Chapter 8
Raelyn
There were two ways I dealt with the fact that I could possibly die at any moment.
Either I’d face it head-on and fight with every ounce of strength I could muster without letting doubt and fear get the best of me, or I’d give up and allow myself to enter the depths of despair as if waiting for death to come for me.
Today was one of those depths of despair days.
I’d come in from work, put on a pair of sweats, then piled up on the sofa with a mountain of snacks and searched for the saddest movie I could find.
I was an absolute mess and only had myself to blame.
I’d finally met someone who wasn’t simply another hot guy; Lynch was smart and funny, and I truly liked him—a lot.
But instead of behaving like a normal human being and trying to get something started with him, I freaked out. I let my fears and insecurities take over, and it ruined everything. I could only imagine what Lynch must’ve thought when I ran out on him—probably that I’d lost my mind—and he’d be right.
I had, and I was a wreck because of it.
Since that night, I’d been in the mood of all moods. I couldn’t eat or sleep, and I didn’t even try to look presentable for work. My unusual behavior hadn’t gone unnoticed.
I was curled up on the sofa with my favorite blanket when Haleigh plopped down next to me with a huff. “Okay, enough with this pity party of yours. What’s going on?”
“Nothing’s going on,” I lied. “I’m just tired.”
“Rae, we’ve been best friends since middle school. I know when something’s bothering you, so just save us both some time and spill it.”
“I’ve just had a long week at work, and I’m a little worried about what’s going to happen with this whole getting arrested thing. I’m ready to put it all behind me.”
“Well, since you brought it up ... I’ve been thinking a lot about that biker guy, Lynch, who bailed us out.”
“Oh?” My stomach twisted into a knot. “What about him?”
“I think I’m gonna go see him.”
“What!” I sprang up off the sofa as I shrieked, “Noooo!”
“What do you mean no?” She looked at me like I had three heads as she explained, “It cost the poor guy a lot to bail us out, and it’s not right for us to just keep that money.”
“I get that, but we didn’t ask him to do it.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t make it okay for us not to pay him back.”
Haleigh was always very thoughtful of others and tried to do the respectable thing, so I wasn’t surprised that she wanted to do right by Lynch. I didn’t disagree, but at the same time, I had my reasons for her not to see Lynch.
I didn’t want Haleigh to find out that I’d gone out with him behind her back nor take the chance of her starting up something with the man who’d had me so torn up.
I was acting like a selfish brat but couldn’t help myself.
Sounding far more horrified than I intended, I told her, “I just don’t think it’s a good idea right now.
We have our court date coming up, and the last thing we need is another problem on our hands. ”
“There’s not going to be a problem. I just want to give him the money and go.”
“But—”
“What is it with you and this guy?” Haleigh crossed her arms and scowled. “Earlier, you were all about going to his stupid strip club so you could see him again, and now you’re acting like he’s some kind of deranged psycho who’s gonna kill us in our sleep.”
“There’s always that possibility.” I felt a little guilty saying such a terrible thing about Lynch, especially when I knew it wasn’t true, but I was reaching the land of desperation. “Those biker guys can be pretty dangerous.”
“Okay, fine.” She threw up her hands. “I won’t go, but I have to give him the money somehow.”
I thought for a moment, then suggested, “We could always put it in an envelope and drop it off at the club’s mailbox. I’m sure he’ll get it.”
“You think?”
“Yeah, definitely.” I let out a sigh of relief before adding, “Oh, and I’ll write a check for my half, and you can add it to the envelope.”
“Great.” Haleigh walked into the kitchen and grabbed an envelope from the drawer. “Should I just write Lynch on the outside?”
“Yeah, that should be okay.”
“What about a note?” She reached over and took out a slip of paper. “What should we say?”
“A simple thank you will be fine.” I reached for my purse, pulled out my checkbook, then started writing but stopped.
I had no idea what Lynch’s full name was—only that his first name was Conor, but assumed he’d add his last name to the check.
Once I was done, I told her, “It’s not like it’s going to matter.
All he’s gonna care about is the money anyway. ”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Haleigh jotted down a short note, stuffed it in the envelope, then came over to the sofa. “You got yours ready?”
I nodded, then offered it to her. “When are you going to take it over?”
“I guess I’ll go now.” She glanced down at her watch. “Maybe I can put it in the mailbox before they all get there for work.”
“That’s probably a good idea, especially with the weekend coming up.
” Until that moment, I hadn’t realized that Haleigh was dressed up in one of her favorite date-night outfits—a black wrap dress with boots—and she’d even curled her hair.
After I noticed she’d put on fake eyelashes, I had to ask, “Wait, did I miss something?”
“What?”
“You. You’re all decked out.” I motioned my hand up and down the length of her dress. “Do you have a hot date you didn’t tell me about?”
She glanced down at her dress and instantly turned into a nervous mess. “Oh, umm ... I just thought I’d dress up a little. No big deal.”
“Dress up for what?”
The words had barely left my mouth when it hit me.
She’d dressed up for Lynch.
My mind started racing from the thought, and just like that, I was imagining Haleigh and Lynch sitting at DJs, where he and I had first shared a drink.
She’d smile and bat her long eyelashes, and in a matter of minutes, Lynch would be under her spell.
The whole notion literally brought bile to the back of my throat.
Damn.
What was wrong with me?
I was jealous—and not just a little. The green-eyed monster had a hold of me and was rearing its ugly head in the worst way, and there was absolutely no reason for it.
