Chapter 5 #2
I wait for the machine, not bothering to turn around when I hear them slowly leave the table and traipse down the hall to the garage. They close the door, and seconds later, I hear their cars start.
Someone moves at my side, and I eye Lucas as he reaches into the cabinet behind my head.
I guess I was right, after all. He didn’t stay close last night because he wanted to. He did it because he still sees me as a little girl.
“You used to be my friend,” I tell him, braver with him than with my brothers. “You used to have my back while I was growing up.” I jerk my chin toward the hallway where my brothers just disappeared. “Now you take their side?”
He trusted me more when I was a kid.
“Because they’re right,” he says in a stern, but quiet voice. “Noah Van der Berg and Farrow Kelly have reputations.”
I shake my head. “Young men with reputations? Scandalous.”
As if he, or my brothers, were angels at that age.
“I’m not kidding, Quinn,” he says, setting down a coffee cup. “Noah is a womanizer, and Farrow is dangerous. They don’t want to be your friend. They want one thing.”
“That’s not true,” I spit out, gripping the counter behind me. But then I soften my voice, playing. “I’m such a good cook, I’m sure they’ll want a hot breakfast when we wake up in the morning too.”
He slams the cabinet closed next to me, and I jump. But I almost smile for the first time since I came down the stairs this morning. My heart is racing. I like talking back.
“You’re not my brother,” I tell him, and then mutter to myself, “And my brothers are not my parents.”
I’m an adult.
He stares down at me, and I tighten my jaw.
“No.” He shakes his head. “I’m not your brother, your father, or your uncle.” His voice falls to a whisper. “And I’m asking you to stay away from them.”
Something swells in my chest as his rises and falls, almost flat against mine. I can just feel his breath on my hair.
I drop my eyes. “But you leave tomorrow night,” I remind him before looking back up. “Right?”
If Noah’s my workout buddy or Farrow gives me a ride home, what’s he going to do about it?
I walk away, feeling his eyes on me as I go.
Hours later, and I’m still riding my emotions, the embarrassment turning to anger.
Not that it’s been a bad thing because I’ve been moving my ass and chewing through little jobs—one after the other—since I arrived at the bakery this morning.
My multi-tasking skills have broken a new record, I’m sure.
The self-talk and rehashing the entire argument with my brothers and Lucas kept my legs fully charged and my awareness at an eleven.
I shouldn’t have given in so easily with Madoc and Jax. There were so many things I could’ve said, like reminding them that I’m a grown woman, but as usual, I think best when it’s too late.
I stuffed a glazed strawberry donut in my mouth for lunch without even the slightest bit of guilt. I worked it off before I even ate it.
“Thank you, everyone,” I call out, putting chairs back down after Hailey mopped. “Good job today.”
Noel and Codi slip out the canvas bags that line the bread baskets on the wall and take them to the laundry while Hailey finishes cleaning the case and counters.
“If you’re working tomorrow, we’re out of here by two,” I tell them.
“Yeah!” Noel shouts, whipping off his apron that’s stained with coffee.
I check the lock on the front door and head to Hailey at the computer. “Were you able to submit that order?”
“Done,” she chirps.
One more accomplishment today. Delegating.
I taught her how to order more inventory, and both her and Noel how to prep for lunch.
I’m glad I had kept the menu simple and devised a grab-and-go section to alleviate the number of orders.
They all learned quickly. Maybe now I can start staying in the back to bake more during the day so I’m not here so late.
I stick a few more things into the cabinets, watching Codi as she vacuums out the baskets and wipes the gold rings that hang from on the wall.
I smile to myself. As good of a job as these kids do, she’s the only one who treats this place like it’s hers. Meticulous, helpful, attentive…
Her light brown hair hangs in her eyes, the ends matted, and her navy-blue short-sleeved T-shirt stained with patches of flour.
The same stains she got yesterday. I look down at her rolled-up jeans and flip flops.
Everyone has to wear close-toed shoes here, for safety purposes, but she was already wearing them yesterday when Mace brought her, and today is her last day, so I didn’t see the need to make it complicated.
