Chapter 5
Where is she?
I drummed my fingers on the table, noticing my smartwatch read out that it was nearly ten o’clock. Thirty minutes had passed since Sarah had left the table, and honestly, I was starting to worry. Maybe she was getting sick or something? Maybe she had to take a phone call? She had been acting kind of weird toward the end of our conversation, but…
Maybe that had just been me.
Before I could second guess the decision, I slid out of the chair and slung my purse over my shoulder. I already had a headache from the obnoxiously loud music and smoke, so a trip to the bathroom to just check on her didn’t sound like such a bad idea.
“Hey, miss,” a voice called from behind the bar. I turned to see the cowboy bartender, his handlebar mustache as jet black as his hair.
I hesitated, but then walked over to where he was waiting, his towel in his hand. “Yeah?”
“Are you looking for Sarah? ”
Strange question.
“Yeah,” I said slowly. “She said she was going to the bathroom.”
“Right,” he snorted. “Good luck with that. She’s an elusive little thing, didn’t even pay for the beers.”
I let out an annoyed sigh, and dug into my purse, pulling out my wallet and handing over my debit card. “You could’ve just told me you needed me to pay for the beer.”
He shrugged. “If I said that, you mighta just took off running. Trust me, it happens more often than you’d think.”
“Not surprised,” I mumbled as I watched him head over to the register and run my debit card. I glanced down the counter, seeing an older couple sipping on their drinks, laughing with each other. I ripped my gaze from them, taking a deep breath as the bartender made his way back to me.
“Thanks,” he handed back my card and the receipt. “I gave you the employee discount since you didn’t know she was going to cut and run on you.”
I pursed my lips. “Does she do that often?”
“Only on dates, usually,” he chuckled. “She’s probably out back smoking a cigarette. You can tell her she owes you one now.”
I met his hazy blue eyes, hating the familiarity they held. “You look like someone I maybe know,” I admitted, shaking my head. “I don’t know why.”
“Well, doesn’t everyone around look familiar?” he joked, cracking a lopsided grin. “But my guess is that if you thought about it, you’d know who I was, ‘cause I sure as heck know who you are.”
My stomach did a somersault. “How?”
“You knew my older brother,” he said flatly.
“Dylan Myers,” I said his name, picturing the little kid that used to chase my brother and Garrett around the ranch every chance he got. My head felt light in the moment of realization, my voice thick as the disparity of time revealed itself right in front of me. “You’re all grown up.”
“Yeah, that’s what happens,” he chuckled, though there was a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “And now look at me, bartending and enabling my alcoholic older brother. He doesn’t show his face when I work though. He knows I’ll cut him off.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I nodded, remaining silent as I tried to picture what that looked like—roles reversed, Garrett no longer the role model he once was. He ruined it himself though. It was his own fault. There was no doubt about that.
“Have a good evening, Beth,” Dylan told me finally, giving the bar top a double hit with his fist as he pushed off and headed toward the happy couple. “I’d steer clear of the back door.”
I furrowed my brow, not even remotely knowing where, said back door, was. With a sigh and now desperation to get out, I headed for the bathrooms, just to check on Sarah and let her know I was leaving. I weaved my way through the thin crowd to the same hallway that she had disappeared down.
However, when I stepped into the dimly lit area...
I realized it wasn’t the bathrooms at all. Is this the back door?
The only thing in the hallway was a door at the end—that had a bright neon red exit sign overhead. I walked the length of it just to double check that there wasn’t some odd bathroom I had missed from where I had been standing.
But no... Sarah Armitage had lied about where she was going .
I let out a heavy sigh, wondering if she was late for one of her many dates or if something else was bothering her. After all, she had seemed pretty nervous after her phone had started blowing up. Regardless of her reasons, I was still left there—and there was no way I was going to stay. I glanced back at the thickening crowd behind me and decided to take the same route Sarah had, ignoring the warning from Dylan, a reminder of my own personal ghost.
The warm breeze blew through my hair, and even with the humidity, it was refreshing in comparison to the smokey bar. I blinked my eyes a few times, adjusting to the darkness that swallowed me as the door clicked shut.
Why are there no lights back here?
I didn’t let myself ponder the question long, the crunching of something just off to the left sending a shiver down my spine. My head whipped in the direction, and I squinted into the blackness, trying to make out what was there. The noise grew, and my entire body went rigid, ready to sprint away at any moment.
“Sarah?” I took a couple of stiff steps away from the sound, and suddenly the back lot was flooded with light from above me. However, I had no time to ponder the faulty motion lights with the sight of a ghost standing right there in front of me, staring at me with those haunting blue eyes.
“ Beth? ” He looked at me with pure disbelief. “I knew you were back in town, but I never thought you’d show up here ...What’re you doing?”
