Page 24 of Undeniable Love
“Anyway, it was like one of those after-school specials—you know, the ones that talk about the dangers of drinking and driving. We were laughing, the music was too loud, and I didn’t react fast enough when the car crossed the median and came at us. If I’d been sober…” Shrugging, he took another bite. “Ow. Brain freeze.” Then he laughed. “Perfect timing for that, right?”
Unsure of what to say, Lucy focused on her own dessert as the reality of what he was telling her sank in. “So…Jax…?”
“It was really all just a crappy situation,” he said gruffly. “I mean, what were the odds that his father would be the one to hit us? If either of us—me or Jax—had been smart enough not to drink, this probably wouldn’t have happened.”
“Do Mom and Dad know the truth?”
He nodded. “They do. It was one of the hardest things I ever had to tell them.” After another spoonful of ice cream, he gave Lucy a sad smile. “Obviously they were disappointed, but they never held it against me or threw it back at me when I was struggling with my recovery and wanted to give up. Believe me, there are still so many days when it all hits me hard and I start to go to a dark place. Then I remember that…I’m here. I survived. How many people get into similar situations and don’t?”
Tears stung her eyes because she had no idea her brother had been suffering with this. “I don’t know how you do it, Ty. Like, I seriously don’t know how you’re so damn happy and upbeat when everything…”
“Everything I’d worked for got taken away,” he finished for her. “It’s not easy. Like I said, some days, I start to spiral and it’s very easy to slip into a depression. The problem with that cycle is that it’s easy to get into and hard as hell to get out of. I’ve had enough obstacles to overcome; I’m not looking for more.”
Letting out a shaky breath, Lucy shook her head. “I don’t even know what to say. I honestly had no idea about so much of this.” Taking her last spoonful of ice cream, she shook her head again. “I’m so sorry. This makes me feel like I’m the worst sister because I clearly wasn’t paying attention.”
“Luce, stop. You paid attention plenty. There were just things you didn’t need to know. You were thirteen years old. No one expected you to be a part of the conversation about my stupid actions. Like I said, Mom and Dad…that wasn’t something they were going to share. It was up to me and it’s not something I like to discuss.”
“Still, I feel awful.”
Tyler put his bowl down and turned to face her. “I didn’t tell you all of this to make you feel bad, okay? And I didn’t tell you all of this to guilt you into being part of the camp. I’m telling you this so you can make a decision based on actual facts.”
“Okay, but…”
“And no one’s telling you that you suddenly have to be a huge Jax Wylder fan,” he clarified. “So please don’t think that’s what this is about either. I honestly just don’t want you walking around thinking I’m a victim.” Then he smiled. “All this time, I thought you were simply holding a grudge and you’d get over it. It took seeing you face-to-face with Jax for me to realize there was more to it.”
“Did he tell you what I said to him?” And yeah, she sounded just a wee bit defensive.
Laughing softly, he shook his head. “No. That’s not the kind of guy Jax is. He’s loyal almost to a fault.”
“Yeah, he’s a prince,” she mumbled.
All smiles and laughter vanished in the blink of an eye. A loud huff of annoyance followed. “Okay, I really thought you could be a mature adult, Lucy…”
“You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry. It’s not like I can just shut this stuff off automatically. It’s gonna take some time.”
He leaned forward. “Then let me help move things along. Do you remember when Jax started playing for the Warriors? Remember how they went to the Super Bowl that year?”
“Um…”
“He took the money he made on that game and paid off a bunch of my medical bills. And the second Super Bowl? He did it again. When they won when he played the third time? Jax got a crap ton of endorsement deals and he paid off the rest of the medical bills. No one asked him to, and he certainly didn’t need to.”
“Um…”
“And I already know what you’re going to say, that he should’ve done that because his father was the one to cause the accident, but that still doesn’t make it his responsibility.”
It was becoming blazingly clear that she had seriously misjudged the entire situation. However…
“Okay, I have one question, and then we need to just change the subject. If Jax paid off all the medical bills, then why are Mom and Dad always talking about how their bills are killing them?”
“Because Dad works in a factory and Mom heads up a human resources department for a small company. Neither of them have high-paying jobs. And I’m not saying that to shame them; that’s just the way it is. Many people struggle to make ends meet, Lucy.”
Oh, no…
“So the reason I didn’t get to go away to college…”
“Wasn’t because of my medical bills, but because they couldn’t afford it. Didn’t you ever talk to them about it?”
“I mean, I did, but when they said they couldn’t afford it, I just naturally assumed it was because…”