I like that she’s quiet, because I am too. But she could talk a little more. I don’t think the others have spoken to her much.
Hopefully, she enjoyed spending time here. People are usually happy when they come into a bakery. They’re always happy to see us.
Heading over, I take my cloth out of my apron and help her. “Just remember, everyone gets a shift treat,” I say. “If you want a pastry or something to take home.”
She nods but doesn’t make eye contact. “Thanks.”
They get a free meal if they’re working a full shift, but Codi’s been here all day. Essentially two shifts. And she hasn’t eaten a thing. We did offer.
“What year are you at Weston?” I ask.
“I just graduated.”
“College?” I press. “Any plans?”
She shakes her head, the matted locks swinging over her shoulders.
How does Mace know this girl? They’re opposites in every way.
I look at her, trying to catch her eyes. “Do you have another job?”
Again with the headshaking, and I end it there. She doesn’t want to talk.
I clear my throat, stepping away and touching the tip jar. “Can you split up the tips?” I ask her.
But before she can answer, Hailey grabs it. “I got it.”
I glance at the redhead, assuming she’s just being nice, but I see the glare she shoots Codi’s back as the kid still wipes off the rings.
Hailey looks as if she doesn’t trust her.
I inhale a deep breath. Weston versus the Falls. Things haven’t changed. The people here still think Weston is all drug dealers and thieves.
But...I noticed last night that Farrow had that tattoo, and I know it’s not a social club he belongs to. Mace has it, as well.
And Codi was with her. She might not be a criminal, but she knows some.
Everyone gets busy grabbing their backpacks and jackets, and I see Codi slide a brownie off the tray in the kitchen, quickly wrapping it in parchment before hiding it in her sweatshirt pocket. As if she’s stealing something when I already offered it.
I should’ve made her eat today.
Hailey splits the cash, and everyone starts to leave.
“Codi?” I call before she disappears through the door.
She stops and turns, her eyes lifting to mine and then down again.
“Are you by any chance free in the morning? I could use you for another shift, if you want?”
She swallows, her eyes wide, and then she nods again.
“Five a.m.?”
Another nod.
“Thanks,” I tell her. “Have a good night.”
She leaves, giving a half-hearted bob of her head, and I lock the door behind them. I shut down the lights in the front of the shop and turn on some music, getting busy with preparing for tomorrow.
After tying up the bag of towels and aprons for the laundry service, baking three batches of brownies, and preparing dough for morning pastries, it’s well after nine, and I have three missed calls from Dylan.
I saw her call. I let them all go to voicemail, but she didn’t leave any.
I know what she wants. She’s got some free time at the camp and wants to gossip. And more than likely see if I’m going to the gym again tonight.
I’m not.
He’ll be there, though. If nothing else, just to chaperone me and cart me home afterward on my brothers’ orders. I don’t know how to explain it, but I don’t want to make it easy on him. If he wants to talk to me again, he can come find me.
As the minutes tick by, I stick to my guns no matter how desperate I am to see as much of him as possible. In twenty-four hours, he’ll be gone.
My stomach hollows out, and I lean into the counter, closing my eyes for a moment. He’ll leave, having seen me as a woman like I waited for him to and having talked to me as an adult. And that will be it. He’s not drawn to me.
I growl, pushing away the pain in my chest, and keep moving.
I dig out some paperwork for Codi to fill out as I assume she’s open to being hired as a formal employee—at least for the summer—and then I finish up the last of the dishes.
Turning off my Bluetooth speaker, I head to the front of the shop and switch off the battery-operated lanterns on the tables that Noel forgot.
The space behind me creeps up, and the hair on my neck rises. I jerk my head, feeling someone behind me.
But there’s nothing. The only thing there is, is my reflection in the mirror.
I let my gaze float to the left and right, a shiver coursing through me.
I was never scared of the dark, but I’m hyper-aware tonight. I shake it off and move to the bathroom, changing into my running clothes. For some reason, I feel safer out in the dark night than in here, and I hurry to dash outside and lock the door behind me before I jog out of the alley.
