nodded.

  “He called.” It wasn’t a question. She wouldn’t have brought it up had he not. She wasn’t one to sulk or complain. Especially over a guy.

  She nodded again.

  “He waited long enough.”

  She laughed. “Tell me about it. But he doesn’t live around here. If things go well—which of course they will since this is me we’re talking about—he’ll be gone all summer.”

  Her overconfidence never failed to amuse me. “Maybe you and your big head are enough of a reason for him to stick around.”

  “Maybe?” she asked playfully aghast. “Honey. I’m the total package.”

  I laughed. “I’m serious. If he can’t stay—for whatever reason—then at least you’ll have a couple good weeks before he leaves. Give the guy a break. He watched tons of guys fall victim to your player ways. Who can blame him for not wanting to be tossed to the side for the next big thing?”

  A sly smile swept across her glossy lips. “Big thing?”

  “Yeah, walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

  Logan nodded. “But so you know, I don’t toss them to the side. I release them back to the masses.”

  “You’re a bitch, you know that right?”

  “Takes one to know one. And don’t be fooled,” she twisted the cap back onto the polish. “Guys love it. Maybe that’s what Drew needs.”

  Tried that. It ended in epic fail. “I don’t think Drew knows what Drew needs.”

  “Come on.” Logan stood up. “Given the recent developments, let me roll you down to the cafeteria before I head back to campus.”

  I furrowed my brows. “Recent developments?”

  “Someone trying to off you.”

  I shook my head, unsure if she truly believed a threat against my life existed.

  “This way, not only are you protected, but you can show off these hot nails.”

  Logan left me alone at a corner table. But instead of facing the table or the room, she spun me so my chair faced the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the grounds. Apparently she wasn’t that worried about me. She left me an easy target for any trained sharp-shooter. Scratch that. Any kid with a BB gun could pull off the job.

  Then again, with two bum legs, no one had any reason to get rid of me now.

  I sat for a long time gazing out the windows. Patients walked around admiring the beautiful landscapes. Visitors bustled in and out of the building. Nurses chatted on benches while eating lunch.

  Life certainly didn’t stop. It kept moving and expected all of us to do the same. But would I ever be able to move the way I once had? Would I ever be able to get back out on the track? Would I ever be the person I once was? Or would my life be forever changed by this massive setback?

  “This food sucks,” a deep voice muttered.

  My ponytail slapped me in the face as my head whipped around.

  Drew slipped his food tray onto my table and dropped into the seat across from me, keeping his back to the room.

  Avoiding reporters and groupies must’ve been a full time job.

  “What I wouldn’t give for a big greasy pizza,” he muttered, looking just as exhausted as the previous day.

  My belly dipped at the mention of pizza. Did he remember something? Was he testing me? I rotated my chair so I faced the table—and could get a better look at him. “My roommate had one delivered.”

  I watched him closely as he lifted his burger and took a bite, his eyes never meeting mine.

  “Not sure where he got it, but he called it cheesy goodness. And it was.” Not wanting to face the fact that this jackass was really him, I tried jogging his memory, searching for the slightest bit of familiarity.

  “Where’d he go?” he asked with his mouthful.

  I shrugged. “One day he was here, the next he was gone without so much as a goodbye.”

  He stared at me across the table as he swallowed down his bite. “Sounds like a douche.”

  I choked out a laugh. I’d wanted us to be face to face. I’d wanted to see even the slightest resemblance to the guy I knew. I’d wanted to see the Drew that his friend saw. I’d wanted to see if that pull still existed between us. But now that he sat across from me, a mere two feet away, it was as if oceans separated us. “So, how are you feeling?”

  He shrugged, taking another bite of his burger.

  I reached across the table and stole a couple fries from his plate. “Does anyone know you can talk yet?”

  He shook his head.

  “Why not?”

  He wiped his mouth with a napkin and looked up at me. “I’d have to answer a million fucking questions.”

  I looked out across the bustling room. No one could accuse me of not taking a hint. “I can’t believe I’m gonna say this. But I’m here if you need someone to talk to.”

  I could hear the surprise in his voice. “You don’t even know me.”

  I forced my eyes back to him. “Oh, I know you all right.”

  Instead of smiling, like the other Drew would’ve, his face hardened. “Comments like that aren’t convincing me you’re not a reporter.”

  My brows scrunched together. “First of all, you sat down with me. And second, do you seriously think the broken leg, torn ACL, and wheelchair are my cover? Really?”

  He shrugged.

  “Why is it you think you have reporters and groupies following you around anyway?” No way I’d confess I knew who he was. Plus, I was becoming increasingly pissed off.

  He said nothing.

  “Okay. Then let me guess.” I tapped my bottom lip, totally working my acting chops. If he was going to continue to be a jerk, I was going to have a little fun. “You’re some hotshot racecar driver. No.” I held up my index finger. “A country music singer. I could totally picture you rocking the cowboy boots.”

  He titled his head, studying my features for a long moment. From my eyes, to my scratched cheek, to my lips, he took in every inch like he’d never actually taken the time to do so before. That, or he had absolutely no idea what to make of me.

  Hell, I didn’t know what to make of me. I could’ve been sitting alone at a table talking to myself for all I knew. “Okay. Maybe not a singer. How about an actor? No, wait. I know. An MMA fighter.”

  “Quarterback.”

  My stomach quivered. Even though the reporter had already confirmed the fact, it still baffled my mind that my hallucinations had been so accurate. If he and my Drew shared that, maybe they shared other things, too. As unlikely as it seemed, the possibility did exist. “Where?”

  “Duke.”

  I shook out my arms, feigning chills—all the while celebrating yet another similarity. “I shudder at the mention of Blue Devils. I go to UNC.”

  I could have sworn his lips twitched. “So you have no idea who I am?”


  “Sorry to disappoint.”

  His eyes lowered. “Well, that’s refreshing.”

  “I have been known to be refreshing, among other things. None of which is a groupie who wants to drop to her knees for you, though.”

  He averted his gaze in what could only be described as embarrassment. Nice to know he wasn’t as impenetrable as he would’ve liked everyone to believe.

  I needed to maintain the upper hand. It seemed to work in the elevator because here he sat. So I reached down and gripped my wheels, moving away from the table and rolling away without another word.

  I’d leave on my terms.

  And he and his ego would be just fine.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  I’d spent the following day typing a psychology essay my professor sent as my take-home exam. Once I hit send, a small weight lifted from my shoulders. I was one step closer to graduating. That called for a celebration.

  I’d teased Drew about the gift shop’s assortment of gentlemen’s magazines, but I wasn’t far off. They had everything you could think of—including endless jars of penny-candy.

  “For someone confined to a wheelchair, you really think all that sugar’s a good idea?” Drew’s voice carried over from somewhere nearby.

  My hand literally dangled in the gummy worms jar. To be totally obnoxious, I grabbed a handful and shoved them into my mouth. When I glanced over my shoulder, I made sure some hung out, and then sucked them in like a little kid eating spaghetti.

  His eyes zoned in on my mouth. And the disgust I thought I’d garner was replaced by something else. Something I’d never seen in this Drew’s eyes. Desire.

  Gulp.

  “I’m sure the girl I saw in your room the other day wouldn’t be caught dead ingesting more than ten calories a day.” I chomped offensively on the chewy candy. “But have you seen me? I’m a hundred pounds soaking wet. I can handle a little sugar.”

  Drew forced his eyes up to mine, the look disappearing. “It’s your life.”

  “Yup. It is.” I rolled over to the cashier. She weighed my candy bag then handed it back. I held it out toward Drew as she swiped my credit card. “I dare you.”