by Nicole Casey
I looked around again but all I could see left in the bar were folks like me – drunk and fucked up beyond all recognition. There was no one here to tell me where I was or what I was doing here other than getting shit-faced drunk.
I didn’t even know how I met the girl leaning on me. I hoped we didn’t have sex because I had no intention of having sex with her. This girl had a figure but I needed more than that. I needed someone who brought life to the bed. Someone like Cherry.
Oh Sweet Cherry. The sound of her moans alone was enough to get me hard and anxious. I could imagine just how sweet it was to spread her cute little legs just to get another lick at her pussy before I’d give it a slap and then thrust my cock deep into her hole. The way her body would tighten and rock along with the rhythm of my thrusts was like the greatest musical piece I’d ever been a part of.
Once I got rid of both the whore and my imagination I got up, headed over to the bartender and paid the rest of my tab. Somehow my bill got over a hundred bucks but I wasn’t keen on checking if the guy was lying or not. I just wanted to get the hell out of there.
No… the truth was, I wanted Cherry. I wanted to feel her in my arms again. I didn’t know if I loved her. That would be improbable but I did know I was attached to her. I had gotten used to her being around me. I had gotten used to the fragrance of her perfume, the taste of her skin and the sound of her moans at night.
Outside the air was so crisp and cold I could feel it bite underneath my skin. My shirt was so thin I could feel the wind brush my skin with even the lightest breeze.
That was when I noticed it was already beginning to snow. It was a gentle fall and the roads were still free of ice. The parking lot was only lightly covered in sheets of white.
“Where the heck did I park?” I asked out loud as I scouted the area. Where the hell was my car? Did I even drive my way here? Everything was still so fuzzy in my head.
In cold nights like this Cherry would snuggle up to me. I would feel her tits press up against my muscles and her warm body would snug in tight and fit with mine. It was like we were two pieces to a puzzle – a perfect fit.
I missed her.
I wanted her. I shook my head in regret but even then I knew the chances of getting back with her were slim. I threw her out. I flat-out told her that I didn’t care and that all I wanted was her body for sex and companionship. I was a fucking asshole.
That was such a stupid thing for me to do. I had a girl, one so precious I’d never find one like her again, and I let her go.
By the time I found my car, I was shivering violently from the cold. I needed a jacket. Maybe I had one but I left it in the bar. Everything was just a wild blur right now and all I wanted was to get home and then bring Cherry back. Both of those goals seemed so distant and improbable right now.
“Keys, keys, where the fuck are my keys?” I mumbled and grumbled as I patted my pockets. Eventually, I found my car keys in my back pocket along with my wallet. Well, at least I still had my stuff. Nobody robbed me just yet.
I unlocked the door, got in and turned on the heater as soon as I got the car running. It felt so damn good so I took a moment to lean back and relax. My head was splitting and the only image I could complete in my mind was that of Cherry.
Why did I freaking miss her this much?
It’d been the same story for weeks now. There were days where I’d get so drunk thinking about her that I’d end up in a mess like this. Here I was again, not even sure where I was. What side of town was this anyway?
After a few minutes, I took my phone out and looked for a GPS map app. With its aid, I finally discovered that I was a few miles out of the city limits. How in the world did I get this far?
It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered now.
Frustrated with my loneliness and the cold, I started to drive out. As I drove the music playing on the radio seemed to only infuriate me more. It was all love songs and breakup songs. I was having enough of this nonsense.
I stepped on the pedal and spun the wheel, deciding to just head back to the office and bury myself in work. Work was the only thing that could console me now.
The visibility was terrible. It almost seemed like there were no lights. Well, at least I didn’t see them. Maybe it was the ice and snow or maybe it was just the blinding fury in my head.
I was deep in my thoughts amidst the poor visibility when I was snapped back into reality by full headlights and a loud horn being blasted from the vehicle coming straight towards mine.
No amount of steering away or emergency brakes could rescue me from the reality that this was my life flashing right before my eyes. All I could think about was Cherry. I wish I could make things different before I leave for good. But I guess that wasn’t for me to decide.
10
Dylan
My eyes fluttered open and I was shocked to see I was still alive. Everything seemed so blurry and there was bright white light flashed all around me.
I could hear voices, dozens of them, but I couldn’t recognize a single one. I tried to move but it was like being trapped in a different person’s body – nothing I did seemed to work. Even when I tried to move my eyes all I could see was a blank sea of whiteness.
When I tried to move my head, I felt a searing headache split my whole body and I nearly fell back to an unconscious pit. I was struggling to breathe and I couldn’t even move my lips. When I tried to roll my tongue all I could feel was blood dripping from the sides of my mouth.
More lights flashed and I heard a few more voices. Then something plastic covered my face and I fell unconscious.
I woke up and fell asleep again and again over a cycle of minutes or hours. I couldn’t really tell the passing of time anymore.
All I knew was that my whole body hurt.
Everything didn’t seem like they were in the right place. My joints ached more with each passing moment and my neck was so stiff it was a miracle it didn’t cement itself in place.
