One Day Soon by A. Meredith Walters Read Free Book Online Page B

effort.
    “Seriously, you should wait and let me call the nurse—”
    His eyes flashed in my direction and the cloud of confusion lifted as he speared me with a look that I felt in my bones.
    Recognition.
    His eyes widened and his mouth parted in disbelief.
    I wanted to say something— anything— but my tongue felt frozen behind my teeth.
    Yoss shook his head and closed his eyes. He let out a noise that sounded a lot like a sob and my heart knew the sound of pain when it heard it.
    When he opened his eyes again, they were wet. Long, dark lashes spikey with tears that refused to fall.
    A hundred memories arched between us. A thousand words spoken softly in the dark.
    A dozen promises never kept.
    His lips curved upwards into the shadow of a smile that I remembered and loved so much.
    “Imi,” he whispered.
    I nodded, still otherwise paralyzed.
    “Imi,” he said again, a tear traveled the length of his cheek and dripped off his chin.
    “It’s me, Yoss,” I said finally, forcing myself to speak.
    Our eyes met. They held.
    They clung and they devastated.
    Fifteen years had passed but none of that mattered.
    In that instant we were kids again. Remembering a time when, to each other, we were everything.

Fifteen Years Ago
    T he first morning was the worst.
    I woke up on my back, the floor hard beneath me, shivering in my borrowed sweatshirt and tiny shorts. The room was still dark, so I knew it was early.
    The first thing I noticed was the noise.
    It was loud, even though the sun hadn’t come up yet.
    People were talking and there was music playing. It was surprising that I had slept through any of it. But I had collapsed in an exhausted heap with Yoss’s reassurances that I’d be safe.
    Safe.
    That was a word I’d never take for granted again.
    Suddenly the sound of screaming filled my ears and I bolted upright in a panic. It was frightened and full of pain. It went on and on and on and no one else seemed to care that a woman seemed to be in very serious trouble.
    I pulled my knees up to my chest and pressed myself against the wall, terrified.
    I almost screamed myself when a hand grabbed mine in the darkness. I jerked backwards, my head smacking against concrete as I let out a yelp.
    “It’s okay, Imogen,” Yoss’s voice drifted towards me with a slight squeeze of fingers.
    “What’s wrong? Why is that woman screaming?” I whispered, scared to raise my voice.
    Yoss moved to sit beside me, still holding my hand. It was nice. Comforting.
    Safe.
    It was a luxury I’d hold onto.
    “That’s Mable. She’s got…well… problems. She usually thinks she’s being chased by aliens who want to probe her or something. The little grey guys must be bugging her again.” Yoss leaned back against the wall and yawned.
    “Why isn’t anyone helping her?” I demanded as the screaming grew louder and louder.
    Yoss shrugged. “What can anyone do? She needs medication. She needs fucking therapy. She’s not getting that here.”
    His words were so hopeless and depressing. “Why can’t—?” I began, but Yoss cut me off.
    “Look, Imogen, everyone here needs something. Mable needs meds. Gary over there needs a fifth of whiskey before he’s had his breakfast. That girl with the blond hair is Lora and she needs to forget the horrible things her daddy did to her. Thomas, the guy with the nose ring, needs to fuck away his feelings. Some of us get what we need. Some of us don’t.” Yoss pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a long drag.
    He was so cut and dry. Unemotional about the despair all around us. Unaffected. Was he so desensitized to the world around him that a woman in obvious crisis didn’t bother him in the slightest? Would I become like that?
    But he had helped me. When he didn’t have to. He had taken care of me when I was ready to curl into a ball and lose myself in the misery of my situation.
    After Yoss had rescued me from the shady Tag he had brought me back to The Pit, which I learned was an