32. Goldie
Chapter 32
Goldie
WILLA
I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I need you to get down here and wait tables.
Goldie
This is me calling in.
No. Something’s wrong. Get over here.
Willa…
Don’t make me call Mom
Fine. I’ll be there but I won’t like it
Works for me
F igures that my own sister won’t let me take a day off. It was easy to convince JJ to leave me alone the past few days, but Willa? No such luck.
I pull on jeans and a T-shirt and brush my teeth, but she’s got another thing coming if she thinks I’m going to brush my hair and put on makeup. There’s only so much I can be expected to do with a broken heart.
Because yes, Matty fucking broke my heart. That asshole wormed his way in, perfectly content to have me as his little secret. But when the news got out and he had to face reality?
Poof. Done.
I swipe at the tears and start my Jeep, then see the cowboy duck on the dashboard.
…And the tears come in earnest now. I slump in the seat, powerless to fight them. I’ve been crying for over forty-eight hours now, so what’s another few minutes?
Finally, I pull myself together with a hiccup. He’s not an asshole. He’s just…stupid.
Really, really stupid.
When I get to the diner, Mom’s already there and wiping down the menus. “Goldie!” she gasps, grabbing my arms and leading me to the counter. “Honey, what happened?” She leans in and lowers her voice. “Is it James?”
Willa looks through the serving window from where she stands in the kitchen, chopping onions. “Goldie?” Her brow furrows when she sees me.
I swallow hard and wave them both away. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be okay.”
Willa’s face softens. “Do you need to go home?”
I shake my head, realizing that home is actually the last place I want to be. Every room makes me think of Matty. “No.” I sniff. I stand and grab the silverware and napkins, then start rolling the silverware. I need to lose myself in anything that isn’t thoughts of him, and this is the perfect way to start.
Mom rubs my back but doesn’t push for details, which is honestly a miracle. I must really look like shit.
Tom and Jerry make their shuffling way in as soon as Mom flips the sign to Open and unlocks the door. I pour their coffees.
“The heck happened to you, girlie?” Tom asks. “You look terrible.”
Jerry swats him. “You’re not supposed to comment on how a woman looks, Tom!”
“Since when?”
“Since forever,” Jerry shoots back. “Have some manners.”
“I have manners. Watch this.” Tom turns to me, one of his suspenders slipping off his flannel-checked shoulder. “Goldie, dear, your bedraggled state and lack of smiles indicate that you are in distress. How may we assist? Is there someone to whom we need to defend your honor?”
Willa snorts behind me, and despite my sorrow, the tiniest of smiles makes its way onto my face.
“Good Lord,” Jerry moans, then turns his attention to me. “Ignore him. You’re allowed to look however you want to look. And if that means wearing clothes that even Willa wouldn’t be caught in, and wearing your hair like, well, whatever that is, then you go for it. Girl power!” He raises a shaky hand halfway into the air, which I’m pretty sure is as far as it’ll go.
“I heard that,” Willa says behind me.
“Do you honestly think that was better than me?” Tom asks Jerry. “Get some class.”
“I’ve got class—it’s why Sue agreed to date me instead of you.”
“Only because I told Sue I felt sorry for you!” Tom sputters.
“Are you lying about my wife?” Color rises on Jerry’s cheeks. “My beloved? Outside, sir!”
“Ach, get over yourself.” Tom waves Jerry’s threats away and looks back at me. “We’re here if you need us.”
I pat both their hands as Jerry continues to mutter. “Thank you both. You’re very kind.”
More customers begin to arrive, and I lose myself in the shift, thankful for how busy it gets and even more grateful that Matty himself doesn’t show up.
Ox and Reid do, however, and I send yet another prayer of gratitude to the diner gods when they go to the counter instead of sitting at the open table. All I have to do is avoid them, and all will be well.
“Goldie.” Ox’s voice is soft and gentle as I walk past, and against my better judgment, I turn to him.
“Hi, Ox. You doing okay?”
“I’ve been better.”
I peer closer. He actually doesn’t look so well. Smudges of purple beneath his eyes hint at a lack of sleep, and he’s got days-old stubble. “What’s going on?”
Reid touches my elbow and looks at Ox. “She needs to work, Ox. This isn’t the time.”
