Page 15 of Eagle

Chapter 9

Eagle

Yesterday was bullshit. Last night was even worse. Lacy steered clear of me all night. After I downed a bottle of whiskey, I didn’t remember much. I managed to make it to my room, but waking up alone only added to the pain of my intense hangover.

I stumbled into the shower to wash the alcohol off me. Jack was leaking out of my pores and my muscles ached. I needed a melt-your-skin-off shower, a gallon of water, some greasy breakfast, and a bunch of Ibuprofen.

Once my brain caught up to my body being awake and I rubbed the hot water from my eyes, I saw only my body wash and shampoo. I pulled the shower curtain back and looked over at the sink. All her shit was gone. Even the lotion I loved to sniff.

She left. She didn’t just sleep somewhere else. She moved all of her shit. Or maybe she just grabbed her bathroom stuff. She liked to do her face before she went downstairs, so that made sense. I wanted to check the closet for her clothes but today was not the day to rush a shower.

After I finished up and dried off, I put toothpaste on the brush and stuck it in my mouth and walked to check the closet with a towel wrapped around my waist.

Brushing with one hand, I pulled the bifold door with the other. “Fuck,” I deadpanned. It was all gone. All of her shit was gone. Brushing furiously, I went back to the bathroom, spat out the foam and rinsed my mouth.

Her hairbrush was gone, just like everything else, so I pulled the drawer open, grabbed my comb out, and tugged it through my jaw-length hair. I must have fucked with it a lot when I was drunk, or slept like a toddler, because it was full of knots. I vaguely recalled yanking the hair tie out and I tended to run my fingers through it when I was tense. To say I was stressed out was an understatement.

I kept thinking this was best, but now that she wasn’t here, I didn’t fucking like it. We were supposed to talk more but last night wasn’t the time and she was obviously taking some needed space. I’d find her and we’d talk. That was it—we just had to talk and it would be fine.

I threw some clothes on and grabbed my phone. It needed a charge, so I plugged it in. But it was late enough in the morning that she’d be downstairs by now.

Barging into the bunny bunks didn’t seem smart, but she never slept too late, so she was probably helping Mama Hen in the kitchen if she wasn’t in the bar. The bar had plenty of tables and a few windows so a lot of us used it as a dining room during the day.

I didn’t have any appointments until lunch so we could at least clear the air and make a plan to have dinner away from the clubhouse later. Shaking my head, I realized I hadn’t done that for her yet.

Rubbing my hand down my face, it hit me.I was a dick.I spent so much time guarding myself, I took advantage of her. I pushed her away. I wasn’t sure what I even really wanted besides just her…next to me. Was this just me in my head? Was this my ego bruised because she left?

Deciding I didn’t give a fuck about the why, I stormed from my room to go find her and figure out the how. How the fuck could I expect her to come back?

Knowing my temper was bubbling, I took a few deep breaths as I walked downstairs. I couldn’t barge in all gangbusters and expect her to welcome me. I needed to chill the fuck out. Be calm. Reasonable. I was the happy-go-lucky guy. I just had to shake this off and put on my bright smile.

Adjusting my cut and fixing my face, I opened the door to the bar and walked inside. It was quiet, only a couple of guys sitting around and a bunny behind the bar. No sign of Lacy.

Walking to the bar, I asked the brunette, who’s name I couldn’t remember, “Hey, you seen Lacy today?”

She shook her head. “Nope, not since last night. You need something?”

“Last night? Who’d you bunk with last night?” Wow. I was an officer, but I didn’t usually abuse it to be a nosy fucker.

Her brows shot up but she stammered, “Nobody if you must know. Was I supposed to?”

I plastered my charming smile. “Well, what a bunch of fools. But no, I just thought Lacy was in there.”

“Maybe she was in the other room? There’s not just one. Do you want me to ask around?”

“No. Sorry to bother you. I’ll find her.” The brunette was cute and obviously not pushy like some of the bunnies, but she didn’tring my bell. No one else had caught my eye since Lacy came around. And yet, I still managed to fuck it up.

I still didn’t think I was cut out for the shit like Falcon, but I needed her. I stopped my quick strides. What if I talked her into coming back and just went back to my usual shit? Maybe I needed to let her have a little space and allow myself a little perspective. But I still wanted to know where the fuck she was.

I wandered around the clubhouse, not finding any trace of her. She didn’t have a car or money, not even a phone, so she couldn’t be far. Unless she went with a brother. But they wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t go off with one of them, would she? We had a code around here. Although I never told anyone she was mine, everyone knew she was bunking with me. But some people were around yesterday when we fought or broke up or whatever the fuck you’d call what happened. If they thought she was fair game, would they offer to take her to bed, or home? Not every member stayed at the clubhouse. And there were people from other clubs here last night.

Was she still here in one of their beds? I turned to go back up to the rooms but a woman’s voice halted me. “Hey, hon. You hungry?”

Turning to Mama Hen, I thought I had smiled and said, “No, I’m good.” But the shocked look on her face had me wondering how good my acting skills were at the present time.

“You don’t look good. You need some medicine? Or maybe some antacids and electrolytes?” She let out a chuckle. She just thought I was hungover.

“Actually yeah, that all sounds good.” Maybe I was tired and needed to rehydrate. I wasn’t usually so impulsive, especially with a woman.

---