Page 43 of Forever to Fall
“I gotta ask, man,” Evan said, pouring a variety of sodas and shakes into glasses. “Why not stay out here? Granted I love having you closer in Buckeye Falls, but if this is your home, you should stay.”
Beckett reached out for one of the cups of pop, touched that Evan bought one of all their favorite soda combinations. Eventually their metabolism will catch up to them, but that was hopefully a decade away. “I don’t know,” he replied, uneasy at opening yet another wound. He himself couldn’t fully explain the need to leave this house, despite the fact it was truly the only home he ever had.
No matter what happened with his parents, no matter how his grandparents passed, he’d always felt like he could come back here and feel safe, feel protected from the world. Now, with everyone gone, it felt like he was trying to wear someone else’s skin.
Before he could continue his lame explanation, Evan grabbed his forearm and tugged him closer. “What the hell is this?” He wiggled Beckett’s limb and frowned. “Are you hurt?”
Beckett muttered under his breath, “I guess we’re doing this now.” He sighed and shook his head. Turning to Evan, he said, “Yeah. I sort of shot a nail through my hand on Saturday.”
Evan snorted, dropping his friend’s hand and looking incredulous. “I’m sorry, what?”
Regaling Evan with the story didn’t take long, especially since he didn’t mention Mallory once. The impetus for his seclusion was based on the fact he couldn’t mention her to Evan without turning as red as a tomato and stumbling over his words. He’d spent time with Mallory, kissed her, and held her like she belonged to him—like he’d always wanted. How was he supposed to come back to reality after stepping through heaven?
“Did you go to Buckeye Falls General?”
There it was, the out Beckett needed. He could lie to his best friend, and tell him that he’d stayed local and avoided his sister like the plague. Yet as strong as the urge to lie was, Beckett wanted to be honest. Evan was family, and he was tired of tiptoeing around the truth like it was landmines.
“No, actually. I went to Columbus.”
Evan frowned. “You should have called. I could have driven you.” He took a handful of fries and dipped them in ranch before shoving them in his mouth. “Did you see Mal while you were there?”
Beckett’s neck grew hot as he flushed crimson. The infernal blush rose until he was practically as red as his double cherry cola. Damn his Irish heritage...
“Yeah, she was my nurse.” He cleared his throat and coughed, a dribble of soda sliding down his chin.
“No way, what a coincidence.”
Sure, a coincidence that Beckett orchestrated by asking for Nurse Lawson every five minutes until she finally arrived. He’d feared at one point that security would throw him out for being a creep, but he didn’t care. As soon as he’d fallen off that ladder and shot himself with the nail gun, he’d wanted Mallory—and not just because of her nursing degree.
Changing topics, Evan asked, “Have you seen Mal recently? I know she picked up some extra shifts this week, but she’s been radio silent for days. Even when she’s slammed at work, I’ll get a handful of memes about animals or some crap. Something’s up.”
Beckett took a huge bite of his BBQ mushroom burger, enjoying the savory tang of the sauce as he chewed. If they kept eating, he could avoid more thoughtful conversations, right? “I’m sure it’s just work.”
Evan wiped his hands on a wad of napkins and tossed them onto the table. “I don’t know. This reminds me of a couple of years ago.”
Beckett’s throat tightened, and he nearly choked on his burger. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. I didn’t want to bother you with it back then, since Gram had just passed, but she was really down for a while. Like hiding in her apartment and eating cookie dough from the tub depressed.”
What little food Beckett had managed to eat turned to cement in his gut. He’d done that to Mallory. He’d been the one to break her heart. “It was that bad?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
Evan’s head was down, studying the cooling stack of onion rings between them. “She doesn’t get that like, Foxy. Mal’s always the one to make us laugh and keep us on our toes. She never gave me details, but I think some asshole broke her heart. I mean, why else would she shut people out?”
“Does Mal date a lot?” Beckett knew the answer, or at least thought he did. Mallory wasn’t exactly living the life of a nun, but she always was selective when it came to dating. She wouldn’t spend her time with just any Tom, Dick, or Harry.
“I guess? We’ve always been close, so I think I know when she’s dating. There was that one loser last year. They lasted about five minutes. It was the married guy.” The vein in Evan’s temple pulsed at the memory.
“I still can’t get over that,” Beckett shoved his chair back, unable to sit and listen to this story another minute. He strode into the pantry for Gramp’s secret stash and returned with the vodka bottle and a pronounced limp. He’d likely march himself back to the hospital with a compound fracture at this point. Without asking, he splashed a shot into each of their pop glasses before falling back into his chair, his shoulders sagging with guilt.
Evan raised an eyebrow at his friend’s reaction. “Calm down, man. I took care of it. You think I’d let any asshole get away with treating Mal poorly?”
“I guess not,” Beckett said, unable to hide the fact he was pouting like a toddler. “What did you do?”
Evan smirked, the curve of his lips devilish. Evan wasn’t a guy who gave brotherly enforcer vibes, mostly because he usually smiled like he’d just celebrated Christmas. But this look was a little scary, and Beckett squirmed in his seat. “I invited him to the diner and pretended I didn’t know what he did. We chatted for a while and then I offered to walk him out.”
“Yeah?” Beckett asked, his fingers digging into his palms.
“Then I sucker punched him in the stomach. He fell down like a sack of potatoes. I probably would have done more, but Max came out and stopped me.” He shook his head, clearly upset he didn’t get to finish his—clearly justifiable—ass kicking.
