Chapter 8 Briar
brIAR
For the first time ever, I’m glowing as I step into the truck stop for my shift. That glow vanishes when Tony steps up to me, shaking his head. “You’re fired, Briar.”
My heart nearly stops. “Um, did I just hear you right? Because I’m pretty sure you just told me that I, your best employee by far, am fired?”
Tony is a rugged guy, and nothing ever fazes him. But right now, he’s sweating and looks like someone has a knife to his back.
“You are—er, were my best employee, Briar. But…I’ve got to let you go.”
“Bullshit!” I snap, my voice drawing the attention of all the men in here. Visions of electrical bills, water bills, rent, and school tuition, pile up in my head like a load of bricks. “I need this job, Tony! You’ve got no cause to fire me!”
Out of nowhere, Tony snatches me by the arm and hauls me into the back. For a second, I’m sure he’s going to slam me up against the wall. But he doesn’t. He stops, takes a breath, and looks at me with a vulnerability I’ve never seen.
“You’re right, Briar. I have no reason to fire you.”
“Well then, what the hell?”
Again, he shakes his head, wiping his brow with the back of his sleeve. “I don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into, but you’re in some seriously deep shit.”
My ears drum as my pulse starts to race. “What are you talking about, Tony?”
“The police captain came to see me today.” My stomach sinks. Felch. “He told me if I didn’t let you go today, he’d have the health department shut me down. Said they owe him a favor.”
“He can’t do that—”
“Yes he can, Briar,” Tony snaps. He’s fidgeting with his watch, really showing his nerves. “Small town like this? He can do whatever he wants.”
I open my mouth to argue, but there’s no point.
What am I supposed to say? I can’t argue with Tony.
Not when his life’s work is on the line.
It may just be a simple truck stop on the side of the road, but it’s his, and he built it up from nothing.
If his choice is between the truck stop and me, well… then there’s really no choice.
“Okay,” I reply. “I get it. It’s not your fault.”
“I…I’m sorry, Briar.”
“Tony.” I take him by the hand. “It’s not your fault.”
He nods, but I can see the pain in his eyes. He’s always been good to me. This is hurting him as much as it hurts me. But before things can get any more emotional, I give him a pat on the arm and walk outside.
I’m overheating. Every inch of my skin feels sickly, like I’ve just caught a virus from Felch’s malicious power move.
Is this really all about Gareth becoming captain? Would he go this far? Ruin me to ruin him?
I reach into my purse to grab my phone, but that’s when I see him.
Felch. Leaning up against my car, chewing a cigar, a broad smile on his face. “I hear the strip club’s hiring. Maybe your friend could put in a good word for you.”
I stop dead in my tracks. Thanks to my job, I’m used to men giving me a hard time, but this isn’t just any man. This is the police captain. This is Gareth’s boss. He’s the corrupt cop Sarah warned me about.
“You got a waitress fired. You feel like a big man now?” He chuckles and takes a drag from his cigar as I walk up to my car. He stays where he is, blocking my door. “Excuse me? I’d like to leave now.”
To my surprise, he does step aside, but only so much. I’m able to get the door open but can’t move past him.
My heart is screaming as I look up at him, waiting for his next move. What am I supposed to do? It’s not like I can just shove him out of the way or call Tony to handle him for me.
“Your new boyfriend…” he muses slowly. “If I were you, I’d stay clear of that guy.”
“Yeah? Why’s that? So you can be my boyfriend?”
Felch snorts a laugh like what I just said was absurd. But at the same time, he drags his filthy eyes up and down my body without even trying to hide it.
I feel like I’ve just been violated by a pair of greasy hands.
“What’d he tell you about his investigation?” Felch asks. “I bet he said he was just defending his momma. That he’s so innocent and I’m just trying to ruin him? Well, he’s lying, Briar.”
“Oh, and I suppose you’re here to tell me the truth?” I snip back. “And I should trust you? The guy who just got me fired.”
Felch shakes his head like he’s dealing with a pouty four-year-old.
“I’m trying to protect you, Briar.”
I almost laugh. “Oh, right!”
