Page 22 of The Air You Breathe

Iwoke up feeling like something bad had happened. My stomach was in knots and my palms were clammy. Jane texted me yesterday afternoon that Cal had a fight, and that she was extremely worried. He was paired up with a guy who was a seasoned fighter, known to be a brutal fighter and shady as fuck. It was hard to find the words to comfort her, but I tried my best, asking for an update after the fight. I stayed up hoping to hear from her but when she hadn’t texted by midnight, I went to bed hoping for the best.

It was hard to get out of bed this morning, since I had only about four hours of sleep. Once I remembered Jane never texted me, I was wide awake, anxious for an update. I also thought about Evan for a second, hoping he was helping them and that he was ok too.

Thankfully it was a busy morning, giving me little time to think or worry about Jane. It was mid-morning when I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket. Grabbing a breakfast taco and a few pastries, I charged them quickly before I went to the back and asked Mary to watch the front for a second.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket seeing a missed call from Jane and text from her saying he had won, but he wasn’t doing well.

I called her immediately.

“Hey,” she answered, sounding exhausted.

“What happened? Are you ok?” I asked quickly.

Jane went on to explain the entire night like she had to get it off her chest. Cal took a beating but managed to win the fight. Since they didn’t go to the hospital Jane could only assume he had broken ribs and a concussion.

“Are you ok?” I was more worried about her.

“I don’t know, but Darcy, I have never felt this kind of hate for another person. I fuckinghateLucio.” The venom in her voice was a little startling but I could see where she was coming from. I hated him too.

“He is an awful fucking person, Jane, and I hope one day he gets what’s coming to him.” I let all my anger bleed into my tone.

“Me too, Darcy.”

“I’m glad you’re ok but I will call you after my shift,” I said, glancing at the front, seeing the line was getting longer. “I also want to go out for drinks for my birthday, so we can talk about that.”

“Shit, I’m sorry Darcy, I didn’t mean to call you while you were working. Girl, you know I’m always up for a drink especially if it's to celebrate you. Call me later!” Jane made some kissing sounds.

“Bye girl.” I smiled as I hung up the phone.

I was so glad she came to Mountain View, she was an amazing friend. I went back to the front to relieve a flustered Mary. She really did hate people, making me chuckle because why she thought opening a coffee shop was a good idea, still blew my mind.

Now that a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, I went back to work feeling so much better. Once lunchtime rolled around and things had settled down, I worked on getting things cleaned and reorganized. I wiped down the tables that some people had used and went into the back to bring in more pastries. The bell on the door signaled a customer and I walked out to see Dev walking to the counter in his coveralls. He normally didn’t come in this late and usually only came in when Ava was with him.

His face was slightly swollen on one side, looking like he got punched in his face. I glanced down at his knuckles seeing them split and bruised too.

“Hey are you ok?” I wondered what the hell had happened to him.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” he said, looking a little embarrassed. “A run-in with a disgruntled out-of-towner.”

“You want an ice pack?” I offered, because for some reason seeing him like this made me uneasy.

“That would be great, my head is killing me,” he said, with an uncomfortable look on his face.

“Hold up,” I said, going into the back for an ice pack we kept back here for emergencies and some ibuprofen.

“That boy looks like hell,” Mary peeked out. When she saw what I had in my hand she raised her brows at me. “Darcy, I didn’t ever think I would see you being nice to the opposite sex.”

I rolled my eyes at her.

“I think he’s a good kid; he might just be in a shit situation,” Mary said, before I left to the front.

“I thought you didn’t believe in the rumors?” I asked quietly, so he didn’t overhear us.

“That boy looks like he’s been through rough times, and I wouldn’t doubt it was at the hands of his father.” She looked angry for a moment. “His mother hasn’t said so in so many words, but I know for a fact they used to be together. I do know he is one hell of a brother to his sister and helps his mom as much as he can.”

All these questions entered my mind, and I wanted nothing more than to pick Mary’s brain about him, but he was waiting for me.

“This isn’t the last time we talk about this,” I warned, walking back out to see Dev looking at the pastries.

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