Fake Love - Jaxson Kidman
Prologue
this is what I remember
I have to get somewhere. It’s a Point A to Point B kind of thing. Or maybe it’s Point D. F. T. Z. Like, who cares about the letter, right? This is bigger than some random letter in the alphabet. This is really big.
In a way, it’s finally happening.
Funny how people think ‘we’ aren’t doing much with our lives. The established and esteemed people who sit on piles of money, that they refuse to say how they ‘earned’ it, are the ones trying to look down on me and ‘us’ to say we aren’t doing a damn thing.
Some were born with a silver spoon in their hand, others a plastic spork.
I don’t make the rules when it comes to that.
I just know it’s the truth.
This is going to change everything.
This will shake it all up, once and for all.
The truth…
That’s the second it all changes.
I’m lucky that for my sixteenth birthday I was given a big SUV. It’s my favorite thing in the world besides my room. Everyone calls it Tank.
I love Tank.
I can’t imagine anything bad happening to Tank.
Ever.
But there’s a really big problem right now.
The road I’m on has a curve to it.
I know that because I can see it.
Tank doesn’t know that because Tank is a vehicle.
I’m in control of the vehicle.
Meaning when I turn the wheel, Tank turns.
Duh, right?
The problem is that Tank won’t turn.
The wheel is locked or something.
And the brakes… the pedal goes to the floor and nothing happens.
Panic hits me and I step on the gas pedal.
I yell in my mind: Winter, don’t do that!
I take my foot off the gas pedal.
The SUV is going pretty fast.
No, scratch that.
The SUV is going really fast.
The second I feel the tires move from the road to the gravel on the side of the road, I know this is going to be really bad.
My seatbelt is on, but that’s not going to matter in a few seconds.
To me, the logical thing to do is get into the back of the SUV and hope for the best. Get away from the impact spot.
Right?
I unhook the seatbelt and turn and grab the seats.
In my mind I see myself floating through the air to get into the very back of Tank.
But it’s too late.
It sounds like a crack of thunder at the back of my neck.
Then it’s dark.
But there’s no pain.
Actually… for the first time in a long time…
I feel nothing.
Chapter 1
open your eyes
“Open your eyes, Winter.”
“My sweet, sweet Winter…”
“When you were seven, you begged me to see snow. So I tried to rent a cabin in the mountains way up north and there were none to rent, so I bought one. Sight unseen. And it was worth every penny to see you out there playing in the snow. Even if we didn’t have proper clothes for that kind of weather!”
“Your friends have been asking about you. Evie. Darcy. They want to see you. I told them maybe soon. We just have to be careful.”
“I know you’re in there, Winter. I know this isn’t the end of anything. Just a pause in life. I can’t… I can’t picture life without you.”
Machines make noise.
Beeps.
A whirring sound.
Feet squeaking on the floor.
A door opening and closing.
Legs of a piece of furniture scratching the floor.
Laughter from a TV.
Applause from an audience.
Someone touches my leg.
“You’re missing this, Winter. And I’m not going to tell you what happened. You’re going to have to watch it on your own.”
It’s a man’s voice that does all the talking.
All the talking… all the time…
My name is Winter.
I know that because that’s what the man keeps calling me.
Who is the man?
I don’t know.
In fact, I don’t know anything.
I don’t remember anything.
When my eyes opened, everyone in the room celebrated.
There were two men and a woman.
One man was a doctor.
How did I know he was a doctor?
I wasn’t sure.
I just knew.
He was in a white coat with thin framed glasses, short hair, a defined chin, and a smile on his face. The woman was a nurse.
Again… how did I know that?
Same with the doctor.
I just kind of knew.
The other man in the room though… he wasn’t a doctor or a nurse.
“Winter, you’re really here,” he said to me.
His eyes filled with tears as he moved closer to me.
He leaned over me then moved down to kiss me.
I turned my head to the side and shut my eyes.
When I did that, my neck ached with pain.
The man kissed my head and I began to cry.
“Winter… what’s wrong?” the