Missing Pieces - Chapter 56
Tyler
Friday
"Stevens?"
I lifted my head. A police officer was walking toward me. Maybe I was finally allowed to have my phone call. I had asked enough times.
I stood up.
"All your charges have been dropped."
"Really?"
"Don't sound so surprised, son. Makes you sound guilty," he said with a laugh as he unlocked my cell. "You're free to go."
Free to go? Just like that? I had been thrown into a cell in California, driven across the country in handcuffs, and then sat in this cell for God knows how long without anyone telling me anything. "What happened? Did they find who did it?"
"Oh, yeah. A while ago. It was Isabella Hunter. But the detective working on the case was crooked. Paperwork was a nightmare. Sorry about the confusion."
Confusion? That's what they were calling it? "What about the marines?"
"You can re-enlist if you want, I guess. There won't be anything on your record about this incident now. You're all clear."
Re-enlist? The first thing that popped into my head was Hailey. Right now she needed me. If I still wanted, I could do this in the future. But not right now. I needed to see her. I needed to know if she read my letter. I needed to know what she was thinking.
I signed some papers, grabbed my things, and stepped out into the sunshine.
The light was blinding. I blinked several times before I could see anything.
I was standing in the middle of NYC, my least favorite place in the world.
My car was still in California. And I didn't even have Hailey's phone number to call her. Shit.
I opened up my wallet. I had given Hailey everything.
All the money in my bank account. My credit cards so that she could max them out for the money she needed.
All I had was $37 in cash. It was at least enough for me to get back to my old apartment.
After a shower and a change of clothes, I'd figure something out.
I hailed down a taxi and climbed in the back seat.
I had some money hidden in a drawer in my apartment.
It might be enough to rent a car. My plan started to form in my head as the taxi slowly drove through the city.
I'd pack up some essentials and drive to Hails' Bar where we had met.
If I drove non-stop I could make it there by tomorrow morning.
Luckily the taxi only cost $20. I paid the driver and entered my apartment building.
I made a silent prayer that Melissa wouldn't be there.
Hopefully she had moved out by now. I didn't want to see anyone, because I knew I couldn't explain my thoughts.
Maybe I was out of my mind. But I just needed to see Hailey.
It's the only thing I could focus on. It's like I knew she needed me.
I knew I needed her. Please need me back.
I put the key into my door and opened it.
Penny was sitting on the living room floor, taping up a box.
"Oh, finally, I'm starving," she said without looking back at me.
She looked different somehow. Maybe it was the fact that she was married. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't have feelings for her anymore. But she did look different. Everything was different.
"Hi, Penny."
She immediately looked over her shoulder. "Tyler?" She looked surprised to see me. "Tyler!" She ran over to me and threw her arms around my neck.
And I felt nothing. No spark. No rush. Nothing. Usually a moment like this would have killed me a bit inside. But not anymore. I was glad to know she was okay, though. She had a smile on her face as she stepped back from me.
"What are you doing here?"
"I live here. What are you doing here?"
She laughed. "I'm helping Melissa pack. What I meant was why didn't you call me to say you were back?"
"I'm not really back. I just need to grab a few things.
I have to go somewhere." I couldn't explain myself to her.
I didn't want to. I walked past her into my bedroom and opened up my sock drawer.
I pulled out the small stack of money. There was only $112.
Shit was that enough to rent a car? I sat down on the edge of my bed and typed in car rentals in my phone.
"Tyler, are you okay?" She hesitated by the door of my room.
"I'm fine." I recounted the money. It wasn't enough. Did car rental places negotiate? I stared at the information on my phone. Shit. They required a credit card just in case there were any damages.
"Tyler?"
"What?!" I didn't mean to snap at her. I instantly felt terrible when I saw her face.
She pressed her lips together. "Melissa and James will be back any minute with some pizza if you want to eat with us. Or, just in case you want to leave before they get back. I'll leave you alone." She walked away from my bedroom.
Damn it. I quickly changed and then stuffed the money into my pocket. I grabbed a few changes of clothes and shoved them into an old backpack. When I walked out of my room, Penny was sitting on the floor again, taping up another box.
"I'm sorry, Penny. I'm just in a hurry."
"It's okay," she said without looking at me. "I'm actually just going to get going. I'll tell them I'd rather do this another day." She stood up and grabbed her purse off the couch.
"You don't have to go."
"Actually I do. I'm so tired of always being in your way. For the last few years it's seemed like I was holding you back. And I don't know how to fix it. I don't know what you want me to do." She wiped the tears away from underneath of her eyes. "So I'm just going to stop bothering you."
I walked over to her and hugged her hard. "You were never in my way."
She wrapped her arms around my back. "I never meant to hurt you. I just want you to be happy. That's all I ever wanted, Tyler."
"I know." I had known that all along. For the past three years I had made myself unhappy by pining over her.
That wasn't her fault. It was mine. Penny wasn't a cure to all my problems. I had learned more about myself in the past few weeks than I had in those three years that I was being an idiot.
I'm pretty sure I needed the pain of her rejection to cover up the pain of missing my dad.
The pain of feeling guilty. And I would always be grateful for her distraction.
I needed her because of that. But I didn't need to mask my feelings anymore. I found someone who understood me.
"Are you happy? Does Hailey make you happy?" She kept her arms wrapped around me.
"Yes."
"Then what are you doing here? Go get her." She leaned back slightly so she could smile up at me.
"Great, you set her off again," Melissa said.
I released Penny from my hug and turned to see Melissa and James standing by the door. Neither one of them looked excited to see me.
Penny laughed as she wiped away the rest of her tears.
"And before you say anything, don't flatter yourself, Tyler. She wasn't crying over you," Melissa said.
