It’s almost like my chest is tight from my heart pressing on it from the inside. But it’s not a bad feeling. It’s not the crippling anxiety that I’ve felt all too often, the kind that causes my heart to painfully speed up and skip a few beats, reminding me how close to a heart attack this fucking life is. Used to be. I’m not in it anymore. I won’t let it kill me the way it killed my father. I twist the throttle and straighten up, welcoming the warm breeze that’s rustling my hair. I turn off the private road, blinking in the bright sun. I still can’t figure out what this feeling is. Should I be concerned? Go fucking figure I finally get Pepper back and I keel over and die, right? Or maybe this is the opposite of dying. Maybe I’m happy. Actually happy for the first time in…fuck…six years. Things are far from perfect, but hell, I’ll take it, since that means I get Pepper. My good mood continues on the way home, but comes to a screeching halt when I see a shiny red Audi parked on the street in front of my house.
