Page 3 of Chasing Infinity

Sully sets his coffee down on a neighboring desk and gently places his doughnut on top. "Yeah, but I didn't think you'd be here that quickly."

I roll my eyes and take a few steps towards him, noticing the shiny new badge under his nameplate: Sheriff. "Whoa, man, congrats on the promotion. Dear old Dad, finally hand over the reins?"

Charlie grimaces and shakes his head. "Ah, no. He passed away last year heart attack."

I press my lips together and freeze for a brief second before regaining my mojo. "Well, shit, man. I'm sorry to hear that."

"It was pretty sudden, like someone just pointed their finger at him and muttered a curse or something. One second he was here, and then he was gone. Kind of like what happened with your mom, I guess," he says sheepishly, looking up at me like he's afraid I'm going to punch him in the throat. "I'm sorry, by the way."

I cross my arms over my chest and hold his gaze. "Thanks, it was a bit of a shock."

"Understandable. I was the one who arrived on the scene first, you know?"

I know, I say to myself, my mind darting back to Addison this morning. "Well, I'm glad you were there."

"Me too," he says, his eyes locked on mine.

"I'm not really sure how to do this." As I stare at my old schoolmate, I stay quiet for another moment. I clear my throat and he glances back at me with an eyebrow raised.

Charlie laughs humorlessly. "It's okay. I'm not looking for a hug or anything."

"Okay, good," I say with a sigh of relief. "Now, can we get to business?"

"By all means, my office is this way."

He leads us back past all the desks belonging to his deputies into an office. His workspace is spotless, of course. I follow him in, and he shuts the door behind me, reaching over to pull the blinds closed.

"First things first, thanks for the note; you know I love a cryptic message," I shoot at him. He opens his mouth to retort, but I hold up a hand, not finished. "Second, would you care to explain to me why I ran into Parks? Here in Willow Heights, of all places?"

Charlie grimaces again and moves around to sit in his chair, taking a moment to answer me. "I was hoping to talk to you before you ran into her."

"So this is a thing then," I speculate. "She's actually still here. After you told me you'd convince her to leave?"

"Noah, listen, it's not that—"

"You gave me your word, Charlie," I growl back at him. "How the fuck are we supposed to do this when she's still here, still at risk? My dad knows about her and isn't afraid to risk her life again to prove a point. Especially with me being back here."

"She wouldn't leave."

"Well, then, you did a shitty job of convincing her."

"It's more complicated than that. Look, I'll be the first to admit I could have done more, but she wouldn't leave. Not after she saw you in New York a few years back. She was set to go, but I dunno, man, that gave her hope or something."

"Is that it? That's the story you're sticking to?"

He hesitates a moment too long. "Yep."

"I can tell you're hiding something, Sullivan. You're a shit liar, and you always have been. What, has she found someone else?"

By his expression, I already know the answer. That's fine. I told her not to wait for me. Honestly, I'd be surprised if she didn't have another man. Parks is a catch. "Who is it?"

"Don't ask me that."

"Okay, you've just narrowed it down to about five people. Go ahead and just rip the bandaid off."

He holds up a single finger. "I want to make it known for the record that I didn't want to tell you this, but you basically forced it out of me." I roll my eyes, and he continues, "It's Eli."

Mother fucker.

---