Page 50 of Forgotten Pieces

Together.

I ignore her and start making the coffee. I pull eggs and bacon out of the fridge and start breakfast. I try not to eavesdrop on her call, but she is talking about a contract. And it sure as hell sounds like she is going to need to leave again. I grip my fist on the edge of the counter to hold back my anger. I don’t want her to leave. I want us to move everything to the new house, unpack it together, build a home. A strong home, full of love. One that I didn’t have as a child. Now I am not so sure she will even be around to move.

I think back to my conversation with Tacoma last night. How much she wants a soul crushing love. A love that beats so hard you can hear the heartbeats across a room. A love that makes you miss the other so much that even when they are just a room away it’s too far.

Yet here I stand in the same room as the one I am supposed to love and there are no heartbeats. There is no yearning. It’s as if we are two separate people on separate paths just sharing a space.

I think back to my past with Tacoma. All of our time spent together, sharing the deepest parts of our souls. The surprise of our first kiss. The passion after that kiss, during all our secret meetings. I remember hearing heartbeats then. I remember what it was like to miss someone just after they drove away. But I also remember what I did to her and how I broke her heart. And I know there is no way she would ever let me in that way again.

The smell of bacon burning jostles me from my thoughts. I still hear the blabber of Shelley on the phone. I take the bacon out of the pan and set it on a plate. I ignore the rest of breakfast and coffee and head outside to lift some weights. Anything to clear my head of the path it was going down. I would never cheat on Shelley. I am not a cheater. But the temptation of those green eyes, that long silky brown hair, the sweet scent of cherries and vanilla; it’s enough to make any man take a wrong turn. It’s enough to make me think of the possibility of ending things with Shelley.

“Yo beast mode, don’t you think we are gonna get enough of a workout today?”

I drop the barbell on the ground when I hear Mac’s voice. “You’re right.”

“No sassy comeback? What’s wrong with you, man?”

I shove him to the side and walk to the back door of the house. “I am never sassy. That’s all you.”

“True. What’s with the workout mode, though?” he asks, reaching for the door handle.

I put my hand against the door so he can’t open it. “Drop it. Please.”

He must see the pleading in my eyes because he just nods. I let go of the door and we both walk in the house.

“Yo Shells,” Mac says as he walks in. She is still on the phone and barely looks over her computer at us. “Wow, no response,” Mac whispers to me.

I just shrug and go back to making breakfast.

Mac pours us all a cup of coffee then leans against the counter next to me. “You ready to be a permanent resident of White Creek?”

“I’m ready to settle down,” I say back.

“I’m sure there will be many happy ladies in White Creek when they find out you are a permanent resident.”

I roll my eyes at him.

He leans close to me and whispers, “Especially that pretty one with green eyes.”

I growl at him. “I told you before to drop it.”

He smirks at me and leans back. “Sure, man.”

Shelley finally gets off the phone and gives me a sad smile. “Sorry babe. Unexpected call.”

I nod at her and turn back to the eggs I’m cooking.

She puts her arms around me and hugs me from behind. “I really am sorry. I woke up so early and went to pack all my work stuff and got an email just as I was doing it.”

I shrug. “I know that is how your job is.”

I feel her arms tense around me. I know it came out harsher than I meant it to.

“How was your night with Mac last night? You two didn’t get too drunk thankfully.”

My eyes shoot to Mac. I didn’t put his name in the note. But ever since we moved here Shelley knows he is the only one I hang out with.

Before I can get a word in Mac answers. “Fuckin’ boring as hell. I don’t know why I even drag this goon out ‘round here. I have more interestin’ conversations with myself in the mirror than I do with him.”

---