16. Theo
THEO
Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch
Dale Garrett: New bottled water in stock now! Get it while you can!
Comments:
Atticus Thompson: Is it that fancy spring water? Save me a few, will ya?
Hu Gh: BACK IN MY DAY WE DRANK FROM THE HOSE
Tammy Jane: Oh, here we go . . .
Hu Gh: LOOK AT ME. I TURNED OUT FINE!!!
Wren Hackett: Why don’t we consult your ass, which is SOMEHOW STILL IN THE GROUP!
I still felt the simmering rage when I pulled up to my house. It had followed me all day to the point that Kelsey had asked if I was okay. I wasn’t. While I would never make Piper feel bad for what she had told me, it was horrible to hear.
And I still didn’t understand why she trusted me with it in the first place.
My feelings didn’t stop the day, though, and I had to serve all of my customers with the best attitude I could. But this was the first time since I’d opened the coffee shop that I was tempted to let Kelsey take over the front while I hid out in the back.
It was no secret to me that Piper affected me in ways that I didn’t understand. I felt what she felt, and I cared about how she handled things. I would never step in and take over for her, but I wanted to see her succeed because she wanted to as well.
Now that I knew the truth about her past, though, I understood what kind of a mountain she was climbing. It would be fair for her to hide out forever, to give into the fear and live half a life. Many would.
She was stronger than I realized.
Admittedly, I’d had an idea of what had happened to her. One didn’t just develop a fear of touch. I simply hadn’t known all the details. And maybe it was better that way.
With a sigh, I slammed the car door and went into the house.
Over the years, I had put in a lot of work on this place.
I emptied it out, took down the wallpaper, painted every room, and refinished the floors.
I had found and fixed all of the small things that had come up.
At first, it had been a lot of trial and error.
I had to look up videos on how to fix things, but that led me to working as a handyman for the rest of the town once Marj figured out I was good with a hammer.
That was the main reason I was able to open the coffee shop. I was grateful for it. And these days, I didn’t have to do a ton of maintenance on my home. I was grateful for that too.
It was a home now, more than I ever had when I was a kid.
Still, I didn’t decorate it. I’d always lived off the bare minimum, purely because I was afraid of having to leave everything behind.
The plan was to fix this place up and sell it in order to make a profit and move on when I had to leave town.
The goal, as with anything, was to never get attached.
And in some ways, like my dating life, I had done well.
And in others, I’d failed miserably.
I fell onto the couch and rubbed a hand over my face.
When Arlo had come into town, I was so sure that it was the moment that I would have to leave. I would have to close my coffee shop and move on. It was always a possibility with a past like mine, but the reality of actually having to face it terrified me.
When I first became a handyman, I learned a lot of things about the people in this town, which made me care about them.
Now that I served them coffee and worked with them every day, it had only grown worse. I meant what I said to Piper. I would leave if she asked. Besides, I needed to, eventually.
I just didn’t want to.
So when she turned me down and even offered to still come into the coffee shop, relief hit me like I’d never known.
And that told me that one day I was going to break my own heart when I inevitably had to leave this place.
She and Mike might have been more tolerant of my past than I deserved.
But if anyone else in this town ever figured out who I was, it would be over for me.
I knew I couldn’t dwell on this long, so I forced myself to get off the couch and go into the kitchen to make myself some dinner. I hoped that while bustling around I would forget about my day, but it lingered on my mind. Every single part of it too.
It was tempting to fixate on what happened with Piper and dwell on what would happen if the town ever figured out what she knew. I trusted Mike, but I had no idea what he would tell people. So far, I hadn’t seen anything in the Facebook group to indicate that something was going on.
Maybe I was lucky.
I never did much social media after leaving my life behind. I didn’t want anyone to find me. But when it became obvious that I would get business through the town’s Facebook page, I’d caved and made an account just so I could get customers.
For the longest time, it stayed only as something for the town. I used it for the group and nothing else.
But every now and again, the past would sneak up on me, and I would remember those that I wanted to forget. Sometimes late at night, I would look up Arlo or other members of my family. There wasn’t much of a trail, but what I saw reminded me of why I had left.
There was one person, however, that I looked into more than others.
I remembered the people that I hurt with my past. I remembered the kid that I saved. He’d been five years younger than me. His parents didn’t give a shit about him, and I was happy to get him out of there.
Looking him up was second nature.
In the last year, Alex had been doing well. I was pretty sure he lived somewhere nearby, maybe Nashville, and he had his own business working on cars that kept him busy.
Some digging told me that one of his foster families had officially adopted him right before he turned eighteen. Now he was in his early thirties living life.
I was thrilled to see it.
He’d grown a lot in the time I’d watched from afar. But I could still see the same kid that I knew. I could also still see the scars from the past. His smile never reached his eyes, and he always looked a little haunted, even if his life had turned around.
Back when I first got on Facebook, he had friend requested me within days.
I wasn’t sure how he’d found me, but he’d sent a message asking how I was doing.
We talked this way now and again. I imagined he didn’t love what I stood for back then, but I had a feeling he still wanted me to see that he’d made something of himself.
He didn’t have another reason to talk to me, after all.
With a small smile, I liked one of the pictures of him and a car he was working on. Next to him, there was a woman he was smiling over at.
The expression was a genuine one. More so than I’d ever seen in any of his other photos.
A moment later, a message popped up on my phone.
Alex
Hey, how are you?
I tapped on the screen, wondering if I should even answer. Sometimes I didn’t. Other times, I couldn’t help it.
Theo
Busier than usual. The coffee shop I opened is doing well.
Alex
I saw someone post about it. I’m surprised you let them take pictures.
Theo
I didn’t know, but I’ll take the exposure.
Alex
That’s really good. I’m glad you tried something new.
I sighed, wondering if he thought I’d done this using money from my family. Both of us avoided the topic, mostly because we’d met through them. I hadn’t wanted to bring up the past, and neither did he.
Theo
Who was the woman in the picture?
Alex
Her name is Quinn. She’s my sister’s friend.
Alex
Don’t get any ideas. She doesn’t like me very much.
Theo
You actually smiled in that photo.
Alex
Don’t even start. She hates me. I don’t know why I even posted it.
Alex
When are you going to have something that I can make fun of? You need to date someone, man. I have no ammo.
I thought of Piper, and it made me pause.
Then I shook my head. I needed to say my usual and not think twice about it.
Theo
Still not happening. Who knows how long I’ll be here.
Alex typed, stopped, and then typed again.
He never answered, and I put my phone away, trying not to be disappointed.