"I didn't..."
"We brought the pizza you requested, hot momma," Melissa continued, cutting me off.
"And the watermelon," James said and placed it on the counter.
He put his hand down on the counter beside the watermelon.
It almost looked like he needed to do it to steady himself.
He looked paler than I remembered. And skinnier.
Penny had looked so healthy that I had completely forgotten about what they had just been through.
He was recovering from three gunshot wounds.
Since I had been trying so hard to ignore the news, that was the extent of what I knew.
But it was pretty clear that he shouldn't have been carrying a huge watermelon through the city.
The smile he gave Penny hid his grimace.
"And the pickles," Melissa said and placed a bag on the counter beside the rest of the food.
I wanted to ask James how he was feeling. But I knew James was trying to hide his pain. I wasn't going to hurt his pride by asking. If there was one thing I knew about him, it was that he didn't like to look weak. Instead I said, "Weird lunch combination," as I looked back at Penny.
She shrugged. "That's because..." she glanced at James and smiled. "...I'm pregnant."
"What?"
Now she was beaming. "I'm pregnant!"
"Congratulations, Penny." I hugged her again. Maybe at one point in time, I thought that might be us one day. It seemed like a long time ago. "Congratulations, James." I stuck my hand out to him.
He hesitated, but only for a second, before grabbing my hand in a death grip. "I heard you tried to get Penny to run away with you the morning of our wedding," he whispered.
I tightened my grip back on his hand. "I heard you broke up with her the night before."
He leaned forward slightly. "Just so that we're clear, Tyler..."
For a second I thought he was going to kill me. I hadn't expected there to be any strength in his grip when he was so clearly struggling. But if anything, he squeezed my hand even harder after my comment.
"...that was the biggest mistake of my life. I won't be making it again." He immediately released my hand.
"You better not."
He smiled and nodded at me. "Should I cut up the watermelon?" he asked, turning his attention back to Penny.
She looked back and forth between me and James. "Yeah. Can you stay for lunch, Tyler?"
I needed to get to Hailey. "I don't think I can."
"Certainly don't leave on my account," Melissa said. "I have a new boyfriend and everything already."
"I'm happy for you," I said.
She smiled. For the first time since she had seen me, she actually looked happy. "Thanks, Tyler. I hope you find what you're looking for too."
I have. But I didn't want to talk to them about Hailey. That would just delay me getting back to her and I just wanted to get to her as soon as possible. "I should actually get going."
"Please stay," Penny said. She gave me one of her pleading smiles. The kind that always drew me back in.
But it didn't this time. I knew that this was it.
These were my friends. This was my life.
But it was all before Hailey. And none of it seemed good without her.
"I'm really sorry, but I'm kind of in a rush.
I have to get going." I didn't tell them about the fact that their case had kept me locked up for a week.
I didn't tell them that it had ruined my new career.
I didn't tell them how much their relationship had fucked me up for years.
Because I forgave them. I finally had some perspective in my life.
I just needed to see Hailey. That was all that mattered.
"Go get her," Penny whispered in my ear as she hugged me goodbye. "I will always have a special place in my heart for you, Tyler Stevens." She kissed my cheek. "Go get your happily ever after."
I smiled as she released me from her hug. "You're going to make a great mom, Penny." I squeezed her arm.
I gave Melissa a quick hug goodbye. James and I just nodded at each other.
And I walked away from the life I knew without looking back.
"Wait," James said before I stepped onto the elevator. He slowly walked over to me. "Here." He pulled his car keys out of his pocket and tossed them at me.
How did he know I needed a car? "Are you serious?"
"Don't get too excited. It's not the Lamborghini or anything."
"Thanks, man."
He shrugged. "Penny told me about the girl you met. It's about time you found who you were supposed to be with. Instead of trying to constantly mess up my life." He smiled.
"Look, I owe you all an apology..."
"It's okay. Really. I'm actually trying to do this thing where I try to let things go.
" He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall beside the elevator.
"I know you just wanted what was best for her.
And I respect you for that. I try to be better for her.
Better than what I was before we met. Maybe one day you'll see that. "
I didn't really know what to say to that. "How are you feeling?" I said instead. I couldn't help asking. He didn't seem okay.
"Honestly?" He sighed. "I'm in fucking pain all the time. It hurts to breathe. It hurts to walk. It even hurts to sit down. Don't tell Penny." He gave me a small smile.
That was probably the first time that James had ever opened up to me.
Near death experiences did change people.
I respected him for coming out to talk to me.
And I respected him even more for being strong for Penny.
He was a good guy. I had judged him ever since we met.
I had never really given him a chance. But now that I wasn't so jaded, it was like I was seeing him for the first time.
He was good for Penny. And she was good for him. "My lips are sealed."
James nodded.
"Thanks for this," I said and lifted up the keys. "I don't know how I can ever repay you for this."
"Don't. That's what friends are for."
I smiled. I never thought I'd hear the day when James Hunter called me a friend. "Just for the record, I do see it. I just didn't want to see it. That was the problem. But you're good for her. She needs you."
He nodded.
I hit the elevator button again. "Get better, man."
"Good luck with Hailey."
I stepped onto the elevator. Maybe I needed to clear the air between me and James even more than I did with Penny.
It felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest. Without realizing it, I had been torturing James ever since we met.
Trying to steal the only thing he loved in this world.
I had been an asshole ever since I stepped into his classroom. And he forgave me.
The dust had settled. Now I could really start over. I was un-enlisted. I wasn't holding on to anything in NYC. All that I had was the fact that I had fallen in love with a girl from Indiana. So that was where I was going. As Penny put it, it was time for my happily ever after.