Page 87 of Fractured Grief
We chatted for a little longer before he had to go and finish getting Hazel ready for bed. My heart was heavy as we hung up. I thought about those two beautiful souls, miles away from me, dealing with all this sadness and pain today.
I was late to Ma’s and not in the mood for Theo or Atty’s teasing.
“I was talking to Indy,” I exclaimed, only for them to tease me more—Lyric joining in making lewd gestures. “Shut up, it wasn’t like that. It’s Lexi’s birthday today,” I snapped, and the whole room fell silent. Everyone in my family knew Indy’s story, and we’d all gone through it when Pa died.
“I’m sorry, bro,” Atty was the first to speak up. “How are you handling it? Are you okay?”
“I feel so helpless. I still can’t drive, and all I want is to be there for him, with him, and I can’t,” I groaned in frustration. Being a mechanic and not being able to drive was bad enough, but knowing Indy was alone and sad, it hurt that much more.
Atty, Bodhi, and Theo all shared a look before Atty spoke up. “Well, we have a surprise for you. We were going to waitfor Indy’s next visit as he wanted to be here, but I think now might be the perfect time.”
Theo dug a set of keys out of his pocket and handed them to me.
I gazed at the keys, then at my brother. “Aren’t these yours?” I asked Atty. “Why are you giving me your car when I can’t even fucking drive?” I was frustrated and emotional and couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
“Language, young man,” Ma admonished.
“Sorry, Ma,” I said, “But I’m so confused.”
“If you give us a second, we could explain,” Theo started. “We’ve modified Atty’s Ford with automatic hand controls so you can drive it.”
I was frozen in place. They’d done all this… for me. I couldn’t help but become overwhelmed by all the emotions overflowing inside me: gratitude, love, awe, and amazement. I wasn’t even embarrassed as silent tears streaked down my cheeks.
“Don’t cry,” Bodhi said as he came around the table to engulf me in a tight hug. “This is a good thing.”
“This must have taken ages. That’s a hard modification. And your own truck, Atty. Why?” I was so overwhelmed.
“Because you needed something to drive, and Lyric’s car was too small. We didn’t want to risk touching your Chevrolet Silverado 1500 without you knowing, as we all know she’s your customized baby. We wanted to surprise you.” Atty was beaming at me.
I couldn’t help the wet chuckle that burst out of me. “You guys are the best,” I said as I hugged Bodhi and rose to thank my brother properly. Hugging each one fiercely.
“They’ve been working on it for weeks, and we just needed Theo to come home to help with the last part, as it was a two-man job,” Bodhi explained. “We even talked to Judy and Indy about it to ensure they knew, and it would work with your therapies.”
“It’s why Judy was so insistent on having an in-person appointment tomorrow, but wouldn’t say why. You’ve got a driving lesson, man,” Lyric added, waggling his eyebrows.
“Really?”
“Yep. She needs to assess and approve your ability to drive an altered vehicle. She said she booked one just in case we decided not to tell you today. Atty and I can tow your new truck to the lot, and you can learn on your own vehicle. It’s all perfect timing, wouldn’t you say?” Lyric finished with a wink.
“I don’t know what to say,” overwhelmed with gratitude. “What are you going to drive, Atty?”
“Well, funny you should ask. Bodhi and I just bought Sidney’s Ford F-150 as he is no longer traveling to Dallas for his girl. She’s coming here, and they’re moving to Great Falls. Sidney said he couldn’t afford the upkeep or parking in the city, and if we wanted it after everything, then we deserved it.” Atty and Bodhi shared a smile.
If they were willing to keep a car that Atticus had been in an accident with when Bodhi’s ex had shot at him, then more power to them. They were braver than I was.
“You sure you’re both okay with the reminder?” I asked.
“Yeah. It’s just a truck, and it’s not actually the same one anyway, since that one was written off. Atty’s going to modify it for us, and it’s just a reminder of all we’ve been through together and how solid we are.” Bodhi beamed at my brother with all the love in the world, shining in his eyes.
These two were so smitten. I was excited to see Bodhi’s reaction when Atty finally popped the question, and now that Theo was home, it wouldn’t be long.
Chapter 42
Indy
It had been a long week, and while I was glad it was the weekend, Friday had been hard, and the heavy sadness clung to me as I went about our day. Thankfully, Hazel was okay. She’d known it was Lexi’s birthday, but was too innocent to realize what was coming next and seemed fine.
She was up at the crack of dawn, like normal, with no care for how dusty I was after having one too many glasses of red wine after I got off the phone with Seb. After popping a couple of Tylenol, I readied Hazel’s breakfast and had some dry toast. I almost felt human again when my phone beeped.
