Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
“Come on,” I say as I slide my hand into his. It’s warm despite the cold weather.
His hand squeezes mine gently and I feel a tug in my heart.
He groans again, but his eyes don’t open.
“You can’t stay here,” I say as I pull him up with all of my strength. Man, this dude is heavy!
He lifts his head with a moan and his eyes flicker open for a second as he’s jerked up, but then they close just as quickly.
“I need you to help me,” I whisper in a smooth calming voice. “You’re too heavy to lift up and I don’t want Lou to see you in here. He’ll chase you out of town with a dirty spatula.”
I manage to pull him up to a seated position. His head is hanging low and his eyes are still closed. We’ve gotten some progress, but I did seem to open the wound under his arm. Fresh blood leaks out.
“Shit, I need to call an ambulance,” I whisper to myself.
“No… ambulance,” he mutters in a groggy voice as his head rolls. He looks like he doesn’t have the strength to lift it, let alone open his eyes. “No hospitals… Please.”
“I can’t leave you here,” I say as my mind races. “You’ll freeze to death.”
“Just leave me here,” he says in a weak voice.
I can’t. That tiny voice from before is now hollering at me to save him.
“Hazel!” a voice rings out. “Hazel, where are you?”
Shit. It’s Kathy.
This is going to look sooo bad.
“Stay here,” I whisper to him like he’s going to go anywhere. “I’ll be right back.”
I pop my head out of the dumpster with a forced smile.
Kathy jerks her head back in surprise when she sees me. “Um, what are you doing in there?”
“I… ah… dropped my ring.”
“Your ring?”
“When I threw the garbage bag,” I say with my voice racing. “My ring slipped off with it and sailed into the dumpster. I’m just looking for it.”
She stares at me for a long moment. “Do you need help looking for it?”
“No, no,” I quickly say. “Can you watch my tables though? I’ll just be a few minutes. The ring means a lot to me and I don’t want to lose it.”
“Okay,” she says as she heads back inside. “Good luck.”
“Thanks!” I say and then duck my head back down.
Strange mystery garbage man is starting to wake up a little. His eyes are still closed, but he’s holding his head a little higher at least.
“I live upstairs,” I say as I grab his big muscular arm. “You can sleep on my couch for a bit. Just until you gain some strength back.”
“It’s… not a good… idea,” he says in a throaty whisper. “Just… leave me… here.”
His head drops back down.
“Not going to happen, buddy. Up you go.” I stand up and pull him up with me with a grunt.
With some struggling and a lot of swearing, I manage to get him up, his heavy body leaning against the metal wall. I’m out of breath and my heart is pounding when he finally helps me and swings his body over the dumpster.
He lands on the ground and collapses on the dirt with a moan.
“Okay,” I whisper as I look at him sprawled out on the dirt. This time there’s nothing covering him. I look away from his big package with my cheeks flaring.
This is the guy you’re going to bring back to your apartment? Is this really a good idea, girl?
I know it’s a horrible idea, but I can’t seem to stop myself. I hop out of the dumpster and struggle to get him to his feet.
With his big heavy arm around my shoulders, I push and pull him toward the stairs that lead up to my place.
“Why are you… doing this?” he whispers. Every word he says is oozing with pain. It’s thick with suffering.
“I don’t know,” I say as we struggle to get up the stairs. “Maybe I have a thing for naked guys in dumpsters or maybe I have some self-destructive tendencies. I don’t know, just keep moving your feet before I change my mind.”
The poor guy is barefoot. His feet are covered in dried blood and now my shoes are too.
He’s a real mess.
I open my door and drag him into my apartment. His eyes are still closed. I don’t think he has the energy to open them.
I bring him to the couch and he falls onto it with a wince, laying on his back with his full package in view. Well, at least something on his body is not injured. That thing is impressively long. I shake my head and close my eyes when I catch myself staring at it for too long. I quickly grab a blanket and put it over his lower half.
He groans as he drifts off to sleep. What do I do now? Leave him here? I still have an hour left on my shift. I still have tables.