Free Rotten by JL Brooks

to cover the bar and his house. Luckily, he took out some health insurance, but we’re just paying the premiums as we go. If he doesn’t wake up, you’re all that’s left. Our fate is in your hands. If you decide you don’t want this place, you can shut it down.”
    I was transported back to my desk in Indy…the one where the destiny of troubled kids rested in my hands. Once again I was left to make a decision that impacted the lives of many, and neither answer was desirable. If I shut down the club, I destroyed one of the few resources that kept this town thriving. If I kept it open, I was committing myself to a life of judgment and rejection. It was too much to think about tonight. I stood and placed the ledgers back on the shelf and walked to the door. David grabbed my shoulders and pulled me tight as I cried. He knew the weight resting on them, because it rested on him, too.
    Lacing my arms around his waist, I held on until everything was gone. Exhausted, he led me out the door and through the club. Everything was shut down, and a small pile of bills sat on the bar.
    “They refused to take your cut.”
    Holding the stack in my hands, I shoved it in my purse and kept walking. The cool night greeted my sore bones. David held the door on the GT and waited until I was secured. Driving back in silence, we crawled once again into the bed that had become our refuge. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was dead to the world. Darkness overcame me, and the vivid dreams reappeared.
    I was eighteen and had just received my acceptance letter. My daddy’s face held the bittersweet expression of defeat.
    “I’m proud of you, pumpkin, but you don’t have to leave Nevada. Maybe go to Arizona or California. I will pay for you to go anywhere. Indiana is awfully far away. I don’t know how often I can visit.”
    I held the letter, beaming with excitement. It was finally my chance to make a decision. A new place, new faces, no one to tear me down or mock me. I could go to a closer school, but they offered a full ride.
    “Daddy, let me go, please? I need this!”
    My voice was desperate. I couldn’t see the anguish in his eyes beyond my own selfish needs. He knew once I left there was no coming back. Saying yes meant he was losing me forever.
    “I just want you to be happy. If this is what you want, then this is what you will do. I won’t stop you.”
    I jumped into his arms, nearly knocking him over.
    “Oh thank you, Daddy, thank you! I promise you won’t regret it. I will work so hard, I will make you so proud!”
    He leaned in and kissed my forehead while stroking the back of my head.
    “Toni, I am already so proud of you. More than you will ever know.”
    I opened my eyes to the soft sound of David snoring next to me, his chest lightly rising and falling with each breath. His arm held my hip possessively through the night. When I went to move, he groaned and pulled me closer. I reached my hand up and started to trace the crest of his cheeks and jaw. He moved slightly, but did not wake up. I continued down his neck and shoulders to the small of his back.
    His palm flexed and started to rub gently along my sides. I knew I shouldn’t be here, but I was. Nothing had conspired between us, but the tension was there. Years of pent-up emotions were finally allowed to surface, leaking slowly from the top. I loved this man with all of my being. I couldn’t confess it, but it was engrained in my soul. He was the first man I ever loved, and probably always would love. Before me laid my heart’s desire, caught in a deep slumber in my arms. If only all of life could be this perfect, my broken heart might actually mend.

 
     
    The loud chime of an incoming call caused me to groan before I rolled over. David’s fingertips dug into my hip. “Don’t get it; call them back,” he said sleepily.
    I breathed out a sigh of resignation. “They might be him, as in my husband. I haven’t talked to him in a few days…just random