Salvage
Page 28
“Is it worth it?” He nods to the vomit on the floor. “You’re losing everyone and everything in your life that matters. If you don’t stop, it’s not a matter of if but when you will die.” My eye widens with shock when I see tears well up in Drew’s eyes. He clears. “You’re my best friend, my brother. This life you’re living, I don’t want that for you. I don’t want to watch you die, man. Get help. Please,” he pleads.
This side of Drew, I’ve never seen it before. Normally he’s sarcastic, a big joker. The only person I’ve ever seen him serious with is Chelsea, but she’s different. Worry reflects back at me from his eyes. It’s one of the many emotions I saw in Karmen’s eyes. What the fuck am I doing to myself? Am I really that far gone that I have no one to back me up? It’s glaringly obvious that I’ve fallen and I can’t get up. Not without help. My soul, my spirit, my entire being is shattered. I don’t want this. I don’t want people standing around my bedside praying for God to take me already because they can’t bear to see me in pain, all because I’m an alcoholic. Even though Karmen broke things off between us, it’s not over. It will never be over. She’s the one I was meant to spend the rest of my life with. She’s the one I was meant to build a family with. She’s tried to be my rock, but instead I threw her into the deep end and let her sink.
I want my life back, even if I don’t really know who I am.
“This call you made?” I clear my throat. “Will they keep me there?”
Drew nods. “Yeah, but not against your will. You have to sign yourself in and out.”
“Where’s it at?”
“On a ranch in a small town in south Georgia. You’ll be three hours from here.”
Three hours is too far away from Karmen, but I need this more than I need her right now.
I arch an eyebrow at him. “Will you keep an eye on my girl for me?”
Drew shakes his head and chuckles. “You know it. Does that mean you’ll go?” His voice is full of hope, and I can see a little spark coming back to his eyes.
I look away from him and heave a deep sigh before nodding. “Yeah, I’m in man.” I turn back to him and add, “By the way, I’m sorry I swung at you.”
Drew shrugs and chuckles. “Eh… you didn’t connect and your aim was really bad. But I’m still not sorry that I knocked your ass out.”
“I deserved it,” I admit.
He drops his foot to the ground and leans over and claps me on the shoulder. “Yeah, you did and I’m not afraid to do it again. Now take a shower and get this,” he looks down at my pile of vomit, “cleaned up.”
Drew leaves the bathroom. It takes everything for me to haul my ass out of the tub, but I do it. As I clean up my mess and get ready to take a shower, I can’t believe what I see. Besides one of my eyes being swollen, they are both rimmed in dark circles. A red hue tinges the sides of my nose and the tip. I’ve lost muscle mass and replaced it with fat which in a way has caused me to slim down some. I look fucking sick. Drew’s right though, if I don’t get myself together, it will be my funeral my mother attends next. I’m too damn young to die. Coming to this decision isn’t an easy one. I’m scared of what will happen. I’m scared of the man I will discover under all the ugly bullshit. But as of right now I’m out of options. I either accept this gift and be thankful that I have people who care for me, or I accept that death will take me sooner than it should.
With my decision made, I breathe a sigh of relief and get ready to head into this next chapter of my life. To take the bull by the horns and face my demons head on.
I need to fix myself. I’m going to fix myself.
I need to heal. I’m going to heal.
For me.
Then I’ll be able to get my girl back if she’ll have me.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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Other Works By Tiffany:
Smoldering series:
Smoldering (Book 1)
Scavenge (Book 1.5)
Searing (Book 2)
Due to be released later this year
Salvage Duet:
Salvage Book One
Salvage Book Two
Due to be released this Fall
Where to begin…
I always feel this is the hardest part of the book to write. There are so many people to thank and I’m always afraid I’ll leave someone out.
First and foremost, I need to thank my family and God. Without the undying love and support of my husband and my children, none of this would be possible. There have been many days that my home has been left neglected only for my husband to come home from work and fix it all himself. Many nights have gone by where he has gone to bed alone after I’ve said ‘I just need to write one more chapter.' To my two beautiful children, I’m sorry you’ve spent part of your summer break not doing anything, but I promise that will change. Looking at your faces is what inspires me to go for my dreams, because one day I want you to do the same. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for all you have given me. Thank you for giving me the strength and the courage to chase after my dreams and to share it with the world.
To my readers, YOU all are AMAZING! I have spent many hours going through this novel hoping it’s the best book I can give you. Every single one of you has helped to make this dream of mine come true. I have read all of your messages and emails. Your inspiring words make this journey I’m on worth it. I still don’t know exactly where I’m headed, but I hope you’ll join me for the ride. Thank you for sharing my teasers, my buy links, my giveaways—everything really. You are the reason I’ve made it as far as I have. For every review that you’ve left, good or bad, THANK YOU! Without reviews, a lot of great authors go unnoticed.
To my beta team…what can I say that I haven’t personally said already? You ladies ROCK! Every time I felt stuck in a rut you helped to pull me out. Thank you for the long conversations when I needed to vent about my characters, the storyline, or how I felt people were going to receive this book. Every single one of you women, some who I’ve met in person, and the other’s I have not, you all have become like family to me. SO…let’s raise a toast when I hit publish and share a drink for all the hard work we’ve done.
My lovely cover designer, Tabby, words cannot describe how much I love this cover, and I’m an author, I should have a plethora of words to say. I’m honestly speechless. You pulled an all-nighter to get this cover made only for me to come back with a few tweaks here and there. I’m sure you wanted to cause bodily harm and I THANK YOU that you didn’t. We’ve been friends for a couple of years now and I want you to know that your friendship means the world to me. You’ve helped me along the way of forging my career and you’re still by my side. Here’s to many more years to come, my dear.
My dear editor and formatter, Silla, I have to put this out there, I LOVE your accent, but I’ve already told you that! Seriously, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. You took me on without knowing a damn thing about this book or me. I HOPE I didn’t disappoint. Thank you for talking to me about issues I might have had. I may have written the book, but you are the reason it reads smoothly and looks beautiful! I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us.
My dear author friends, you all know who you are…I couldn’t have done this without you either. Some of you read only the first few chapters and fell in love with my characters and the story line. I hope when you have finished reading the rest of the story, I didn’t disappoint you. Thank you for helping me with my plot and character development. THANK YOU for some good laughs when I needed it. Never in all my
life would I have thought that I’d be surrounded by such wonderful, supportive, and empowering women. I LOVE my INDIE AUTHOR community.
Last but not least, THE BLOGS! There are so many of you to thank. Some of you have read my previous works and some of you this is your first THANK YOU for taking a chance on me. When my ARCs go out, I am a nervous wreck as I’m sure every author is. Your undying devotion to me and other authors does not go unnoticed. Next to the readers, YOU ALL are a HUGE part of why I am where I am today. I appreciate all of your support whether you read and review, posted buy links, posted teasers, or just joined in on the cover reveal.
Here’s to another book and many more to come. This BOOK is for YOU!
~Tiffany Aleman
xx
Table of Contents
Table of Contents