Tethered Trust: Book 2 (Limits of Love Series 3)
Page 29
Tex downed the entire glass, hoping that the pain would deaden, or that he would stop feeling anything. Maybe if he drank enough, he could join Memphis.
Grabbing a pillow from the couch, Tex threw it across the room where it bounced off the window overlooking the streets of Manhattan. “You were supposed to go right! You were supposed to go to Christy’s apartment!” He wailed, “Why weren’t you at your sister’s? Why did you have to go the other way? She looked horrible because she had been sick, even her blue hair looked green.” Tex snorted mirthlessly.
“You went the other way. Why? Why the other way? Was it because of the bar? The one where we met? Memphis, do you remember? I was sitting at the bar, and you walked up to me and gave me that stupid, cheesy pickup line, ‘I seem to have lost my phone number, can I have yours?’ So stupid. I remember I said, ‘That’s a shame because I lost mine too. I guess we’re both screwed.’ You winked at me then. I should have known something bad was going to come out of your mouth...your sexy mouth. ‘Not yet, but we could be.’ I laughed. You were always good at making me laugh, making me smile.” Shaking his head and snickering, he poured another glass. If he destroyed his liver, if he got alcohol poisoning, then maybe he could be with Memphis again.
“There has always only been you. You got me when no one else did. You loved me...I loved you. Three years. We were together one night shy of three years. We never got to see four.” Tex fell back and stared up at the blue ceiling with white fluffy clouds painted on it, his tears falling down his face like two rivers. There was no point in wiping them away because there was no end to them, and he couldn’t staunch them even if he tried. Memphis was gone and would forever remain gone.
It had been a year, and Tex floated through life, unable to move on. “I know I should continue to live for us...for you, but I don’t know how,” Tex’s words ended on a shout, full of rage, and his face was red from more than just the alcohol.
Sitting up, Tex grabbed the bottle of Southern Comfort and raised it into the air, choosing to do away with the glass. “A toast to you and your lost life. Memphis, I still love you, and I wish every single god damned day that you were still here beside me. Each day that passes reminds me that you will never be part of my life again, that you will never hold me, never tease me again. You were funny, caring, sexy, and all mine. Forgive me...God, please forgive me for that night, for accusing you of cheating. I know you loved me. Jealousy is a fucking bitch. Somehow, I’d gotten it into my head that you were leaving me when you weren’t. I found out after. Sometimes I think I killed you. I’m sorry. So, so sorry.” He whimpered as he took in a shaky breath. “Memphis, I will always love you and only you.”
He chugged the rest of the amber liquid from the bottle and fell to his side onto the couch, resting his head on the cushion. More tears fell. They never stopped. Even if they weren’t falling down his face, his soul cried and mourned the loss of his friend and lover. The pain hadn’t stopped since the day he lost Memphis.
I wish you were here to fix the heart you broke when you died, Memphis, Tex thought to himself as he closed his eyes. Before he fully submitted to the effects of the alcohol though, he felt a set of lips press against his. “Memphis, love...” he slurred, his words tapering off as he finally allowed himself to completely fall into the void.
Stolen Moments
By Maria Vickers
Coming September 26, 2019
Genre: MM Contemporary Romance
Copyright Maria Vickers 2019
Published in Tethered Trust with permission from Maria Vickers
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44432828-stolen-moments
Prologue
MICK
There are words in this world that no one should ever have to learn how to pronounce, words that no one should have to know. I learned those words when I was young, only in eighth grade. At thirteen, I should have been more concerned about sports, hanging out with my friends, school, and doing what I wanted without a care in the world.
It wasn’t.
At thirteen, my world revolved around doctors, hospitals, and big words I never wanted to know and could barely pronounce. I watched as my parents aged before my eyes. I tried to be strong for them, to smile through the pain, to pretend I didn’t feel as sick as I did from the medicine, but sometimes I couldn’t be strong, sometimes my mask cracked more than theirs because they tried to do the exact same thing.
Thirteen. The age guys were just beginning to discover who they were, what they liked, and possessed a fierce attitude. Instead, I sported bandanas to protect my bald head after my short blond hair fell out in clumps, forcing me to shave it so that I appeared a little less like Golem and a little more like a normal person. I lost weight from not eating and not being able to keep the food I ate down. My clear complexion with pink undertones became sallow and grayish. I no longer had the energy to climb a tree or throw a football.
My thirteen had been stolen from me, and the thing I feared the most, that this bad word would steal my life. That I would never know what it was like to kiss a boy I liked, to fall in love, to get married, or to simply find my life partner. I was terrified this disease would rob me of all of that.
And then miraculously, I went into remission. We all hoped and prayed that it would stay gone. I finally had my life back, but this experience had forever changed me and left me with scars that I would never truly be able to hide.
Would anyone want me now?
BIO:
Maria Vickers currently lives in St. Louis, MO with her pug, Spencer Tracy. She has always had a passion for writing and after she became disabled in 2010, she decided to use writing as her escape. She believes that life is about what you make of it. You have to live it to the fullest no matter the circumstances.
From a young age, she has always loved books and even dreamed of being an author when she was younger. Growing up in the Navy, she used to weave tales for her siblings and her friends about anything and everything. And when she wasn't creating her own stories, she had a book in her hand. They transported her to another world. She hopes that with her books, her readers have the same experience and that they can relate to her characters.
Getting sick changed her life forever, but it also opened doors for her that she thought would always be out of reach.
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MF Novels
Another Chance
Love Seekers Series
Exposed: Book One of the Love Seekers
Redeemed: Book Two of the Love Seekers
Claimed: Book Three of the Love Seekers
MM Novels
By the Book
Off-Campus Setup
Anthologies
Siren’s Song (An MF contemporary romance)
Appearing in The Sirens of SaSS Anthology
Benefiting VetSports
Live Again (An MM contemporary romance novella)
Appearing in Tempting Fate Anthology
Benefiting Cancer Research Institute
A Flashy and Frosty Christmas
(4 flash fiction stories)
Benefiting Cancer Research Institute
Kisses in the Snow (An MM contemporary romance novella)
Appearing in With Love from London
reading books on Archive.