Page 17 of Son of a Witch

Wanting to forget about my depressing predicament, I remembered Loco’s revelation about my girl’s childhood. I’d gotten some good material to tease Supergal about, and I wasn’t letting that opportunity pass by. Not when I needed to keep her spirits high as well as my own.

“Zac Efron, huh?” I teased her, trying to reclaim some semblance of normalcy when everything of late was abnormal and tragic.

She slapped me on the back. “Don’t even go there, boyfriend.”

“Oh, I’m going there,” I replied. “You aren’t going to live that one down, Supergal. Ever.”

She groaned and brought my chair to a halt, crouched down, collecting small pieces of debris, setting them on my lap. Thank fuck the sentries had cleared the damn dead bodies away. I wouldn’t have handled that task well and neither would my poor team.

Supergal pursed her lips, her eyes dazzling with challenging fire. “Maybe I should let Loco kill you for calling him Dad, then?”

“Dad’s a pretty intense guy,” I said with a shiver through my torso that ended at my hips. “But I think I can win him over with my charm.”

Supergal spat out a laugh. “You really have a death wish, don’t you?”

Yes.I didn’t want to live like this. Stuck in this prison. Confined to a wheelchair. But I didn’t dare voice it. Didn’t want to upset her more when she’d lost Raze and put on a brave face for me.

I didn’t need to know her inner thoughts when her face betrayed it. Her haunted, pained eyes every time she looked at me. The pity and anguish crunched my gut.

“Come on.” She must have seen the agony in my gaze because she snapped to her feet, deposited more debris on my thighs, and wheeled us to the massive skip bin.

A construction crew had been brought in to repair the walls, craning in massive blocks of replacement stone, setting them in the mortar between the joints. Closing off the large holes in the wall, broken by the gantii and whatever caused the explosions. Magick, maybe? Who cared anymore? This place was going to shit faster than we could saywhat the fuck.

I passed Supergal small chunks to toss into the bin. Nerve pain splintered through my arm, my movement stiff and twitchy after the accident. Spinal injury patients lost feeling and strength in their muscles, and I’d need physiotherapy to build it back.

The damn doctors couldn’t tell me with absolute certainty what use of my upper body I’d have … I had to take the wins no matter how small at the moment, and just keep going. Keep pushing myself.

“Take it easy.” Supergal took a piece I tried to toss over the looming lip of the bin. “Don’t strain yourself.”

“I’m okay.” I tried again to lob the stone into the bin, but grunted and slumped.

“No, you’re not.” She brushed my face, baby blues full of pity, and my heart stung. I didn’t want her to pity me every time she looked at me. Or for her to feel sorry for me and wheel me around everywhere when I could do it my damn self.

Having Pascal fuss over me all the time was bad enough.

“I can do it.” I wheeled away to a close pile of rubble. Except when I stretched forward to reach, my back didn’t respond, and my shoulders lowered. Fuck. Who was I kidding? I couldn’t do this alone.

Slipping further into despair, I watched Knoxe and Pascal haul larger hunks of debris. Capable. Strong. Fit. Where I couldn’t do much but sit in my chair, carry some, and wheel-a-fucking around the place.

Supergal caught up to me and crouched down. “Here, let me help you.”

Was this how it was going to be from now on? Her helping me do everything? Fuck, no! I wanted to do it myself, not be reliant on anyone. For so long, I’d been the man and breadwinner of my household, and my family depended on me. How the tables had cruelly turned. I must have deserved it for killing my dad and Jaz.

Pascal wandered over, dust smearing his face. “Need a hand, buddy?”

Everyone kept asking that and all it did was make me feel useless.

“Nope.” I wheeled away, feeling stifled and strangled by everyone.

“Come here and kiss me, you sweetheart,” Supergal said to Pascal, smacking his lips before leaving him to join me again.

She nattered on about something and I tuned out. I didn’t even notice the heap of broken chair and table she set on my lap until she balanced longer bits of ruined metal over my chest and shoulder. Back at the bin, I struggled to lift a length of metal with my weak, spasming shoulders.

“I’ll get it,” she said, taking it off me and shoving it over the lip.

Fuck, I was useless. While her back was turned, I grabbed the wheels, pushing them forward, rolling away. I had to get out of here and get some air. The atmosphere and my own dark thoughts choked the life out of me.

“Where are you going?” She raced after me, slowing down to stop in front of me, with her hands on her hips.

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