Othello Station (16 page)

“Of course you would. You hate my job.”

“I hate how little they pay you and how much they ask you to do.”

“Grant.”

“What?” I cough again, taking another swig of water.

“Even now, if a hospital bed, you’re being a royal, grumpy pain the ass.”

“Of course, I am! I’m in a goddamn hospital bed! Need I say more?”

Mira’s amusement blooms for a moment, then starts to fade. “What are we supposed to do?”

“About what?”

“This.” She waves between us.

“Uh, we get me the fuck out of here. No way am I staying in this robe. And I’m beginning to feel claustrophobic.” I shudder. Stupid hospitals.

“I mean you and me, Crazy Man.”

“Well, I clearly have commitment issues, am prone to sabotaging the only good things in my life, and have a real knack for getting in car crashes. And you….well, you’re just flat-out strange. I’d say that means we pray like hell we last one more day. ‘Cause it’s not looking too promising, sweetheart.”

“I don’t know,” Mira kisses my forehead again and treats me to another view of that bright, gorgeous smile I’ve grown to crave. “We also crash bikes, drink beer at concerts, and get in fights with vegetables and cutting boards. I think that makes the odds pretty good.”

“How the hell do you figure that?”

“Well, we’re bound to keep things interesting. It’s boredom that kills us. Sucks the life from everything.”

“
Meh
.” I reach up and tug her down as best as I can, positioning her next to me on the bed. Everything aches, and she makes it clear she doesn’t approve, but I pull her toward me anyway. I can take the pain. I can take anything, as long as she’s by my side. “If you’re game, I’m game.” I match her smile but take a second to level her with a serious gaze. “Do you forgive me?”

“Forgive what?”

“You know what.”

“Grant, the moment I saw you in that ambulance, I knew everything I needed to know.”

“Meaning…”

“I love you. I want you. Unconditionally.”

As I take in this angel’s words, I mentally kick myself for ever thinking this was just another girl. That she could ever be just another name in a sea of faces. She’s the dove I didn’t know I was waiting for. The one I needed to harass me, to stir the life inside of me that I was sure was dead. I’m still not quite alive, but I’m no longer Frankenstein.

I glance down at my stitches and hospital gown. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself.

I might always be Frankenstein. And that stormy Carebear—or was it a cloudy one? But thanks to this dove sitting next to me, this monster has found his way home. Back to Othello Station. Back to life. Back to something good. Back to where it all began. With a smile and an affectionate gesture. A squeeze of the shoulder from Mira, the same kind my dad always use to give.

“Just let the light guide you home, Kid,” his voice echoes in my mind. “It never steers you wrong.”

THE END

1. Make You Better – The Decemberists
   
2. Prayer in C – Lilly Wood and The Prick and Robin Schulz
   
3. Peaches – In the Valley Below
   
4. We’re Gonna Be Friends – White Stripes
   
5. Mess is Mine – Vance Joy
   
6. Steady as She Goes – The Racounteurs
   
7. Black Sun – Death Cab for Cutie
   
8. Cecilia and the Satellite – Andrew McMahon
   
9. Moaning Lisa Smile – Wolf Alice
   
10. Brooklyn Baby- Lana Del Rey
    
11. Old Money – Lana Del Rey
    
12. Things I Regret – Brandi Carlile
    
13. Holy Dove – Civil Twilight