It seemed like hours before Jeremy was wheeled back onto the ward, a breathing mask over his face. It made me feel sick to my stomach. He looked so pale and so ill compared to normal. There were purple circles under his eyes, and his skin was virtually yellow.
Sitting beside him, all I could do was hold his hand and stare at him. What started out as a fantastic day had turned into a nightmare. He should be out celebrating his sixteenth birthday, not unconscious in a hospital. He was so young and had his whole life ahead of him. It just seemed cruel that he could have had this wonderful day…only for it to be ripped away from him.
So all I could do was sit. I took up my position next to his bed, determined I would be the first person he saw when he woke up. He had me now and I was going to make damn sure he knew it. I was never going to give up on him, and I just hoped he wasn’t going to give up on himself.
Chapter 28
Dean
“I'm a fighter. I believe in the eye-for-an-eye business. I'm no cheek turner. I got no respect for a man who won't hit back. You kill my dog, you better hide your cat.”
Muhammad Ali
What a fucked up night last night was. I thought things were going great until that fucking numpty, Carmichael, wanted to share his ultimate fantasy with me. In the end, of course, I fluffed it. I went in, pretending I fucking loved the show, then “decided” I wanted a little blowjob action from Katie. I left Samantha with Carmichael and went down to the lounge to down a couple of bourbons. I wasn’t a heavy drinker, but I thought the night warranted it. I needed to let off steam…badly. I knew what I should be doing and this morning was going to be the morning I got it.
Going down to my basement, I put on my sweatpants and started pounding the bag. Every muscle ached as I hit that bag over and over again. All the while, I replayed the night’s events. I replayed Carmichael and his fucking horny ways. I replayed Pinzano and his pathetic cries as I tortured him before his ultimate demise. I replayed Carmichael again as he coerced me into watching two ladies go at it. Normally, I’m game, but last night, I wasn’t focused on anything but getting my story straight. I was never interested in Samantha or Katie, and I never would be. I was just lucky that the silly fuck couldn’t last longer than ten minutes with Samantha. And I’m guessing he made her hold on for the extra nine minutes of that before he left the room. He made some excuse that he needed to go and I was left breathing a huge sigh of relief. He was one less stupid fuck I needed to worry about.
“Don’t wear yourself out too much!” Humphrey’s voice shouted from afar.
I stopped abruptly, looking up. “I just needed to let off steam after last night,” I replied as I carried on punching.
Humphrey came in a little closer and sighed. “You realise that now you’re untouchable, don’t you? Now that you’ve gotten rid of Pinzano and made it look so fucking easy, no others will dare try to take your place. Everyone will be too scared of you. I thought that’s what you wanted? Why aren’t you looking happy?”
“I am fucking happy,” I snarled, grunting every time I punched.
Humphrey huffed. “You could have fooled me, Dean. You look like you’re wired up tight, ready to blow. What’s the matter?” Humphrey went quiet for a moment and I knew what was coming next. “It’s her, isn’t it?”
Closing my eyes, I tried to gather my composure. “Don’t fucking bring her into this. What happened last night had nothing to do with her.”
Humphrey tut-tutted. “But, yet, you couldn’t bring yourself to leave her alone last night, could you? You had to go and see her, despite the fact it was one of the most important nights of your life. Despite the fact you had been planning this night for years!”
I clenched my fists in anger, but hated the fact he was right. With me, I thought the best defence was a good offense. “Last night worked, didn’t it? Stop getting on my case, old man!”
Humphrey closed his eyes and shook his head with an exasperated sigh. “Listen, I’m going to say this simply because you’re my brother’s son and I care about you. Don’t you think you’ve done enough? If she’s getting to your head, then quit. No one will think you’re a loser because no one will have to know. I will never think differently of you.”
Pulling my fist up, I tapped the punching bag a little and closed my eyes. “No, I can’t give up on this now. I’ve come so far.”
“But don’t you think you’ve ruined her now? Don’t you think if you pushed much more, things could get ugly pretty quickly?”