Page 2 of Fractured Hope
Oh my God, I’d finally followed through and escaped.
I pressed hard on my bruised ribs and winced at the pain, proving to myself that this was real. I was leaving. This wasn’t the dream I’d had over and over again. I wasn’t safe yet, but I was leaving town, and that was a step in the right direction. Tears pricked my eyes as the pain receded.
I had escaped.
After a long forty-eight hours, way too many stops, and too many of the required transfers, I was beyond exhausted and had fallen asleep soon after settling on this most recent bus. I just wanted to rest because I’d been awake for way too long due to stress, preparation, and then this grueling travel, but I was jolted out ofmy fitful sleep when a bright light flashed into my eyes. Someone kicked my foot. I instinctively brought my arms up and braced for impact as my backpack fell from my lap and landed on my foot. Flinching, I glanced up through my arms.
The bus driver stood over me, looking tired and a little gruff, but he did smile. “Last stop for this leg. You gotta get off.” He turned and walked back down the bus.
There were a few other stragglers like me shuffling off, looking tired and weary. I quickly grabbed my backpack, pulled my hoodie back up and over my head, and then exited with the other patrons.
The sun was high in the sky as I stepped off the bus into what seemed like a metropolis compared to where I’d come from. There were so many people bustling around. Everyone was busy, rushing from one place to the next. I started to move forward, trying to avoid knocking into people while following the general flow of the crowd. Everyone seemed to know where they were going. I entered the large terminal building and noticed a few ticket booths and workers guiding patrons.
Looking up at the nearest schedule, I searched for the next available bus leaving. I could wait for another transfer and continue my assigned route, but it felt safer to keep on the move. I didn’t think I could just cool my heels even if it was for only twenty minutes. I needed to ensure I was far enough away so I could safely start over.
Finding a bus that would be leaving soon and still heading east was easy enough. I walked toward the nearest terminal booth and dug into my dwindling cash to purchase my new ticket. I was able to jump onto the bus just as it was getting ready to leave. I ventured to the back again and settled in, heading somewhere called Hope’s Ridge. Breathing deeply and smiling to myself, I decided to take that quaint name as a sign I wasgoing to the right place and to havehopethat things would be better soon.
2
ATTICUS
“God damn it!”The wrench slipped off the bolt and knocked into my knee for what felt like the fifteenth time. I’d been working on old Dr. Don Masters’s 1998 Toyota Camry for weeks now. I really didn’t understand why he kept the thing. It would be cheaper to buy a new car than find the parts to fix the old girl, but Doc was adamant he wouldn’t drive anything else.
“Is that wheel still giving you trouble?” Theo yelled. “Here, let me at it.”
Taking the wrench from me, my brother tried to shoulder me out of the way with his smaller body. Even though we all looked alike, with our dark hair and Mediterranean complexion, Theo was the smallest and scrappiest of my brothers. At only five foot eight and with his lean build, he was a fair bit different from the rest of us, who were all broad and over six feet.
Laughing, I moved aside. “If you think you can get it off, be my guest.” I wiped my hands on a rag, stepping away so he could fail miserably, too.
With a snort of amusement, I headed to the back of the garage workshop. I had a foot in the break room and could seethe open door to the office, where I wanted to check what else was on the schedule for the day. Before I could take another step, Sebastian waylaid me.
“Have you seen Lyric this morning?” I asked Seb as he gave me a back slapping hug with his giant body. Where Theo was small, Seb was huge. With his six-foot-six frame and solidly packed muscles, he cut an imposing figure, but really, he was a big lovable teddy bear. His sunny demeanor often softened his larger-than-life presence.
“Morning, bro. No, he’s probably still sleeping off whatever shenanigans he got up to last night.” Seb laughed. “You know our brother by now. You won’t see him till after ten with the night he had.”
“Seriously, partying on a weeknight...again,” I said jokingly, while trying to hide my frustration. Lyric was always up to something even on a good day and rarely made it to work on time. Sometimes I wished he would just take his job and our business seriously. He may not have founded Greek Brothers Autocare, but he was one of the brothers, and everyone in town knew us and our family. The absolute least he could do was show up on time.
Sighing, I made a mental note to talk to him and see if I could knock some sense of responsibility into him.
Moving into the disorganized and cramped office, I sat at the overflowing old wooden desk. Invoices, receipts, and order forms were stacked haphazardly all over its surface. I really needed to straighten up this office and utilize the outdated filing cabinets that sat along the back wall under the only window in the room. I finally located the schedule for the day and checked it over. Noticing we had a relatively light morning, I decided to duck out and grab another coffee and maybe some breakfast. Striding back out to the large garage workshop, I called out to my brothers, “Going for coffee. Who wants a jolt?”
“Every time, dude. You’re so lame.” Snickering, Seb was the first to answer. “That coffee shop has been named Jolt for years. Give it a rest.”
“What can I say, I’m perfecting my lame Dad jokes early.” Smirking, I shrugged. “You still laughed, so I’m calling it a win. What do you want?”
“I’ll take an iced double macchiato,” Seb said. “You should probably cool it on the dad jokes and try going on a date first.”
“You know our town.” I rolled my eyes at the all-too-familiar ribbing. “We know everyone, and the pickings are slim. I wish someone new would come to stay in our little town.”
“You should tag along with Lyric one of these days. The city has plenty to offer,” Seb quipped back, waggling his eyebrows.
Coming over to give me a side hug, Theo cut in, “I know Lyric’s nights out aren’t really your scene. You could always come visit me. There’s an LGBTQ-friendly bar down from my apartment that isn’t too bad.”
Huffing out a breath, I shrugged. “I’ll think about it, okay? But for right now, coffee calls.”
“Okay, okay.” Seb let it drop, for now at least.
“I’ll have a Green Machine, please,” Theo said, referring to the shop’s healthy, vegan smoothie. It smelled horrid and was a puke green color that made my stomach squirm just thinking about it.
