Page 81 of Muted

“Hi, Kristy. Can I just get a jack and coke? Extra shot, please.” Nodding her head, she writes it down, then looks at Theo’s almost empty pint.

“Another one?” she asks, pointing her pen at it.

Theo throws back the rest of his beer, then hands her the empty glass. “Thank you.”

We wait for her to leave our table before either of us talk. When she’s far enough away, Theo turns toward me. “So, she’s asleep. How do you know that? You go over there or something?”

“Yeah…” I say, trailing off.

Theo sits taller in his chair. “You went to her place?”

“I did.”

“Why?”

“She wasn’t answering her phone. We both texted. Well, actually, Vance did as well. No response. She took off, and I needed to make sure she went home and was safe.”

He crosses his arms, scowling as I explain, so I match his body language. I fucking dare him to get pissed at me.

His nose twitches once and he smooths the irritation off his face with a hand. “I’m trying not to be annoyed because there’s no reason for it.”

Smirking at him, I decide to rankle him a bit. “You’re doing such a good job at it, too, soldier. I can hardly tell you want to lay me out for being in her bedroom.”

Kristy squeaks as Theo jumps up from his chair to glare down at me. She must have just shown up with our drinks, so I wave him off like he’s no threat to her. “Ignore him. He’s probably just hungry. Thank you for the drinks,” I say as I take both of them from her tray.

She’s eyeing him warily as she backs away, then spins and hurries back to the bar. “Sit down, you fucking jackass,” I hiss, dropping the friendly smile I put on so we wouldn’t get kicked out.

“Tell me what the fuck you were doing in her bedroom,Chester.” He’s raising his voice, drawing a few looks from other customers in here. I ignore the way he uses my name as an insult and simply wait him out.

My blink is slow as I set his beer down and then take a slow sip from my drink. When I can tell he’s not going to give in, I’ve had enough.

“You can get off your high-horse,Theo.You have no fucking claim on her. She’s not your girlfriend. She’s barely your friend. And news flash, I also consider her a friend, not just an employee. And I’ll be honest, there’s some interest there as well. So, if you want to sit down like the adult that I know you are, then sit. We can have a conversation. Otherwise, I’m going to leave and let you continue to dig a hole with herandme.” I pause, then eye him carefully before adding, “I refuse to fight over a woman with you.”

Dropping into his seat, he drops the anger and jealousy. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m so twisted up over her. Why didn’t she come to me?”

“Honestly? I don’t think she was thinking. The way she was zoned out when I got there, I don’t know if she was even aware I was there at first.” Unease fills me when I remember the way I found her. Sitting on the end of her bed, eyes empty, staringthroughthe wall.

“I need to know what happened.”

“…At her apartment?” I’m slow to ask, unsure of what he means.

He bounces his head back and forth, thinking it over. “No, well,yes. But I mean what caused her to shut down like that.”

“She was fine when I dropped her off this morning.” My mind races through every possibility out there. She was alone at the bar. I unlocked it for her and locked back up once she was inside. Looking up at Theo, I ask, “Has she told you anything about her past?”

He seems uncomfortable with the question, shifting in his seat as he debates what to share. “A bit. Nothing definitive… I think she’s hiding from someone. Susu didn’t really confirm it, but maybe an abusive ex? Just from hints and assumptions I’ve made through our texts.”

Nodding, I mentally run through what I know, again fighting on what I should share. My gut is telling me it’s not my place, so I bite my tongue and shift the subject subtly. “So, I dropped her off alone at the bar. When I got back, you were already there.”

Theo gets defensive again. “I didn’t say anything to her. Well, that’s not entirely true. I did try to talk to her, but she was already likethat.”

I tap my fingers on the table and take another sip. “She, umm… She broke down when I was there.”

“What do you mean she broke down?” he asks, chewing on his cheek. I can tell he’s not comfortable asking.

Spinning my glass, I watch the condensation roll down the outside and let it cool my heated hands. “When I got in there, she was out of it. Like she was lost. I finally was able to get her attention when I sat next to her, and she just started crying…”

“What did you do?” he asks quietly. I’m sure he wants to ask a million other questions, but we both know I don’t have the answers.

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