Five-Star by J Santiago

Author:J Santiago [Santiago, J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ASJ LLC
Published: 2016-09-05T23:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Three

Amber would probably never be sure what had prompted her to talk. Maybe it was Tank’s willingness to open up to her or the way he’d recalled her one-for-one philosophy. As he’d relayed his tale about signing day, she was struck by the significance of that one decision he’d made. It didn’t leave him permanently scarred, like her, but that one reaction had changed the course of his life. And, in the end, wasn’t that the same thing that had happened to her? One split-second decision had changed everything, brought her here into his realm, directly in his path.

When he’d finished, she could sense how raw his story had left him, his feelings gutted and on display for her to pick through. It didn’t seem fair to her for him to put himself out there and for her not to reciprocate.

But she’d never spoken about the events leading up to the accident—not to the police, not to her father or Keira, not to the therapist they’d all insisted that she see. She wanted to lay it all out there for him. The look in his eyes said he was ready for her, ready for her to bare it all. She could see that.

As she studied him, he reached for her hands that were still clasped in her lap, sensing that she needed some physical tether. It seemed so innate that she briefly wondered about their more than physical connection.

Looking down at her limp hands in his strong ones, she laced her fingers through his, seizing the opportunity to hold on to something.

“I know pretty much everything there is to know about Rowdy Daniels. Most importantly, I guess I should tell you that I killed him.” She paused to take a deep, stuttering breath. As she exhaled, she felt Tank gently squeeze her hand. She continued to look down at their intertwined hands. His long caramel-colored fingers were wrapped around her feminine hand. She wasn’t willing to look at him yet, but she could feel herself tying their lives together.

“I wish I could give you details about the crash. I tried for months to remember exactly what had happened, but the therapist thinks the memory is too painful, so my brain has been blocking it. I guess that could be true. Could also be the coma I was in for those first few weeks.

“What the skid marks told the police was that I was trying to avoid something and that the car careened for a while before wrapping itself around a tree. I’m alive because of my seat belt. Rowdy is dead because he wasn’t wearing one. But that kind of has its own questions because I rode in cars with Rowdy a lot, and he always wore one, so why he wasn’t on that night is a complete mystery. His body flew through the windshield, and he collided headfirst with a tree. He was dead on impact.”

Still looking down, Amber stopped for a moment, lost in the memories of her first meeting with Rowdy.

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