Whenever I fell asleep I dreamed of Cherry. Whenever I was awake I dreamed of dying. Maybe I was dying. Maybe I was already dead.
Time just seemed to pass so slowly but the pain that plagued my body only seemed to have gotten worse. I could feel sores on my joints and bruises swelling in places I never even thought could swell so badly.
It was only after some time that I gathered I was in a hospital. I was still alive – somehow – but I didn’t know how or why I couldn’t move or see anything. There was nothing but bright whiteness every time I tried to open my eyes.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, my vision started to clear. When I woke up again I realized I was staring up into the bright room lights of a hospital room. This time I knew I was alive but the pain across my body instantly told me I was in horrible shape.
“H-hello?” I tried to call out. I tried to speak the word but it didn’t come out as clearly as I thought it should. My tongue felt like a big fat roll of meat in my mouth.
Fortunately, I heard footsteps and a man leaned over so I could see his face. He was in his mid-forties with short hair and a thin pair of glasses. He looked like he could have been a doctor on television, one of those really hot type of lead actors, but I knew he must have been a real doctor… well, maybe. I hoped so.
“Ah, Mr. Bernard you’re awake,” he greeted. “My name is Richard Cassian and I’m your supervising physician. Let me start by telling you it’s a miracle you’re still alive. Most people who go through accidents like yours don’t make it out as well as you did.”
“I…I don’t understand,” I slobbered and mouthed. I think he got what I was saying though so I pressed on, “What happened?”
Cassian diverted his gaze from me and began checking the machines hooked up to me, “Well, you were driving drunk and smashed right into a delivery truck. The truck driver made it out pretty fine except for a fractured leg. You, on the other hand, smashed through his truck and straight into a light post on the side of the road. Your car flipped and skid
across the highway. When the authorities arrived everyone already assumed you were dead. There was so much blood on the ground. Yet here you are, alive and well.”
“How bad is it?”
The doctor sighed and told me the truth without holding anything back, “You broke twenty-three bones in your body, Mr. Bernard. This includes fragile pieces in your neck, lower back, ribs, and legs. You’ll be paralyzed for quite some time, Mr. Bernard.”
I panicked and quickly asked, “I-is it permanent?”
“I don’t know,” the doctor told me and his answer seemed even worse than a flat yes or no. “All I can tell you is that you have to be strong and don’t let this beat you. To be honest, I do think you’ll be okay. It might take months or years even but if you keep that woman by your side I can only see a bright future for you – just slow down on the alcohol.”
Wait, what woman?
“Doc, what woman?” I asked him.
Dr. Cassian explained with a casual expression, “Oh, Ms. Vergara was here earlier and the day before. She’s been here since they first brought you in.”
“How long have I been here?” I was feeling both relieved to know Cherry was here with me and scared sensing how long I might have been bed-ridden now.
The doctor didn’t even try to soften the blow, “It’s been two weeks now, Mr. Bernard. You’ve been shifting in and out of consciousness for a while but I suspected you wouldn’t regain eyesight for a few days. The blow to your head and neck weren’t fatal but they were devastating, to say the least.”
Two weeks?
I was out of it for two whole fucking weeks?
My mind was exploding with so many questions but even just thinking about them hurt. A headache was ripping through my skull at that very moment and before I knew it I was moaning in pain.
“D-doc! Fuck, my head hurts!”
“Don’t move, it’ll only get worse!” Cassian instructed but even with his warning, I began to thrash and wiggle as the pain became too much for me to tolerate. The pain then began to surge across my whole body and for the first time since the accident I felt deep wounds crack and snap in pain.
I howled and Cassian didn’t waste time. He quickly got to work and with a press of a button he called in a staff of nurses to help him. It took quite a long while but after some time I finally managed to shut my eyes and relax as the pain receded. It never truly left but it was becoming tolerable at least.
Within another hour I was drugged and lapsing in and out of sleep once more. I didn’t know how long this continued but when I managed to gain consciousness, even for another moment, I saw Cherry sitting by the side of my bed just resting and watching.
By the time I woke up with a strong sense of awareness and stability Cherry was in a different set of clothes. I could only guess that it was a different day now. She was seated by the bed but she was busy scrolling on her phone.
“Cherry?” I called out to her.
She quickly put her phone down and rushed to get closer to my face, “Dylan! Oh my God, how do you feel?”
“Like a champ,” I tried to smile but it only hurt my neck. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being here,” I told her. “I’m sorry for everything I told you before. I didn’t mean all that stuff.”
She hushed me and said, “Don’t say anything. You just need to focus on resting.”
“N-no, let me finish,” I insisted. “I said a lot of mean things to you. I should be burning in hell for the things I said. No one deserves to be treated like that.”
A tear flowed down from Cherry’s eye and she leaned in to give me a kiss on the cheek. She then caressed my face and said, “Dylan, I forgive you. I forgive you and I’ll always forgive you. I love you. I tried to live without you but I can’t so please… please let me in.”