I could’ve just told Haleigh about my date with Lynch, and that would’ve been the end of it. Instead, I feigned a smile and teased her. “You dirty little slut. You got dolled up for the sexy bikers?”
“What? I did not!” She gasped with exaggerated horror. “Are you out of your mind?”
“You did,” I pushed. “You’re hoping to get a little biker action tonight.”
“Oh, my God. It’s official. You’ve finally lost it.
” With the envelope in her hand, she sauntered back into the kitchen, grabbed her purse and keys, then opened our front door.
“I’m going to go drop this off. That’s it and nothing more, so find us a good movie, and we’ll order takeout when I get back. ”
Before I could respond, she walked out and closed the door behind her.
I lay down on the sofa and stared at the ceiling, and it wasn’t long before my foul mood seeped back in. I knew obsessing over the possibility of Haleigh seeing Lynch wouldn’t make me feel any better, so I tried my best not to think about it.
I rolled over to grab the remote and searched through the various movies until I found one I thought Haleigh might like. Then, I flipped through our takeout menus, hoping to find something that sounded remotely appetizing, and after a great deal of consideration, I finally decided on Chinese.
Since I had our dinner and movie covered, I grabbed my phone and went through a bunch of emails; I flipped through Facebook and Instagram, then lost myself in TikTok for a while.
One hour rolled into the next, and there was still no Haleigh.
I tried not to let myself think the worst, but it didn’t take long for my imagination to get the best of me. Hoping to end my misery, I dialed her number and let it ring repeatedly but got no answer.
I called again.
Still no answer.
I sent her a text and then another, but again, no answer.
I couldn’t imagine what had happened to her.
I started to wonder if things hadn’t gone as planned with the mailbox and if she ran into some kind of trouble.
Fearing something might’ve happened to her, I tossed my blanket back and got up from the sofa.
I slipped on my shoes, grabbed my keys, and was just about to head out to my car when Haleigh came strolling through the front door with a big smile plastered across her face.
I, on the other hand, wasn’t smiling—not in the least. I placed a hand on my hip as I snapped, “Where have you been?”
“What do you mean?” She dropped her purse down on the kitchen table, then sauntered past me and over to the fridge. “You know where I’ve been.”
“You’ve been gone for almost two hours.”
“Oh, really?” She took out a bottle of wine and placed it on the counter. “I hadn’t realized it had been that long.”
“Well, it was, and I was really starting to worry.”
“Why would you worry?” She was still smiling while opening the bottle. “I was perfectly fine.”
Seeing her so cheerful sent my overactive imagination spiraling out of control—so much so I started to imagine Haleigh and Lynch tangled in each other’s arms as they shared a goodnight kiss.
I knew it wasn’t fair for me to have these feelings.
I’d had my chance with him and blew it; nonetheless, the knot in my throat made it difficult to speak.
“I thought you were just going to put the envelope in the mailbox. What took you so long?”
“The mailbox idea kind of fell through.”
“Why? What happened?”
“For one, I couldn’t find the stupid thing.
I thought it would be out by the road, but it wasn’t.
So I parked and got out to find it, which wasn’t easy because they were having this big ‘Grand Re-Opening’ thing, and there were all these people around.
I was heading towards the front door to see if I could find a mailbox when he came outside and found me.
” She poured herself a glass of wine, then took a sip before asking, “Do you want one?”
“No, I’m good.”
A dreamy look crossed her face as she went on, “You know that saying about not judging a book by its cover? It really is true. When I saw Lynch and his friends the night we were arrested, I thought they were terrifying, but it turns out, they’re really great guys.”
“Oh? What makes you say that?”
“I don’t know. They just are.” Haleigh carried her glass of wine over to the sofa and sat down. “It’s been ages since I’ve enjoyed myself as much as I did tonight.”
“That’s great, Haleigh.” I needed a moment alone to collect myself, so I forced a smile, then started towards my bedroom. “I’m glad you had such a good night.”
“Wait, where are you going?” Haleigh called out to me. “I was just about to tell you that he asked for my phone number.”
“He did?”
“Mm-hmm. I think he’s going to ask me out.”
“You think you’ll go?”
“Yeah, I do.” She let out a little sigh, then added, “I know it sounds crazy, but Locke is a really great guy.”
“Locke?”
“Mm-hmm. His real name is Danny, but his brothers call him Locke.”
“Oh, my God, I thought you were talking about Lynch!”
“Lynch? No!” She shook her head. “I didn’t even see him.”
I was feeling a mixture of relief and embarrassment as I walked over and sat down next to her on the sofa. “So, he wasn’t the one who found you at the front door?”
“No, silly. That was Locke.” She was practically beaming. “When he came to the door, I told him why I was there and gave him the envelope for Lynch. We got to talking, and then the next thing you know, he’s asking me inside for a drink.”
“I have to admit—I never dreamed you’d be interested in a biker.”
“Me either!”
“So, he’s cute?”
“Girl, cute doesn’t even begin to describe this guy. He’s so freaking hot.”
Haleigh never stopped smiling as she spent the next hour describing every detail of her encounter with Locke at the Ruthless Sinners’ strip club. She went on and on about him possibly calling or texting and how she couldn’t wait to see if he’d asked her out on a date.
My best friend was smitten.
I knew the feeling well. I’d felt the same over Lynch.
Unfortunately for me, there would be no calls or future dates with Lynch. In fact, I wouldn’t be seeing him at all... no matter how much I wanted to.