Page 58 of Boost

The itch to drive hard made me restless. I raced to forget the pain and my shortcomings. On the streets, I was King and my name was gold. Here though, in my shower, I was catapulted back to being the wayward child that fell through the gaps in the system. The system that failed me the day I had to take my own father’s life.

I forcefully exhaled the breath that lodged in my throat. I hadn’t been this debilitated by those memories in years, and they hit hard.

I never understood why my father did what he did, and now that I harbored feelings for Greer, it shook my entire world to think how my father could destroy what he was meant to love. To cherish.

Although I didn’tloveGreer, attraction toward her was inescapable. It scared the shit out of me. What if, after everything I’d endured, deep down I was just like him? What if I ended up taking that from her? Extinguishing her light?

A bitter taste entered my mouth as I bit down on my cheek. Blood. I clenched my jaw harder while working my tongue around to rid the taste.

I fought to get my head straight. I couldn’t visit Mamá like this; she would see straight through the mask. The difference now was that she couldn’t call me out on it.

Shutting off the shower and grabbing a towel, I dried off while organizing my thoughts. I needed them tamed before going in.

* * *

Pulling into the nursing center parking lot an hour later, I took one last grounding breath before pushing out of the car. The orderly at the front desk looked up and smiled as I entered through the automatic glass doors.

“Morning, Raf.”

“Morning, Darlene,” I replied, briefly stopping to fill in the visitor's form.

Sometimes we’d chat, but today I didn’t; I was already too off-center. My world tilted further the moment I pushed open Mamá’s door and found her sitting exactly as she normally was—slumped in her chair and staring vacantly out of the window overlooking the garden.

Chapter 24

-Greer-

“Hey, are you finishing up anytime soon?”

I looked up to see Christian casually leaning a shoulder against the doorway of my office, wearing a pleasant smile.

“Hopefully.” I flicked my eyes to the time on my laptop. “Shit, I didn’t realize it was so late!”

Tian pushed off and cleared the eight paces to my desk with confidence, and perched his ass on the corner.

“Have you eaten yet?”

I scoffed. “Since when do I ever eat early on a weeknight?”

“Hey.” The soft tone of his voice pulled my attention back to his handsome face. “Let’s go out. My treat.”

I studied his hazel eyes, trying to gauge his hidden intent.

He poked a finger into my forearm. “Oh, c’mon, Gree, we haven’t eaten out together in forever.”

“Tian, I’m seriously swamped. This stuff for Colton-”

“Can wait until the morning,” he cut in.

My eyes narrowed. “It’s not like you to insist I leave the office by a certain time. What’s going on?”

Indignation washed through his expression. “Can’t a partner take his partner out for food at the end of a long day?”

“No, he can’t. Not when he wants something he isn’t telling me about.” I returned my attention to the long list of shit I had to get done within the next two days.

A heavy sigh came from Tian. “Look, Gree, I’m wanting to check in with you.”

That got my attention. “About what?”

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