Page 24 of Stay With Me
Before we can make it to the door, Breaker pushes through the crowd. Anger radiates off him in waves, as if he’s mad he let his true feelings show. Rory chases after him, leaving the four of us behind.
“Well, well, well. I guess you’re all gonna end up locked down soon, huh?” I say, smirking at Everett, who looks utterly confused.
“What? Rory and Break? No fucking way. He’s practicallyold enough to be her dad!” Everett says, and I smack him in the chest hard.
“Shut up! He is not! And even if he was, who cares? She obviously doesn’t mind, so it shouldn’t matter,” I say with conviction. I see warring emotions on Elijah’s face, but he doesn’t say anything.
We push through the front doors into the cool night air and I shiver, the breeze skating across my skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake. Everett’s warm palms brush up and down my arms, attempting to warm me up. We see Rory standing at the edge of the sidewalk, yelling something to Breaker over the sound of the pipes on his motorcycle. He doesn’t look at her, though. His eyes are fixed on the road ahead of him. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was ignoring her. But the way his hands tighten around the handle bars gives him away. He pulls out of the parking lot without giving her a second look and she spins back to us in a huff, frustration written all over her face.
“That asshole! I’m riding home with you guys,” she says, not waiting for us to follow before she storms over to Everett’s truck and leans against the door with her arms crossed.
“Maybe I should talk to her,” Eli says, but Ember places a hand on his arm.
“Let her be. There’s nothing you can say to fix the situation if he doesn’t want it to be fixed, babe.” Ember says, her voice calm and sympathetic. Eli has alwaysbeen his sister’s protector, so I’m sure it’s upsetting to see her so perturbed. “We’ll talk to you guys tomorrow,” Ember gives me a tight hug and whispers in my ear, “Don’t let her go to sleep that angry.” I give her an inconspicuous nod and pull away as she moves on to hug her brother.
Rory, Everett, and I pile into his truck for the drive home. The silence stretches between us. The only sounds in the cab are small sniffles coming from Rory in the backseat. I hate that she’s hurting. She’s been such an amazing friend to me since my attack and I wish I could take away her pain the way she has for me. Pulling into the driveway, Everett barely puts the truck in park before she’s out the door and rushing inside. I fight the urge to chase after her, knowing she needs her space to decompress from tonight’s events.
“Well, that was eventful,” Everett scoffs, and laughter bubbles from my lips.
“Ya think?” I push my hair out of my face, taking a deep breath and leaning my head against the back of the seat.
“You really think Breaker is in to Rory?” He asks and I roll my eyes at his naivety.
“Yeah babe, it’s so obvious. He just doesn’t think he should be, I’m sure.” I reply.
“I don’t get that. Just do what you wanna do, ya know? We’re all adults here. Whats the big deal?” He asks, and I shrug.
“I don’t know. But I know exactly what I wanna do,” I say, giving him a sly, sexy smile. Heat flares in his eyes and he’s out of the truck, opening my door, and pushing me into the house before I can even object. Not that I would.
nineteen
After the incidentat the bar last week, Breaker has gone radio silent. Elijah and I have both tried to call him with no response. I know he’s not the type to share his feelings with anyone else, not even us, but I worry about him. He lives a solitary life and I know better than most what that can do to a mind like ours. I don’t want the darkness creeping in on him when we’re not around.
I’m closing the shop down alone tonight and everyone else has already gone home. I lock the front door, count the cash register, and walk back to my station to clean up and shut down for the night. All I can think about right now is sliding into the cool sheets of my bed and feeling Kelsea’s body wrap around mine. But I can’t shake the sense of worry I feel for Breaker.
I dial his number for the secondtime today. I’m beginning to feel like a psycho ex girlfriend. Endless ‘call me back’ voicemails bog down his phone at this point, and I won’t even address the number of texts I’ve sent. It rings once, twice, three times, and just when I’m about to hang up, I hear the line connect.
“Hello? Break?” I say, silence greeting me from the other end of the line. “Jason, what the fuck?” My use of his real name elicits a grunt of response. “Where have you been, dude? We’ve been worried about you.”
“I’m fine. What do you want, Everett?” His tone is gruff and snipped. He’s never really been a ray of sunshine, but he’s never been a straight up asshole either. At least, not until now.
“I just want to know that you’re alive, man. Excuse the fuck out of me for giving a shit.” I huff out an irritated breath, running my fingers through my hair.
I hear a heavy sigh from his end and I feel for him. I know what it feels like to be twisted up inside over a woman. The difference is, I’m more than willing to accept the fact that Kelsea has my heart and my life distorted, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world. “I’m sorry, Ev. I just…I don’t know. I just needed a break,” he says, exhaustion evident in his voice.
“I get that man. But would it kill you to send a text? I would have been happy with a ‘fuck off’ or ‘stop calling’, honestly.” I mindlessly clean my station while we talk, wiping down my table and tools meticulously.
“I hear you. I’m sorry. Really.” He sounds genuine. Iwon’t push him for any other answers tonight. He knows I’m here if he needs to talk.
A loud thud sounds from somewhere above me. What the fuck? This is a one story building and the only roof access is inside the shop. “What the hell?” I question to no one since I’m alone here.
“Whats wrong?” Breaker asks.
“I swear I heard something on the roof,” my voice trails off as I pull my pistol from the drawer of the toolbox I use in my tattoo station. I make sure I have one in the chamber before I come out of the room, phone still pressed to my ear.
“Talk to me, Ev. Whats going on?” I can hear Breaker furiously typing on his end of the line and I know he’s tapping in to our camera feeds to get a better look.
“I don’t know, yet.” I say quietly, making my way to the stairwell at the back of the shop that leads to the roof. The shop is still and quiet, only the sound of my shallow breathing filling the space around me.