I nodded back and asked, “Where do you want me to begin?”
“From the very beginning,” she answered. “I want to know everything there is about you. What was your life like growing up? What about past relationships and how you got so successful the way you are now? I want to know all of that and more.”
There was so much to tell.
My life had never been an easy one and I had dark secrets just as anyone had. Unlike most people, however, I wasn’t comfortable confronting those secrets. I wanted to bury them so deeply in my mind that even I’d forget the finer details. Now it was time to open those caskets up.
Yet for the first time since forever, I felt happy and relieved to do so.
“I will tell you everything later. Right now I have one important thing to tell you.”
“Okay. What is it?”
“Cherry,” I called her name.
“Yes?” she asked as she looked down at me with those gorgeous bright eyes of hers.
I finally summoned the courage to say what I needed to say. This was the moment, I knew it was.
“Cherry Vergara… I love you.”
11
Cherry
Dylan had multiple fractures on his face, neck, ribs and more. There were so many broken bones and other injuries.
Even when he did recover he was still facing jail time for driving while under the influence of alcohol. There was so much to repair and so much to do but he was stuck in that hospital bed.
When he told me he loved me, I felt like I had been reborn. I felt good.
“I love you too,” I replied as tears came flowing down my cheeks. I blushed when I realized just how ridiculous I looked but it didn’t matter anymore. I didn’t care. I was happy just to hear him say the words.
“What do you want to know right now?” he asked.
“Are you up to telling me the stories?” I countered. “You just woke up. Don’t you want to rest?”
“Talking to you is what I call rest,” he said and I smiled at the sincerity in his voice.
I gave him another kiss and then asked, “Well, you can start by telling me your darkest secrets. What is it about your past that you don’t want me to know? You’ve always seemed so cold and distant like you don’t want to fall in love.”
Dylan’s eyes darted left and right as he thought about his next choice of words.
I could see him thinking and pondering but where once I saw doubt and cold seclusion I now saw the intent to share. He was finally letting me get to know him – the real him.
He took a deep sigh and mumbled for a moment like he was trying to get some words out but they were too painful for him to utter, “My…my parents were divorced when I was really young.” He finally uttered.
“My father left us and my mom’s decided to find solace at the bottom of a bottle. The amount of suffering that came along with it was literally hell. This is probably one of the reasons why I don’t believe in love. Seeing what my mom had gone through, I just didn’t want to develop a dependency on anyone. I was predetermined to always act cold, independent and dominant so as to make sure I don’t develop serious relationships. I thought if I acted like this, I wouldn’t have to deal with the heartbreaks similar to what my mum experienced. My sister’s the same. We have had to be independent since we were very little.”
As Dylan slowly continued to share about his life story I could feel tears filling up in my eyes.
I got it now. I would be reluctant to share such a past too if I was in his shoes. I felt sorry for pushing him into opening up when he was clearly not ready.
“I was afraid to tell you all this, too,” he continued. “After all, it’s the real me. You know, I’m just like everyone else who has fears and problems. I was just afraid that you wouldn’t like the real me and wouldn’t want to spend time with me anymore.”
“Oh baby, you know I won’t!” I insisted, “I will always be by your side, no matter what.”
At that moment, I saw his face lighten up. The depth of his gaze was starting to make me melt.
This was the moment where I felt truly connected to someone, someone who had become so important in my l
ife. Finally, he chose to reveal the real him to me and I appreciated him even more.
I finally got to take him out of the hospital after a good two weeks. His neck was in a brace and he still had to stay in a wheelchair due to the other injuries he sustained but at least he could rest somewhere more comfortable.
Life as I knew it changed from that point on. I finally let my father know that I was dating Dylan. My dad was a little apprehensive but after a few dinners with Dylan that tension quickly faded.
Of course, I didn’t let Dylan recover entirely without help. I had to do my part. I made sure I was always there for his therapy sessions and I made it a point to urge him on during the times he wanted to quit.
Dylan was a man of purpose and it took a lot out of him whenever it came to standing up and walking. The pain coursing through his body must have been so intense but I knew he could do it. He just had to keep on going forward and it was my job to cheer him on so he wouldn’t ever stop.
The worst part was the legal battle we had to fight. Dylan couldn’t go to jail because of his current medical condition and so the court decided he’d have to pay numerous fees and split a portion of his company to dedicate time for community service. He was sentenced to twenty years of contributing for community service. That was a small blow for his firm but it was a big one on his reputation. Fortunately, we had his friends at Mercury Wild to help pick up the slack there.
Even with him saved from jail time we still had a long way to go. We loved each other and for now, that was all we needed.
Talks of our future and stuff like that could wait. I just wanted to see him recover and become the man he truly was, not the man he had to show the world. There were layers upon layers that had to be peeled and I was going to take them all down one by one.
There was, at least, one thing we could celebrate about.
About five months after his release from the hospital my father and his team began building the hospital in the site they purchased from Dylan. We attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony and Dylan even got to say a few words.
