Off The Clock: First Responders, Book 1 by Donna Alward Read Free Book Online Page A

in frustration. “You didn’t…I mean no one’s lives were at stake, were they?”
    Her face softened as a glimmer of understanding peeked through the fog of the conversation. “You’re talking about Brandon, aren’t you?”
    Just hearing her brother’s name caused Gabe to flinch. “I cost him too much, and he knew it.”
    “You did nothing of the sort. You saved his life. I know you did CPR until the ambulance got there.” Carly wouldn’t forget that phone call as long as she lived. Her parents had flown out of the house in a panic and she’d stayed home alone wondering, worrying, fearing the worst for both her brother and for Gabe. She’d heard all about how Gabe found Brandon passed out on the floor and how he’d called 911 before starting CPR.
    “It was my fault we were there in the first place. I was the one who’d pushed him to go to that stupid party.”
    But Carly wouldn’t let him put the blame on himself, and she shook her head. “Nobody ever made Brandon do anything he didn’t want to do. You know that.”
    “But Brandon didn’t want to go. He wanted to hang out with a girl he liked in his Chem class. I was the one who convinced him because the other players were going. It was his first year on the starting lineup and I made him feel the pressure.”
    “And did you force him to snort the coke that stopped his heart?”
    The point-blank question took Gabe by surprise and he lifted his head, stunned at Carly’s bluntness.
    “Did you? Did you give it to him? Come on. Were you doing lines with him that night?”
    “No! Of course not. I didn’t even know…”
    He broke off, seemed to struggle to find new words while his dark eyes plumbed hers. “You knew he’d ODed?” he whispered.
    “Of course I knew. Mom and Dad didn’t keep it a secret from me.”
    “No…I mean you all knew it was my fault? But you never said anything.”
    “There was nothing to say. It wasn’t your fault. Brandon made his own choices. Same as you. And you did save him that night.”
    Gabe rubbed a hand over his face, clearly surprised by her reaction, and Carly melted just a little. What did he think, that they would have turned their backs on him for something not of his own doing? She suddenly realized that he’d thought he’d been holding the secret. But he wasn’t. Gabe was the one left in the dark. And it had haunted him all this time.
    Before she could correct him he pushed on. “That’s not the point. I may as well have put the drugs in his hands. I knew some of the guys were using. Brandon was so serious that year. I wanted him to have fun, loosen up a little…”
    “We never blamed you.”
    “You should have. You should hate me for it. God knows Brandon does.”
    Carly moved around the counter and came to stand beside him. She couldn’t bear the thought of him carrying a misplaced burden any longer. “Brandon was twenty years old on an athletic scholarship that was taken away because of bad judgment. He was angry and he was bitter and he lashed out at you rather than take the blame himself.”
    Gabe sat back, shocked. “All the things he said. He was right. I didn’t let him alone. I pushed him. I told him to lighten up.”
    “The responsibility isn’t all yours, but I can see you’ve taken it upon yourself.” She put her hand on his arm, felt the strong muscles beneath her fingers. “I shouldn’t be surprised. You were always there to bail Brandon out of trouble.”
    “Not that time,” Gabe said. She half expected him to pull his arm away but he didn’t, and she felt her stomach do an odd tumble as she slid her hand over his wrist and tangled her fingers with his. No one had told him, she realized. He’d blamed himself all these years because no one had told him the simple truth.
    “We’ll have to disagree on that point,” she said. “Brandon was already using, Gabe. Didn’t you know?”
     
    The words seemed to vibrate into Gabe’s consciousness. Already using? That was