face. I glare at him. Pissed at what he’s saying and more pissed that his words may be true. Something had rattled Addison last night, scared her enough to not want to give us her best shot. I wasn’t going to let her get away with it, at this point, there was no way I’d let her call us a mistake and walk away. It would be physically impossible for me to stay away from her.
He drops his hands by his sides in frustration. “You banged her didn’t you?”
“That’s none of your fucking business Reed. And if I did, why the disgusted look on your face?” Reed’s been on my ass about Addison since I met her. What. Is. His. Deal!
Reed moves right into my face and points a finger at me. “Because you don’t just fuck Damian, you get attached. And you don’t need anyone messing with your brain right now. Do I need to remind you what your life was like six years ago, Dude? That for three years after the accident you were so lost I thought for sure one day I’d come home and find you dead. I get it, you don’t want to be like your father, fuck, I get it, but that doesn’t mean you have to save every girl within a ten-mile radius, Dude. A million fucking chicks out there would fall at your feet, so why in the fuck are you picking the one who may crush you? That’s what the disgusted look is for.”
“You going to sit on this couch all day?” Reed’s just moved in front of the television, blocking my view of the latest America’s Most Wanted episode.
“Yep, move the fuck out of my way.” I pour myself another shot of whiskey and wince as it burns on its way down.
He grabs the remote and turns it off, then throws it to the other side of the room. “Guess you’re going to have to get up and find that damn thing if you want to keep watching it.” He picks up the Jack Daniels and caps it. “This making you feel any better?”
I sit up and pound my hands on the table in front of me. “What do you want, Reed?” I’m shouting. If I wasn’t so buzzed I’d get up and beat the shit out of him, but I’d probably lose, so yelling seems to be the next best thing.
“Live your life Dude, not piss it away because it didn’t go in the direction you had planned. Be a fucking man!”
My arm slices across the coffee table, clearing it of anything in its path. It’s been three years since the accident and my leg still isn’t functioning at full throttle. I’ve let him drag me to the track, I’ve let my mom come over and bring me food, I’ve let him bring chicks over to try and cheer me up, but fuck if I’m going to let him take away my right to be pissed as fucking hell that my life was stolen from me.
“You think you have it bad?” he challenges. “You think your life sucks?” he continues to scream at me.
“Yeah, I fucking do asshole!”
Reed glares at me, his breathing coming in shallow gasps in and out of his lungs. “She had a daughter.”
My head snaps up, my eyes landing directly on his. “What did you say?”
His shoulders fall slightly, his tense stance softening. “Megan’s death orphaned a little girl, Damian. A little girl who is now five-years-old. You think your life’s bad? How do you think that little girl is doing?”
This cannot be true. I rub my hands over my face, trying to comprehend what he just said. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you need a reality check.” Reed leans against the wall, his eyes studying my reaction.
“How long have you been keeping this from me?”
He looks to the floor, then back at me. “Three years.”
Fuck.
“Wake up Damian. Realize you have a lot to live for.”
Air, I need air and I need a lot of it. I take off as fast as I can. My Nike’s slapping the red material of the track. Running from a past that haunts me, running from my best friend who has just pointed out every flaw in my life and running from the woman who shines so bright in my eyes, that I can’t imagine not spending every night like the one before.
I run for an hour and I run hard. Reed keeps a safe and noticeable distance