A Long Time Coming by Heather Van Fleet Read Free Book Online

time anymore, especially
when his head was in knots with one of his impending migraines in the works.
Guess the keeping time thing was his very own version of a countdown to when
the headaches would take over his skull completely.
    The headaches had been a
lingering side effect from the accident since day one, probably from his skull
being beaten in at the side. No matter what pills his mom tried to shove down
his throat, those headaches almost always consumed him once they took hold.
Jesus! He had to get through this night though. He wasn’t about to be a pansy
in front of these guys.
    Glasses Paul got out of the
car before it even came to a complete stop, but Carson took a little while,
huffing and puffing as he simply struggled to keep his pants from falling down.
JT on the other hand, waited patiently for David to get his stuff together,
still beating the wheel even after the music ended.
    David had debated on leaving
the crutches at home. He had that mentality of: the less attention the better.
But the benefits far outweighed the cons, and the last thing he wanted was to
get his ass stuck if he had a cramp or if the headaches consumed his head
completely and he couldn’t walk straight. He was so fucked up anymore, that it
wasn’t even funny.
    “You all right, David?”
    Slowly angling his head to the
side, staring at the darkened, concerned face of JT, he groaned out through his
gritted teeth, “I’ll live.” Their eyes held for a second longer, before
laughter erupted from JT’s mouth only a miniscule second later. David didn’t
see anything funny about what he’d said, but then again, his humor had long ago
vanished.
    “Dude, seriously, you crack my
ass up,” JT pushed against his shoulder, gasping for breath as he continued to
laugh, “let’s get moving. I really need a drink!”
    And he was out of his seatbelt
and then his door seconds later, bouncing up and down like he was preparing for
battle. David shook his head, slowly following in his wake. This was about to
get interesting…
    “You need help or something?”
JT hollered over the top of the roof at him.
    David frowned in response,
shaking his head. “I’ve had two years of practice, I’m good.” David sighed,
only half joking. JT nodded, and laughed some more before going back to his
bouncing. David narrowed his eyes, the dude was either jacked up on life, or
high on something instead.
    He shook his head and sighed.
Now how in the holy hell was he going to get his ass home if it was the latter?
    They made it inside the two
story home, instantly bombarded with the scent of stale beer, cigarettes, and sweat.
David glanced around curiously, checking for any familiar faces, but seeing
nobody who looked even remotely recognizable. That alone made this night a
success. “You want a beer or something?” JT yelled over the loud bass pulsating
through the air, his eyes scoping the room like a hawk in need of some serious
dinner, or some serious game was more like it.
    David shook his head no,
motioning towards a room that seemed as far from people as he could get. JT
nodded, and was off towards the kitchen seconds later. The house was
unbelievably huge. Open rooms galore with pieces of furniture that probably
cost more than his house in general. David crutched his way to his intended
destination, careful not to step on anything—or anyone for that matter. Girls
littered the hall and guys littered the floor with their tongues, lips and
hands in places he hadn’t seen or touched in months. . It would have been
funny—entertaining even—if his head hadn’t been throbbing like a bitch the
moment he made it to the room he’d chosen as his escape. He stopped in front of
a flower–covered futon, pinching the bridge of his nose as the pain
intensified. His eyes started to blur and he pressed his hand against the wall
of the room over the couch, hoping like hell he’d keep his balance long enough
to sit down.
    He finally turned, falling
back against