Page 58 of The Bridges I've Burned

“I did.”

He looked out toward the bay before turning back toward me, blowing out a breath. “I really want to fucking punch you right now.”

I rubbed the barbell in my brow before answering, “You can if it’ll make you feel better.”

He stared at me for a moment longer before pushing off his cruiser. “Come on. Let’s go get some coffee.”

Guess my face is safe for now.

I followed him, and we both made our way inside. The door chimed, and since it was late afternoon, the place was mostly empty. We both headed toward the counter and were instantly greeted by the same woman I’d run into yesterday.

Does she ever leave?

She pressed her lips together, her eyes glassy, as if the sight of us brought her to tears.

“The Green boys. Together at last,” she let out a huge sigh as she looked at Macon and then me.

I still had no fucking clue who this woman was.

Had he stumbled upon a long-lost grandmother while I was away?

I turned to Macon, who seemed to be making a concerted effort to be polite.

“Hi, Janet,” he said with a forced smile. “Can I get a black coffee with cream and two sugars? Zander?”

“What? Oh, just black for me,” I replied, enjoying the sight of Macon’s discomfort. It appeared he wasn’t chummy with everyone in town.

After last night’s party, I’d started to wonder where my burly brother had gone.

Here he is.

“I can get it,” I said, pulling out my wallet, but Macon swatted me away and threw down some cash, not bothering to ask for change. “I can afford coffee,” I said defensively as Janet handed us our cups, and we took a seat toward the back. “Despite my lack of accommodations, I do actually have my shit together.”

He gave me a withering stare, leaning back with one leg over the other. “How am I supposed to know that, Zander? I don’t know shit about you. You’ve been MIA for over ten years, and then you suddenly roll into town, and before we even have the chance to sit down for more than five minutes, you up and bail? What the fuck, man?”

I tried to gather my thoughts, the warmth of the coffee heating my hands. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? This isn’t easy for me.”

“Do you think it’s easy for me?” His voice carried through the coffee shop, and he let out a sigh. “Great, just fucking great.” His eyes flew to the counter, where Janet was giving her best performance as she pretended to wipe down the pristine counters. He glared at her, and she scurried off like a little mouse.

“No,” I answered, realizing we should have done this somewhere else. No one needed to know that the Green brothers were causing drama in the coffee shop. “None of this is, but I never…” I let out a frustrated sigh. “I never wanted to come back here.”

“You think I don’t know that?” he said with a humorless laugh. “The moment I found out you’d run off with my truck on your birthday, I knew you were never coming back.”

“This was never supposed to be a reunion for me, Macon. I’ve been so mad at you for so long that I thought coming here would help me move on, but I couldn’t even do that right.” I let out an audible sigh. “You don’t know what it was like. After you left. You don’t?—”

—know because you fucking abandoned me, I wanted to say.

The words caught in my throat, and I could barely swallow. I set my coffee down on the table and leaned forward, digging my palms into my forehead.

“Then, tell me,” he said.

I shook my head.

But he persisted. “Please, Zander.”

I looked toward the door. The water from the bay winked in the distance. I didn’t know why I was resistant to divulging this information. It was why I’d hated him for so long. It should be easy to dump it back on him, right? To finally make him feel as shitty as I had.

“After you left, I thought it’d be the same, you know? And it was at first. And then, after a few months, I guess when he realized you really weren’t coming back, he got angrier. And a lot more vocal,” I finally said.

---