Seeing Forever Read Free

final resting spot.
    And then the smell of perfume drifted his way. Only
one woman wore that fragrance, and it was Josie. She had to be here too––either
that, or afterlife smelled exactly like his sister.
    “Yes, I’m here.”
    Luc jumped when his sister spoke to him. One side of
the bed tipped slightly lower and the perfume smell suddenly grew more intense.
He’d hazard a guess she’d just parked her butt right beside him.
    “Where am I, and what happened?” asked Luc. He
pushed his hand around the bed and came in contact with a leg, which was
probably Josie’s.
    She grabbed his hand. “If you’re wondering if you’re
dead? Sorry. No, you’re not.”
    Luc guessed the nurse had gotten to him in time.
Damn, he couldn’t even get something as simple as killing himself right. Had
they pumped his stomach? He didn’t feel sore. He thought it would have hurt
like hell, but maybe these days they had non-invasive ways. Wait a minute––if
they hadn’t pumped his stomach, maybe they’d resorted to giving him an enema.
    Josie took his hand between her own.
    “If you’re wondering why you didn’t die, it’s
because you downed a bunch of vitamin C tablets.”
    Holy
crap.
    And had he heard her almost laughing when she’d told
him that?
    “Lucky thing I took all the other pills away,
thinking you might accidentally take the wrong ones before you were taught how
to tell one bottle from the other. Did you know that while overdosing on
vitamin C isn’t recommended, it’s not deadly because it’s water-soluble and you
pee it out of your system. Well, that’s according to the nurse.”
    Luc fell back flat on the bed. Feeling like more a
loser than he had before, he’d tried to end it all. At least the upside was he
probably wouldn’t come down with a cold.
    “I read the letter,” said Josie, squeezing his hand.
    Oh,
shit … the letter.
    He hadn’t expected to be around when his sister read
it. For the first time in his life, he’d spilled his heart out about everything:
their mother’s death, the explosion that took his sight, and how he felt about
Josie.
    “It was touching, and yes, I cried. I would have
cried even more had those not been vitamin C pills.”
    She kissed him on the forehead. “Do you know how
much I’d miss you if you weren’t around?”
    “I know it was selfish, but I don’t think I can live
the rest of my life like this.”
    “Luc, you can have surgery.”
    “I can’t have my full eyesight back, and that’s all
I want.”
    “Maybe not, but you’ll see more than you can now.
That’s a step in the right direction.”
    “Didn’t you hear what the doctor said? There’s a
risk that the operation could make things worse. And you know how hospitals
scare me.”
    “We take a risk every time we get out of bed, each
time we cross the road. The bottom line is life’s a risk, Luc.”
    He put his hand on his forehead. How did his life
get to be so messed up and complicated? He’d been in the wrong place at the
wrong time and been hit by shrapnel. The two other soldiers who’d been with him
had lost their lives. At the time he’d thought he was the lucky one, but lately
he’d been thinking they’d been blessed not to have to live with the injuries.
    “Don’t tell anyone else about this?” he said.
    “What, that my brother’s an idiot and tried to kill
himself with vitamins?”
    Luc thought Josie made it sound worse than it
actually was.
    “This is just between the two of us, but if you ever
try something like this again I’ll have you committed.”
    If he tried this again, next time he’d make sure it
was foolproof.
    “Now, Mitchell and Jake phoned and said they should
be here with your dog in about twenty minutes, so let’s get you downstairs, and
don’t be grumpy.”
    “To them or the dog?”
    Luc sat up. He knew his army buddies were only
trying to help, but a dog was the last thing he needed right now. He could
hardly take care of himself, let alone a