I nod. “Yeah. I don’t see him much anymore. We lost touch when I joined the Marines.”
“You were in the military? But I thought you had the scholarship to play football at U of N?” She asks.
“I needed to grow up and do something that wasn’t for myself. I was in for four years. It was long enough to do my duty and get a free ride to college.” I say, looking out at the water.
“I had no idea. Was it hard, being away?”
“It wasn’t easy. The being away part wasn’t that bad. When I came home, I joined the police academy. I’ve been with Harper Falls PD ever since.”
“Are you happy here?”
“Most of the time. Enough about me, tell me about the party. Your dad said that’s why you left.”
“He told you that?”
“Last night, when I was doing a perimeter check around your house.”
“I feel like an idiot for asking you this after all this time…”
“Ask me whatever you want to know.”
“Mindy said you planned to make a fool of me at the party. Said you were going to prove that no one wanted me at the school and that I needed to leave.”
“What the fuck?” I bark. I grab her hand and look her in the eyes, hoping she feels my sincerity. “You and I had our thing in school, but I never planned for that to happen. I would never do that to you, Roe, never! You have to believe me. I didn’t hate you. I was in love with you and didn’t know what to do with how I felt.”
I watch a range of emotions cross over her face before she gets up and walks away from me.
“Where are you going?” I ask, running after her. “Roe, stop,” I say, catching up to her. I stand in front of her and look into her eyes, her cheeks wet with tears. “What’s wrong? What did I say?”
“You made high school miserable because you thought you were in love with me?” She screams, wiping angrily at her face.
“I was a fucking idiot back then.”
“You can say that again.” She growls sexily.
A smile curves at my mouth, and she points at me. “Don’t!”
“I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend, right here that night forever ago. I got carried away, and when you left me, I got pissed. My pride took a hit, and I didn’t handle it right. I tried talking to you, but you wouldn’t see me. Then I saw you in homeroom talking to Justin, and it made things worse. I’m sorry for everything that happened that night and after. I’m sorry I was a dumbass of epic proportions. I just wanted you to talk to me, and picking at you was the only way I knew how to get you to do it. It was so stupid. I was so stupid.”
The silence is heavy as Monroe searches my face trying to decide what to believe. My heart is beating fast, realizing I just laid it all out on the line. Most of it anyway.
“I should have let you explain after that night, but I was so mad at you. Then you kept making me mad. I can be stubborn when people hurt me. It’s hard for me to forgive.”
“I’m a bit of a stubborn ass myself if you haven’t noticed,” I say, making her laugh. “I like it when you do that. You should laugh more often.”
“God no, my laugh is obnoxious.”
I shake my head. “No. It’s beautiful, just like you.”
Monroe bites her bottom lip. “Come here.”
When I step towards her, she stands on her tiptoes and pulls me down by my shirt and kisses me softly. My arms circle her waist and hold her close as I let her explore, giving her time, finally doing it right. When she finally pulls away, I open my eyes to see that she’s smiling wider than I’ve ever seen before. “Now that was a kiss.”
“Yes, it was,” I say, taking her hand in mine and lacing our fingers together.
“I need to get back to work, but if you still want to go on that date tonight, I’m game.”
“Perfect.”
Chapter Seven
Monroe
I can’t believe I’m walking off the dock holding Cam’s hand. I never thought this would happen after everything we’ve been through, but I’m learning everything might not be what I thought it was.
We turn toward the parking lot, and that’s when I see him. Brent is standing near my car, pointing a gun in our direction. I freeze, but Cam pushes me behind him, his other hand reaching behind him to grab his gun.
“She’s mine, Beckett!” Brent yells.
“Take it easy. Why don’t you put the gun down? I know you don’t want to scare her.” Cam says, trying to talk him down.
Brent shakes his head, his cold eyes trained on me as he talks to Cam. “Let her go, and I won’t kill you.”
“I can’t do that. Put the gun down, and then we can talk.”
“Cam, what are we going to do?” I murmur.
“When I say duck, drop to the ground and cover your head.”
“Shit!”
“Monroe, come here Baby. You don’t want your friend to get hurt because of you.” Brent calls, edging toward us slowly.
“Don’t you do it, Roe.” Cam whispers.
“He’s going to shoot you!” I whisper shout. “I can’t let you die because of me.”
“Stop talking!” Brent screams, firing his gun at our feet.
Screw it. I step away from Cam, and Brent’s gun follows me.
“Please don’t do this, Brent. It doesn’t have to be this way.”
Shaking his head, I watch as he cocks the gun and puts his finger on the trigger.
Cam yells “Duck!” and I fall to the ground, squeezing my eyes shut as several shots ring out. I expect to feel a bullet or two tear through my body, but after a few seconds and nothing, I open my eyes to find Brent lying on the ground with blood covering his shirt.
“Fuck! Monroe, are you hurt?” Cam asks, rushing to my side. He pats down my sides with shaking hands.
“I’m okay,” I say, sitting up. Then I get a look at Cam, and I’m worried. “But you’re not. You’ve been fucking shot!”
“It’s just a flesh wound, Roe.” He shrugs then automatically winces.
“Flesh wound my ass. Put pressure on that!” I stand up, looking around frantically. “Shit, I don’t have my phone. I must have left it in my car. We need to call the police.”
Cam grins, and I worry the gunshot is going to his head. “Why are you smiling right now?”
“I am the police.”
“Good, call your people, and get them over here now!” I growl.
***
Several hours and a hospital trip later, I’ve got Cam home resting in bed. After Cam called the police station, his Captain showed up along with several other officers less than ten minutes later. Cam surprised me when he hung up, walked over to Brent, then kneeled down to check his pulse. He looked up at me and shook his head, telling me what I already assumed. Brent was gone. A big part of me felt relieved, but a small part of me hated he had to die to get him out of my life.
Once Cam spoke to his Captain, he was loaded up into the ambulance but refused to leave for the hospital until I got in there with him. After we arrived, he was rushed back, and I sat in the waiting room. While waiting, I checked my phone I had grabbed before leaving the scene and saw several missed calls and texts from my parents. I gave them a call and let them know what happened, and they promised to meet me here. Thirty minutes later, and the little waiting room was packed with Cam’s parents and sister, my parents, Cam’s partner, and me.