Sliding my phone into my pocket, I stick in my earbuds and start the playlist. One of my mom’s favorites, “Cradle of Love” plays.
I jog, taking a right down High Street and then another right, into the same neighborhood I ran through a couple nights ago.
I pass the pool and Mr. Zellers’s yard, race up Fall Away Lane, and around the high school just as lightning flashes across the sky.
I realize I’ve done a loop leading me back to Pine Street and Astrophysics.
I don’t turn in there. I glance, trying in the barest of moments to not look like I’m looking for his car, but turn back away before I can tell if he’s there or not.
He crossed a line this morning, and I’m not letting him get away with it like I do with my brothers.
I keep climbing up Hill Street, past Finch, and take a right on Lake, the area less populated.
And a little darker.
Lights from houses spill into their yards, and I see kids roasting marshmallows around a firepit, the adults with drinks in their hands.
Such a good town. Such a nice way to live.
I guess that’s what I should think.
Yet, all I can think about are Jared, Madoc, and Jax. They lived here and grew up in nice houses, but they didn’t always have nice people inside. My dad was rich and young and entitled with his first wife.
And my mom took her pain and drowned it in bottle after bottle.
None of this I’m supposed to know, but she made sure I knew exactly what her mistakes cost her.
She wrote her memoir and slipped me a copy years ago. She wanted me to learn through her.
All of them so scared of mistakes, so why am I dying to make one? I’d love to have a secret they’d all disapprove of because I’m tired of being quiet. No one hears my heart beat, least of all me.
I’m so lost in thought as I run that I hear the engine behind me rumble for half a minute before I actually register it.
I glance back, seeing a dark car coming up. Do they know their headlights are off?
I’m on the gravel, off the highway, but I inch over a little more to let the car pass safely.
Seconds pass, then thirty, and I look behind me again, still seeing it back there. Traveling slowly on an empty road, a lone figure in the driver’s seat.
I breathe faster, my mouth going dry. I take out my earbuds and cut right, back into a brighter section of town.
I beat the pavement, my legs burning as I hear the car speed up.
Shit. I glance behind me, seeing it there again. It’s following me?
Running, I make a sharp right down Pine toward Astrophysics. It’s the one place I know is open twenty-four hours.
I charge ahead, reach the gym, and then stop, watching the car tread slowly down the lane I turned. It passes me, and I look, but the windows are tinted enough that I only see the silhouette of someone driving. No one else appears to be in the vehicle.
An old, black two-door. I spy the make on the rear, not needing to read it to recognize the font. My brothers tested me on every family road trip.
Dodge. It’s an old, black Dodge. Maybe ’70s model.
It takes another right when it hits the corner, heading back up Hill Street, and I dash over one more block until I hit my shop. I really don’t want to be alone—I should’ve just gone to the gym—but I can’t bring myself to call my brothers for help. I’d never live it down.
What if I lived in a city with no family? Or I find myself in a situation with no one to help me? I have to deal with things on my own.
I scurry down the alley, unlock my shop as I jerk my head every other second to check for sight of the car, and dive inside. I twist the lock.
I walk across my kitchen, through the door, and into the storefront, looking out the window for any clue that I was followed.
What the hell was that?
I heave breath after breath, feeling like I have a basketball bouncing inside my chest. What would I have done if someone had cornered me alone?
Air pours in and out of my lungs until finally, every muscle it takes to breathe is too tired to keep up the pace, and I force myself to slow down.
I don’t think I should ride my bike home. It’s too far. I could try for an Uber, but this town doesn’t have many. They mostly operate on the weekends.
Shit. I wish I had an e-bike. Jax suggested it last Christmas when he was thinking about what to get me, but I resisted. They’re so expensive.
Dammit.
I could crash in Dylan’s bed since she’s at camp. Her parents’ house is only a block away. I’m sure Jared would love to know I’m tucked in safe behind his locked front door.
I turn to leave—to make a run for his house—but I look up and stop dead in my tracks.
A scream lodges in my throat as I gape at the wall in my shop. Thunder rolls overhead.
The mirror… It’s open.