Blind Side by K.B. Nelson Read Free Book Online Page B

into his lip, fighting to hold his tongue. “Does she know?”
    “Of course not,” I scoff and climb off the bed and onto my feet. “I know the situation. I’m well aware of the score.”
    “This isn’t easy for me.”
    “As you’re aware, this is fucking elementary Algebra to me, Honest to God, I can’t think of anything off the top of my head that I’d rather be doing first thing in the morning than fighting.”
    “Three months,” he cautions me. “That’s all I asked for.”
    “Why don’t you remind me again, Coach?”
    “Stop calling me that.”
    “Fuck you,” I scoff.” “Three months this. Three months that. As if it’s that easy.”
    “It shouldn’t be too difficult.” He darts around the bed and rushes toward me. He smells of sweat, cigarettes, and holy whiskey. “Or have you forgotten that you used to love me?”
    “I still do,” I whisper and turn to exit the conversation. “I wish I didn’t.”
    “Sing me a new tune, darling.”
    “You cheated.” I twist back to him and jab my finger at him. “Why is it that I have to bear the brunt of your infidelity?”
    “I made a mistake.”
    “A mistake is forgetting to tie your shoes in the morning, or marrying your high school sweetheart.”
    “You are unbelievable,” he scoffs and swipes a dirty white tee off the foot of the bed.
    “You don’t accidentally trip and impale some whore with your cock. That’s not a mistake.”
    “I was going through a hard time.” He pulls the shirt over his head
    “Oh my God,” I cackle. “And I’m the unbelievable one? I was in the fucking hospital.”
    “I thought you were going to die.” When he’s finished dressing, he passes me and grabs his keys off the dresser. “I was scared, and I was drunk—“
    “Sing me a new tune, honey.”
    “See that right there?” He shakes his head. The keys that he’s holding too tight in his hands begin to cut into his skin. “That’s what you do. You can’t handle the shit that’s thrown at you, so you throw it right back to me.”
    “Please tell me you’re not planning to stay conscious all day, because I’d rather honestly die than have to stay in this house and listen to your incessant rambling all day.”
    “What happened to that girl I used to know?”
    “She almost died in that car accident, and then you finished her off when she came home.” I point to the half-drank bottle of whiskey beside the bed. “Drink away, Coach.”
    And with that, I’m out the door and slamming it shut behind me. It’s going to be a busy day, leap frogging from one tragic memory to the next. My marriage first, and then comes the next stop on my self-destructive tour.

8
    W hen I’m incognito , I could be anyone. Anyone but Stassi Hamilton. I don’t remove the sunglasses or the baseball cap as I reach for the glass doors of Ridgefield Medical. I swing the door open, and keep my head down as I walk down the short hallway that bleeds into a lobby. I bypass the information desk and press on until I reach an elevator down a narrow hall.
    I press the button marked with an upward arrow. As soon as the doors open, I step into the elevator and turn around just in time to see a tall young man join me in the elevator right before the doors come to a close. He’s outfitted in a blue pair of scrubs. His name is Trent, and I’ve known him since I was seven. We were neighbors for years until he moved away sophomore year. Now he’s back in town with a beautiful wife and an education, and he’s my only access to the boy I sacrificed everything for.
    “You’re late,” he huffs under his breath and cranes his head to face me. “We don’t have long.”
    “Sorry about that.” I cross my arms over each other as the elevator begins to rise. “It’s been a rough day.”
    “I couldn’t tell.” A warm smile hitches across his lips and he leans his back against the elevator, with his palms gripped tight around the steel bars. “Once we get up here, you have five