Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 105756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
“In the end, she told me I could stay and look after Dad if I wanted to, but she was taking Frances home with her. As soon as the taxi arrived, she stormed out of the house with my sister. Dad was passed out in the living room, and I decided to cook him dinner to sober him up when he woke. I spent time setting the table and then got the idea to go outside and pick some flowers to put in the empty vase. It was something I did a lot. I loved picking flowers when I was young. The garden at the side of the house was lush with blossoming flower beds since it was summer …” she trailed off then, and I took my attention off the road for a second to see a glassy shine coat her eyes as she swallowed thickly. A deep sense of foreboding washed over me, and the tension radiating from Ada had me second guessing if I wanted to hear more.
“Ada—”
“I was kneeling on the grass picking some yellow primroses—which even to this day, I can barely look at let alone smell without feeling dread. Like I said, I’d always loved flowers, but after that day, I could barely stand to smell them for such a long time. I was so focused on the primroses that I didn’t hear the door slamming. A second later an engine revved, and … and my dad, he thought I’d left with Mam and Frances. He was still inebriated, and he reversed poorly out of the drive, running me over.” My hands fisted the steering wheel as I listened, hearing the tears in her voice. That fucking piece of shit ran her over? I’d slowly changed my mind about Conor Rose since his death, but all my old resentment and grudges were suddenly returning tenfold.
“I just remember falling forward, all the air being knocked from my lungs when my chest met the ground before agonising pain shattered through my leg. The sound of the car got farther and farther away. Dad didn’t even realise he’d run me over, and I was all alone, lying on the ground, barely able to move. It was so bad I couldn’t even drag myself back into the house to use the telephone. I mean, people had mobile phones back then, but they weren’t as prevalent as they are now, and I unfortunately didn’t have one. It was the next day before Dad returned, finally having sobered up. He found me on the grass. By that point, the pain had gotten so bad and I’d lost so much blood I was barely clinging to consciousness. He called an ambulance, and the next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital.”
I didn’t even realise I’d pulled over onto the side of the road until she stopped speaking. We sat parked on the hard shoulder on a busy motorway as I switched on the hazards, reached over, undid her seatbelt and pulled her into my arms. I hugged her so tight, her horrific story cinching around my insides, squeezing painfully. It was only when her hand came up to wipe at my face that I realised I was crying.
24.
Ada
“How …” Jonathan began then trailed off. I stared at him, stunned by the tears glistening on his face. The last time I’d seen him cry was the night I’d left his mother’s spaghetti in his apartment. Two lone tears had dotted his cheeks. Now there were many, and he shed them for me.
“How could you forgive him?” Jonathan finally got the question out as cars zoomed past us at speed.
Very gently, I traced my fingers under his eyes, wiping away the wetness as I replied, “I couldn’t. Not for a very long time. I was only fifteen when it happened. Soon after, my parents divorced, and Mam moved us to a new house. She was heartbroken and furious at how Dad had endangered me, but she also felt guilty for the part she’d played leaving me alone with him. Those first few years after the accident, she barely left my side. It was like she was trying for make up for all the times I’d been left to watch over Dad when he’d been drinking.”
“Were there court proceedings?” Jonathan asked, his hand clenching where it rested at my hip.
I nodded. “He was charged with drunk driving and reckless endangerment causing injury. He was spared jail time but was banned from driving for five years and sentenced to a year of community service. During that time, he tried making contact with us, but Mam kept him away. None of us wanted to see him. About a year later, he sent me a letter detailing how he’d gotten sober and was building his life over. That he didn’t deserve my forgiveness, but he would spend every day becoming a better man to make up for what he’d done. I never responded. I hated him back then. Because of him, I had to live with a life-changing injury. I had to deal with physical pain on a daily basis, and I just couldn’t get past the resentment.