Page 76 of Sacrifice
CREW
I drop my keys on the counter. I have so much shit to do, I don’t even know where to start.
I glance at the clock as I dig through a kitchen drawer and it’s nearly seven already. I pull out a notebook and ink pen and sit on the sofa. I gotta get a plan in place and I gotta do it now.
Getting through the rest of the workday after the meeting with Wetzel was almost impossible. I had to stay a couple of extra hours to make up for the time I was gone. Unloading the ships gave me time to roll everything around in my head and by the time I left work, I had a weird sense of focus. I’ve never felt anything like it before. I wouldn’t say it was clarity because there are still pieces of this mess I don’t know. But for once in my life, I know, without a shadow of a doubt, this is absolutely what I am supposed to be doing. Even not knowing how this would end forme,I knew how it’d end forEverleigh,and that was with a chance at a future.
I lean against the cushions and give myself just a minute to breathe. Looking around the room, I realize how empty it feels without them here. I see their stuff strewn around, but that just makes me miss them more. With a sigh, I pull out my phone and dial Jules.
“Hey,” she says when she picks up, her voice sweet but tired.
“Hey. How are you?”
”I’m okay. Ever’s sleeping now, so I’m trying to get a few minutes myself. It’s been a long day.”
“Did I wake you?”
“No. It’s fine. It’s nice to hear your voice.”
I smile, wishing I was with her. “I was gonna come by tonight, but I, uh, I had a few things come up today. I had to work late and now I’m planning this side job I’ve taken on.”
“Oh, Crew,” she says. “I feel so bad.”
“Don’t. I volunteered for all of this. Remember that.” She doesn’t say anything, so I fill the void. “You guys should be home this weekend, right?”
She yawns. “That’s the plan. If everything goes okay and she tolerates the treatment with no complications, we should be out of here sometime after Friday.”
“How is she? I know you said she had a rough day.”
“She did. She was pretty sick, but from what the doctors said, her side effects are pretty minor. I can’t imagine them worse though. It’s just the most awful thing I’ve ever seen.”
I stand up and pace the room. “Maybe I could come by for an hour or so . . .” I immediately start trying to figure out how to swing everything. I feel so damn torn. I need to bethereand I need to behere. . . all for the same goal.
“We’re both going to sleep, so there’s no sense in you coming by, really. The doctors told me to take care of myself because Ever needs me to be strong.” She takes a long pause. “I need you to take care of yourself, Crew. I need you to be strong for me.”
And that’s all it takes to refocus me. Because for the first time in nearly seven years, Julia has asked something of me.
And I will not fail her.
Not again.
* * *
CREW
I circle the table,phone to my ear. On the fifth ring, a cheery voice answers, “Blackrock Gym.”
“Hey, is Sal in by any chance?” I ask.
“Yeah, I think he’s still here. Who’s calling?”
“Crew Gentry.”
“Hold on just a second.”
Instead of putting me on hold, she lays the phone down. I hear the usual gym sounds trickle through the line. The sound of leather hitting leather, notes of music, sounds of people yelling all filter through the phone. I didn’t know how badly I missed it ’til now. A yearning to jump through the line and join in the mayhem flitters through me. I know what the gym smells like, what the light looks like coming in through the glass doors.
The line is ringing again before it picks up. An old voice answers, “D’Amato.”
