Two knocks sound on the door and I glance up to see Maverick, my best friend and associate, standing in front of me.
“Dude, you alright?” he asks.
I watch as he adjusts his position where he stands, leaning against the door frame, eyeing me as I shuffle through the papers strewn all over my desk.
I’m a mess. This office is a mess. Everything is a fucking mess.
“Yeah, if I could only find the fucking paper with the—ah! Here it is,” I sigh, falling back into my seat in relief.
Maverick and I have been friends since we were young. I grew up living in Arbor Creek, which is where I went to high school. When I wasn’t staying at home with my mom, I was likely in Everton staying with my aunt Samantha. Most of our time was spent down at the local skatepark with my cousin, Gage. It’s where I met Dean and Maverick.
“How is your mom doing?” Mav asks, crossing his arms in front of him.
“She didn’t get much sleep last night. I ran home to shower and change this morning, so I stopped by on my way into the office and she had fallen back asleep. I’m going to stop over again on lunch to check on her.”
“Well, if you need anything man, just let me know. You’ve been there for me a lot this past month,” Maverick says. “You tend to focus on everyone else around you, but you know I got your six.”
Maverick has had enough of his own shit to worry about without me burdening him with my problems. Serving his second tour in Afghanistan, he got a call his father had passed. He returned home early to take care of everything. Nothing could’ve prepared him for the shit he was leaving behind him. What they thought was the end of their tour ended with him receiving a call informing him his team had been hit by a roadside bomb. He lost half his platoon.
The two of us combined have lost our fair share of people close to us. It’s a constant reminder to never take life for granted.
The sound of my phone rings and immediately thinking of my mom, I swipe it from where it sits on my desk. When I see the name, I know it’s important too.
“I’m gonna take this,” I say, motioning to Maverick.
Looking up at Maverick, he nods his head as I answer the call.
“G, I got some news for you.”
“What do ya know?”
“I got a call a few minutes ago. Krate was spotted outside of Brodie’s last weekend. I don’t know what it was about, my informant couldn’t say, but I know he was meeting with one of Hendrich’s guys.”
“Fuck!” I grunt. Hendrich is known for his sketchy past. Just last month he was in jail for drug related charges.
“I know, man. It’s only a matter of time though. He’ll fuck up and we’ll catch him.”
“Yeah, but how many other lives are at risk having that son of a bitch out on the streets. He deserves to be locked behind bars and to know he’s fucking around with Hendrich further proves so.”
“I hear ya, man. I’ll stay in touch with my contact and keep you in the loop if I hear anything else.”
Hanging up the phone, I yell for Maverick to come back in my office.
“What was that about?”
“Turns out Krate is back into some bullshit.”
I know Maverick understands the weight of what I’m saying. I was the one who put Gage there that night, but Krate is still responsible for his own actions.
“We will get him, G. It’ll happen.”
“I want you to keep on him for me. If you hear anything, let me know. I have to check on my mom, make sure she’s alright,” I say, picking up my baseball cap off the coat rack behind me.
“Oh, and do me a favor, do something about those papers on my fucking desk. Will ya?”
With the sound of his laugh behind me, I duck my head from the sun as I head out the door.
It’s after seven o’clock when I finally make it out of the office and home for the night. Running on six hours of sleep, the smart decision would be for me to go home and call it a night. Then, there’s the other side of me, the one thinking about the text about going to Brodie’s tonight that’s winning out. A group of my friends are going out tonight to celebrate Callum and Ellie’s engagement. Knowing Halle will be there and the thought of seeing Halle again is the reason why I head home to change out of my work clothes instead of putting on some gym shorts and a movie.
It’s been weeks since I’ve seen her, but the thought of her walking down the hall in nothing but her towel is not something that’s been far from my mind. It’s made it hard to fall asleep every night.
She’s done a good job of evading me around town, for the most part. I know she’s been by to see my mom a couple of times. I’ve noticed the yellow daisies sitting on the table, her favorite flower. When I went back last week, there were two cupcakes on a plate in the kitchen. My mom insisted she brought one by for the two of us.
It’s a quarter to nine when I pull up to Brodie’s. Parking out back, I walk in through the side door. I spot Mason and Callum standing near the bar, along with our friends, Brannon and Wes.
“Look who decided to finally come hang out with his friends!” Callum shouts over the loud music. His broad grin takes over his face. Happiness looks good on him.
I’m surprised when I don’t see any of the girls standing around them. I knew coming out tonight was going to put me right back to where we were in high school. My eyes survey the crowd at the bar tonight. It doesn’t take long before my eyes fall on the beautiful long blonde hair and sun-kissed skin I know belong to Halle. She’s standing next to Kinsley and Ellie, who I had a chance of meeting when I had to stop out at Callum’s place earlier this week to help install a security system.
It takes work, but I force my eyes away from her and back to Callum.
“What’s up, man? I guess I should officially congratulate you now.” I smile. It’s the first genuine smile I’ve felt in a while and I feel the weight of the bullshit going on ease a little bit.
“Thanks, brother. Who would’ve thought I’d be the first one to officially tie the knot?”
He’s right though, even if it’s hard to hear. I’m reminded again Halle’s not too far from me. Remorse is written all over Callum’s face, showing he hadn’t intended for it to come across like it had sounded.
Reaching out, I clap my hand on Callum’s back and congratulate him again. Even if the past keeps getting thrown back in front of me, I genuinely am happy for my friend.
“Well, look who it is!” Her loud cheerful voice booms from behind me. Stepping back from Callum, I turn to see Kinsley with her chocolate brown hair curled over her shoulder holding a shot of what appears to be whiskey in her hand.
I can feel Halle’s eyes on me. Our bodies have always been so in tune with one another. I do my best to not turn my head and look at her. The fear of not knowing what look I’ll find staring at me is what has me resisting.
Reaching my arms out, I pull Kinsley into a close hug.
“It’s good to see you again,” she murmurs in my ear, low enough for only me to hear over the crowd of people and music blaring through the speakers.
“It’s good to see you too. Oh, and just so you know, I’m getting you back for that little run-in you planned,” I quip. Outside of sending her a text message calling her a “little shit” I never did mention to her what her little surprise led to.