Ox shakes his head, his hulking form seeming to deflate before my eyes. “I know, but I—” He stops and looks up at me. “I’m so sorry, Goldie. It’s all my fault.”
I look between him and Reid, confused. “I don’t understand.”
Reid blows out a breath. “It’s not your fault, Ox. If it’s anyone’s, it’s probably mine. I’m the one who asked him if it was serious.”
My body goes hot. “You what ?”
“I’m the one who said it was Liv Stinson!” Ox exclaims.
I swivel my glare to Ox. “You… what ?” I repeat, gritting my teeth. Fucking Liv Stinson.
“Reid made Matty spill everything at the bar, and we might have all said some things we regret,” Ox says, his words fumbling out. “And now you’re here looking sad, Matty won’t talk to us, Willa’s irritated no one will tell her what’s going on, and it’s our fault.”
Horrified, I look at Reid. “You still haven’t said anything?”
“I told you I wouldn’t. It’s obvious I messed things up enough; no way was I going to go tell your sister your business. Especially when it seems like things are…bad.”
I don’t know if I should laugh, cry, or scream.
I do know that the tears are coming.
I whirl away from them and untie my apron, shoving it at Mom. “I’m sorry,” I choke. “But I can’t.”
“What in the world?” Mom asks, her eyes wide and searching as she takes the apron. “Honey?”
I don’t answer, barging into the kitchen and moving through it to the back office. Only when I’m in there and the door is shut do I let go. Tears stream down my face as I try to make sense of what Reid and Ox just said.
No . It doesn’t matter. Whatever they said or didn’t say, the fact is that Matty made his own decision.
A knock comes at the door and Willa comes in, a chef’s knife in her hand. “What’s going on?” she demands.
I make a feeble attempt at wiping the tears away, and wave at her hand. “Put down the knife and I’ll tell you.”
She startles and looks down. “Oh,” she says sheepishly. “I didn’t know I still had it.”
“Why does that not surprise me?” I murmur.
She sets the knife down and sits in the chair opposite me. “Is this about James?”
I meet her eyes. I know we said we’d tell her together, but that was before he ripped my heart to shreds. “It’s about Matty.”
She blinks. “Matty? What did he do?”
Tears flood my eyes again as I say, “He broke my heart.”
“Are you sure I don’t need my knife?” she asks, not skipping a beat.
I laugh and grab a tissue from the box on the desk, then blow my nose. “No knife. Not yet, anyway.”
She grunts. “We’ll see about that. What did my best friend do to my baby sister?”
On a sigh, I admit it. “It was always him, Willa. James. James is Matty.”
Her jaw hits the floor. “Oh my God. Come here.” She pulls my hand until I’m up and sitting in her lap, and her arms wrap around me and squeeze.
My tears come even harder as I squeeze her back. “It hurts, Willa. So much.”
She rubs a soothing hand in circles on my back and lets me cry, because she is the best sister in the history of sisters.
“I should have told you as soon as I knew. I’m so sorry,” I sniff.
Still holding onto me, she reaches for the box of tissues and brings them closer. “I don’t care. That had to be a lot to carry, though. For both of you.”
I straighten to blow my nose again and nod, finally meeting her eyes. My voice is tiny and small when I say, “He’s being a stupid, scared asshole.”
Her mouth quirks up. “Doesn’t surprise me in the least. Do you want to tell me what happened?”
I sit back in my own chair, and ten minutes later, she’s heard everything.
“How dumb can he possibly be?” she seethes.
I smile sadly and toss a crumpled tissue in the trash can. “You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be mad?”
“That your best friend and little sister were dating.”
She reaches for my hand and squeezes. “Nevers. You like who you like. Am I sad that you didn’t think you could talk to me about it? A little, but that’s okay. You know,” she muses, “Reid thought you two had a thing when he first got here.”
I shrug. “Reid and Ox are involved, too. Reid figured it out when we were at the pier, and after he and Ox talked to Matty, that’s when Matty called it off. But I’m still not exactly sure what happened, and I don’t blame those two.”
Willa grunts as she stands and grabs the knife. “I need to talk to Reid.”
I wince. “Maybe not with a sharp object in your hand?”
She raises an eyebrow. “We’ll see.”