Hoping on Change by Danae Little

Author:Danae Little [Little, Danae]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little Publishing
Published: 2023-05-02T00:00:00+00:00

Tyler paced the hallway in his shambled house as he listened to Derrick on the other end of the phone. “So, it was just a false alarm. The doctors say it was probably just gas. The baby’s heartbeat is still strong and Chasity has another couple of weeks until her due date. But man, the stress, I thought that was it. I’ll be better prepared next time.”

“Of course you will,” Tyler said, stopping to swipe a hand across his lengthening hair. “You’ll do great, man.”

“Thanks, and thanks for being there. It was nice to have the backup, you know, in case it had been something…dangerous.”

“Yeah,” Tyler said, clearing his throat. “Sorry, some things just don’t…”

“Hey, I meant it. You don’t know what Chasity and I went through when she came back. I almost lost her…again. It took me months not to come racing in, gun drawn, every time she saw a spider.” Derrick laughed.

Tyler’s lips twitched, the constriction in his chest lightening. “Glad I’m not the only one.”

“Far from it, brother. You know, if you’ve ever considered going into law enforcement…I could use a guy like you.”

Tyler shook his head, then realized Derrick couldn’t see it. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ve had enough of that life.”

“Well, if you ever change your mind, just holler. Oh…that’s Chasity, I’ve got to go. We’ll see you soon.”

Tyler ended the call and flipped the phone in his hand, the repetitive motion calming his mind, keeping the shrieks of memory at bay…just.

He had too much to think about in his present life to get sucked into the past…especially that past, a situation he could never fix.

His stomach clenched as he thought about Megan giving him the shrink-talk like he was a patient. Going through all the shrinks and psychoanalysis after the event left him with a foul taste for anyone trying to get into his head and get him to open up about his feelings.

His feelings betrayed him.

The phone dug into his palm until he realized he was crushing the device so much the protective case bent. He dropped the phone onto the couch and shook out his hands, taking in deep breaths. Learning to breathe was the one thing he didn’t regret about all those shrink visits.

He dragged his fingers through his hair, trying to focus, but a constant thwack-thwack kept pulling him out of his thoughts. Searching for the noise, he found Grace on her bed looking at him with doleful eyes, and the thwacking increased its beat.

“Come here, girl.” He bent down, greeting the dog with pets. “What are we going to do, girl?”

She nosed his cheek, keeping her tongue in, then rubbed under his chin, knocking him off balance. He let out a little chuckle as he settled himself on the floor against the wall, straightening out his bum leg. It was healing, though painstakingly slow.

Grace looked at the door and whined, then rubbed against him.

“Oh, I see. You wait until I get settled and then tell me you have to go outside.

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