Page 22 of Give Me Redemption

I lock the door behind me and head down to the street to run.

Chapter Ten

Jace

It’s early morning. I’m walking in from my run and about to jump into the shower when I answer my phone.

“Yo,” I say, holding it between my ear and shoulder as I walk to the fridge.

“Let’s head out to the ranch. One of my horses has strangles and I haven’t been out there in a while,” Bryce tells me.

I just went out there, but what the fuck else am I doing today?

“Sounds good. You picking me up, or do I need to drive over?”

“I’ll grab you. Be ready in ten.”

“Okay,” I say. I toss the phone onto the counter, twist the top off a Gatorade, and chug it before heading for the shower.

___________

I open the car door and slide onto the leather seats. Bryce has the air on blast and the Avett Brothers on the radio. I sit up and remove my smokes from my pocket, putting them into the cup holder as Bryce heads out into Atlanta traffic.

“I haven’t had a coffee yet. I saw this cool little coffee shop in Little Five Points. Let’s stop in and grab one.”

“I’m ready to get out there,” he says to me.

“Man, stopping for a coffee isn’t going to hurt anything.”

“Fine,” he says, changing gears.

I lift my hat up a tad and look out the window.

“You decide what you’re going to get into?” Bryce asks me as the sun dances across the dash.

“Haven’t really thought about it,” I say, looking over at him. “I kinda like not having shit to do right now.”

He looks over at me. “So, you just gonna stay fucked up and drunk for the rest of your life?”

“What’s wrong with that?” I ask him with a smirk. He rolls his eyes.

“You need to find something to do. You can’t continue like this. It’s been a week since you’ve been home and you’ve done nothing but get fucked up.”

“Don’t start,” I say as he turns onto Moreland Avenue. We pass the Vortex and I point up ahead. “It’s right over there,” I say.

“I’m just saying, Jace.”

“I know what you’re saying and I’m telling you to drop it. I’m a grown man, brother. Let me be,” I say as he pulls up to the curb.

“Fine,” he says, shutting the car off.

“Fine,” I reply, opening the door. I look for cars before we dart across the street to the coffee shop. The sign at the top reads Mugs & Books. There’s a chalkboard out front that displays today’s special. Some kind of fancy shit. I just want a regular coffee.

I open the door and a little bell dings. Bryce and I walk in and I hear Guns N’ Roses playing from the surround sound speakers. Cool place. It’s got a bohemian feel to it. My eyes jump to the front when I see a girl has just spilled coffee all over the floor.

She looks flustered as fuck. “Shit,” she says, looking embarrassed.

“You okay back there?” I ask her as she drops to her knees.

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