“Um…” I couldn’t find the words at first as I took in the sight of Garrett Myers. “I… I met a friend here for drinks. She left through this door, and I was just leaving to head home.” I felt myself fighting the urge to ramble, to fill the sile nce with meaningless words. However, I stopped myself, holding my tongue and digging my nails into the leather strap of my purse.
He studied me for a few moments, his expression impossible to read. “I haven’t seen you in so long. You look great.” His voice was strained as his gaze slid down the long length of my auburn hair.
My vision grew blurry, my heart pounded in the side of my head, and I fought once again to find the words. “I’m just looking for Sarah. She came out this way, and I… I was here to see her…”
He shook his head. “Why? You never liked her.”
I blew out a sigh. “I’m not seventeen anymore, Garrett. I don’t care about high school politics, and I have no attachments to this place, either.”
Garrett rocked back on his heels, his boots crunching on the gravel. “No attachments. Is that what you meant when?—”
“I mean , I don’t come home much,” I cut him off, the sound of his familiar voice making my stomach knot up so tight I might double over. I tried not to look too hard at him, but I noticed that his face looked weathered beyond his thirty-six years now. His shoulders were still broad and muscular, but they slumped like he’d just lost a war. I knew he had turned to the bottle after my brother passed, but I didn’t realize it was like this.
Why is he out here in the dark like this?
“It’s really good to see you.” He took a step toward me, and my heart jumped as he came further into the light. There was a dark stain on his gray T-shirt, and I couldn’t keep my eyes from drifting to it. “I work down at the mechanic shop these days,” he said, having noticed me staring. “I should’ve gone home to change before coming out, but you know, everyone knows me. Everyone hates me, especially you, I’m sure.” His voice was slightly slurred and his eyes were visibly bloodshot. “In case you were wondering, I’m known as the town drunk to everyone now. That’s what I grew up to be, while you’re out making big bucks and screwing some high-class, fancy lawyer from New York City.”
I bit my lip so hard a copper taste filled my mouth and wrapped my arms around myself. “Well, that fancy lawyer from New York City left me for his Instagram model intern.” I didn’t know why I was telling him, but here I was, not having seen him since the worst night of my life, and I was unable to shut up—just like always.
Garrett took another step, his eyes still trained on my face. “He’s a piece of?—”
“No,” I stopped him, holding up a hand. “I don’t care to have your opinion.”
He chuckled, his lips turning upward. “Did you ever care to have it?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, hating the emotions bubbling up in my chest. “I need to go, now .” With that, I spun on my heels, heading in the opposite direction of him. However, I only got a couple of steps in before I felt a firm grip clamp down on my wrist.
“What the heck?” I ripped my arm back from Garrett, my eyes wide. “What are you doing? I said I have to go home. Don’t touch me.”
He dropped his hand. “I’m so sorry,” he said quickly. “Just stay here. Please . I’d really like to talk?—”
“Then find me when you’re sober ,” I snapped, raising my shaky voice as I glared at him. “You’ve had sixteen years to find me, Garrett. Sixteen. You didn’t have to wait for me to stumble out of the dang bar to talk to me. You could’ve just called. ”
He shook his head, but then sighed. “I’ll stop by tomorrow.” The earnestness in his voice sent a pain searing through my chest. “And you’ll talk to me then? Yeah?”
“No promises,” I choked out, knowing he probably wouldn’t even remember this conversation in an hour, let alone tomorrow. I gritted my teeth as I stalked away. Thankfully, this time, he didn’t follow me, and I was able to make it around to the front parking lot. There was a different group of people outside smoking and talking, but I paid them no mind, my eyes focused on the old blue ford.
This night was a terrible idea.
The worst idea, actually.
I ripped at the handle of the truck, swinging it open and climbing inside. I slammed it shut and locked the doors before dropping my head into my hands. Of all the people to run into at the bar, Garrett was the last person I wanted to see. He was the epitome of everything I wanted to forget about the place; a reminder of the heartache and grief that nearly swallowed me whole.
“ Ugh ,” I groaned as I started the ignition, wiping the tears from my cheeks. I hadn’t even noticed that I had started to cry, and I hoped more than ever that it hadn’t started in front of Garrett—the same Garrett that had been my brother’s best friend growing up. He was once like family . No, he was more than that to me. He was everything.
And now, I just wanted to run the moment I saw his face.
Sam wouldn’t have wanted me to treat him that way though.
The thought slammed into my chest and the tears came more readily, the thought of my father, the kind man he was, visiting Garrett and keeping tabs on him—because he had been able to put the hard feelings aside, whereas I couldn’t. My dad had tried everything he could to keep the connection between Garrett and our family.
And I just pushed everyone out.
I looked up from my lap, halfway expecting to see Garrett in front of the truck, ready to bombard me all over again. But there was no one there, only the distant sound of laughter and hum of country music. Shaking my head, I threw it in reverse and got the heck out of there, heading straight home.
I’ll never do this again.