I take another step and broken glass crunches beneath my weight causing the pile to slope to the side and cut my feet, I quickly take another step before it can thin out anymore and allow the sharper pieces to pierce my feet.
“Gahhhh!” I growl, my fists balled. Using my voice as a release of the pain in my heels, I roar and grunt like a beast.
Delilah tucks a hair behind her ear, her hands clasped together like she’s praying for a miracle, and I take another step. Glass breaks and rifts like large chunks of ice in the ocean and my legs suddenly give out causing me to fall to my knees. Scratches and nicks burrow into my kneecaps and I grind my back teeth. Making sure not to use my hands, I use my core body strength to pull myself the rest of the way up.
My knees spasm with agony and feel wetness. Taking my eyes off Delilah, I look down noticing ripples of blood zig-zag down one of my legs from the cuts on my knee. They’re not deep, but definitely cut.
“Dad, stop it!” Delilah yells, her eyes filled with tears.
Teeth clenched, chest covered in sweat, I assess how much farther I have to go. Maybe four more feet. I can do this.
I take another high step, and a neck of a bottle crunching beneath my foot but surprisingly not cutting me. Letting out a short breath, I quickly tread another foot or more, not giving the glass time to cut or slice beneath my weight.
“Fuck, he’s going to make it to the end!” Lip laughs from the sidelines, surprise in his voice.
“He still has two more feet to go.” Shadow’s voice laced with hope that I don’t make it.
Who else does he know would do this for his daughter? Give me a break, asshole!
Arms out to my side like I’m walking a plank, my legs tremble from the torture my feet have endured, I breathe through it and stride across the broken glass. It pinches, sticks, and nearly has me ready to puke before I find myself finally at the end.
I fall to my knees, needing the weight off my feet now. My head hung low, stomach in knots, my body aches from tensing my muscles the entire time I went across the carpet of razor-sharp glass. Delilah hurls herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck, my prize at the end of the line. I wrap both of my arms around her, needing her to ground me and take my mind off the pain surging through my entire lower half.
I hear cheering and clapping but all I can think about is the agony crashing through me and how bad the cuts must be.
“Jesus Christ,” Shadow grates. Glaring up through hooded eyes, I watch him run his hands down his face as if he can’t believe I did it. “Get the fucking doc over here and get him cleaned up.” He gives me a once-over but his eyes soften as if he might be proud but won’t say it out loud before turning around and disappearing behind the club.
Delilah’s mother, Dani, walks beside me and hunches down to look at the bottom of my feet. “Baby, you’re bleeding,” she informs with a wary face, her dainty fingers pulling a piece of glass from the skin. It stings, and I jerk my foot from her grip. Her eyes flick to mine. “It could be worse, but we’re definitely going to have to bandage them up. Bobby, Call Doc.” She snaps her fingers in the air, commanding the club to get into action.
Doc is Bobby’s ol’ lady, she happens to be a doctor and does shit on the side for the club. She’s hot and pregnant last I heard. I can’t have her down on her knees picking pieces of glass from my skin.
“No, I can handle it.” Using all my strength, I pull myself to my feet, and my ankles wobble. My feet screaming to get off them.
“Come on, let’s get you in the shower,” Delilah whispers, her arm around my waist, she helps me into the club. “I can’t believe you did that,” she mutters, and I try to smile.
“Guess I better watch what I say around her dad from now on, huh?”
“Yeah, what if you said I’d walk in front of a train for her?” Bobby chuckles, clearly amused by the morning’s entertainment.
Delilah just shakes her head and we go inside, leaving a wake of blood behind us. Then it occurs to me I had to do this to prove to her dad I wouldn’t break her heart all because of the last guy that hurt his daughter. What the fuck happened? I was going to let her tell me on her own time but after what I just did, I want answers now.