Free Never to Hope by Aimie Grey Page B

little when I tried to sit up. Grasping the ground behind me for purchase, my fingers collided with the bottle. I picked it up and was relieved to find it still over half full. My eyes burned and my mouth tasted like ass, but at least I didn’t have a full-blown hangover.
    Without putting much thought into it, I climbed up onto one of the few sturdy looking branches of my tree to get off of the muddy ground. When I was safely on the branch that was just slightly over my head when I stood under it, I leaned back against the trunk. I was cold, wet, and covered in mud, but the thought of going home wasn’t appealing.
    Just as the cool spring rain started to fall, my foggy brain began processing the events of the night before. I couldn’t fix what happened with Carter. I didn’t have the energy to think about my parents. The biggest problem that I might be able to control was my job.
    My goal was to save enough to pay for tuition and books to cover the entire program before I started school. I also wanted to have money in the bank to help with living expenses. When classes began, I wanted to be able to give it as much attention as necessary. I also didn’t want to continue doing illegal activities while attending law school. If I had enough saved, I could get a legal, part-time job to hold me over until graduation.
    Working at the club was safe. The interactions were always monitored, and we had the right to refuse service without protection. I couldn’t work in the same capacity at the club, but since I needed a similar income, my only other choices were finding another club or doing freelance work. Maybe I could call Madison and see if Thomas was still in town. She would be able to get ahold of him through his brother, and I knew he would be safe. He wouldn’t be a regular source of income, but it would be a start.
    Having made my decision, I pulled my phone from my muddy pocket to dial my friend. Before I hit the send button, something moved in my peripheral vision, startling the shit out of me.
    “Hey,” Carter said. Seeing him hurt so much worse than I could have possibly imagined, but I couldn’t force myself to look away.
    “Did you follow me?” I asked, my heart still racing from the fright. It was a stupid question since I’d likely been there for hours.
    “No, I came here to think,” he said, coming to a stop next to the tree.
    “I’ll leave.” I twisted around and jumped to the ground, landing on shaky legs.
    “Please, don’t leave. I want to talk to you.” He reached out and steadied me.
    “Carter, this is too hard. You don’t have to say anything; I know what I am and what you think of me. I’d rather just call it a day and go our separate ways.”
    “No, wait. Please, hear me out.” I turned to face him. “I’ve been thinking, and you were right. You tried to warn me, and I didn’t listen. For what it’s worth, I had no intention of sleeping with anyone last night. My friend chickened out, so I volunteered to take his place because everyone else there was in a committed relationship. I knew some of the others would cheat, so I went back there to let the girl off the hook. They’re always getting on me about my lack of a social life, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to let them believe I scored.”
    “You didn’t tell them about me or what we did yesterday afternoon?” His social life had pretty much been comprised of me, for the past week anyway.
    “No. That was too special for me to share with anyone. I’d imagined us in this little bubble. When it popped, I lost it.”
    “I’m sorry; I never should have let things get so far between us. I knew better.” I turned my head, trying to hide the tears, but I knew he could hear them in my voice. “I just wanted you so much; I wanted to feel normal for once in my life, so I threw caution to the wind.”
    He pulled me to his chest, wrapping his strong arms around me. “Shh, I know. It’s okay.”
    The warmth from his body felt so