Clarity 4: After the Storm Read Online Free PDF Page A

The old man sighs deeply.
"I'll get Carmen, and we'll be there as soon as we can. Text me the
address."
    When he hangs up the phone, I find myself
staring blankly into space. It takes me a moment before I am able
to send him the hospital's address, for I am so caught up in
thinking about what he said about love. And praying. And God.
    It's times like these, I suppose, when we
all remember our religion.
    I remember what Grayson told Helen, over and
over—the words that grated on her nerves more than anything
else.
    He called her an angel.
    Well, I certainly hope not. I like my
girlfriend being a human woman, made from flesh and blood. I am not
ready to surrender her to heaven just yet.
    At least not for a few decades. Hopefully,
not during my lifetime.
    When I hear the squeak of running shoes on
linoleum, I look up expectantly. My body is filled with a rush of
relief when I see Owen strolling in with a leather jacket and pink
scarf. The smile on his face is filled with kindness and strength,
and I am suddenly overwhelmed by the certainty that things are
going to be okay. Tears prick the back of my eyes as I stand up to
grab Owen in a big manly hug.
    “It’s just a bad day, buddy,” Owen assures
me as he claps his hand against my back. “It’ll be over soon, and
things will be hunky-dory again. I’ll soon be teasing Winter about
that time she got mad at you and drove off a mountain to make a
statement. It’ll be hilarious.”
    “Thanks,” I tell him, fighting back my
tears. “How the hell did you get here so fast?”
    “I just ignored all those signs with numbers
at the side of the road. I had to flirt my way out of a speeding
ticket, but it was worth it.”
    “Owen,” I say quietly. “You don’t have to
tell stories to cheer me up. I’m just glad you’re here.”
    “I swear that I’m not shitting you! It was
this chubby lady-cop who pulled me over, and she definitely appreciated my flirting. She let me off with only a warning, and
also gave me her phone number. If Winter is still determined to
dump you, maybe I could try to set you up with the chubby cop?”
    “No, thanks. I’m going to win her back.”
    “Sure, sure,” Owen says, lifting his
eyebrows. “I guarantee that will only work if she’s hit her head really hard.”
    “She has,” I tell him quietly.
    “Aw, shucks. Well, then maybe she’ll have
lost enough brain cells to find you attractive!”
    “That’s not funny,” I tell him softly, but
he manages to make me smile anyway. I am so fucking glad he’s here.
I didn’t have a single family member I could call: the only person
in the world who truly feels like family is lying comatose in a
hospital bed they won’t let me near. I could have called my father,
but he would have been a prick and made it worse. My mother is so
withdrawn and distant that she doesn’t give a shit about anything
that’s going on around her. Everyone else is too distant or dead to
care.
    But Owen dropped everything to drive here
and support me.
     
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