“You don’t wanna believe me, that’s fine. But Tony’s about to get busted for something major that I know you’re not involved with. And Gareth…well, he’s not the man you think he is. And it’s my duty as police captain to keep you safe.”
I lift my chin in defiance and shove my weight against my car door, pushing him back a foot.
It’s assault. He could totally arrest me.
He’s the captain. He could cuff me and stuff me into his cruiser and no one would know.
I’d be back at the station, in the same room that Gareth brought me, only this time, I’d be forced to stay.
Fortunately for me, Felch just smiles as I climb into my car.
For a brief moment, there’s something else behind his eyes. It’s like he’s examining me. Trying to see if anything he’s said has sunk in.
“I’ve got a file down at the station, Briar. Including an old assault case. Come look at it. Help me clear his name.”
“Sure, I’ll be right there,” I snap. I have to get out of here before I lose it. But before I can pull my door shut, Felch grabs it with both hands and holds strong.
“An old assault case on his ex-girlfriend,” he says slowly. “I’ll bet that’s something he never mentioned to you.”
He lets go, and my door slams shut. I twist the key in the ignition and pull out of the lot, watching his dark figure fade slowly in my rearview.
Don’t let him get to you…don’t.
My lips move, silently repeating the words over and over as I drive.
I can’t let Felch get to me. Gareth loves me. He’s a good man. I know this. I know him. I feel safe in his arms. I belong there.
But as I go on, I can’t help but feel a scratching in my brain. A tiny little voice whispering feelings of doubt. I reach again for my phone to call Gareth, but just before pressing his contact, something inside me falters.
I jerk the wheel hard, taking a side road that will lead me to Sarah’s. I swipe to her name and dictate a quick text: Hope you’re home. I’ll be there in less than five.
She replies almost instantly: See ya soon, bitch :)
I want to laugh, but it’s like there’s a chain fence around my torso. Every time I breathe, it digs into my flesh, into my ribs, sending pain throughout my body.
My palms are sweating, and I’m relieved as I pull into Sarah’s driveway and step out.
My mind is spinning. Call Gareth, talk to Sarah? Call Gareth, talk to Sarah?
I almost feel like I’m betraying him by going to her first, but what am I even supposed to tell him? That Felch just accused him of being an abuser? It will sound like I’m accusing him too.
No. I just need to talk to my best-friend about this. She’s good with these things. She knows men. She’ll have some advice for me.
I don’t even knock. I just barge right into her apartment, dimly lit with candles and that obnoxious spinning light she keeps in the living room. I rush right over to it and unplug it, causing her to look up at me from the couch.
“Whoa, what’s got your panties in a bunch?”
I almost don’t even want to tell her what just happened. She’s been warning me about Gareth since the beginning. Now it’s just going to seem like she knew best the whole time.
But what can I do? I have no one else to go to. Mom would just give me some lame, butchered Bible quote that doesn’t even apply, and then go back to Ross or whatever new man she’s decided to hang out with.
“Hey,” she presses, standing up. “What is it, girl? You look like you’re about to cry.”
She’s right. I didn’t even notice, but tears are welling up in my eyes.
My cheeks are starting to sting. Closing my eyes, I give in and spill the beans.
The firing, the parking lot, what Felch said.
She doesn’t interrupt, and by the end of it, her eyes are narrow and she’s standing still. “That motherfucker.”
I’ve had to take care of myself for most of my life, and I usually am able to figure out what to do. But right now I feel helpless. Even with Sarah by my side.
“Just say it,” I tell her.
“Say what?”
“I told you so.”
She doesn’t even smile. She just shakes her head. “No, I’m not going to say that. I get where you’re coming from, Briar. It sucks.”
“Yeah, it does,” I sigh, slumping down on the couch, wiping my eyes on my shirt. “So what do I do? Go and ask him about it?”
She sucks her lip and tilts her head, looking skeptical.
“Well, if you ask him, one of two things happens. He tells you the truth, and Felch was lying, and he’s slightly upset that you doubted him for ten minutes.
Or he lies, but you don’t know what his lying face is because you’ve never seen it before. ”
“Oh God…”
“Either way, go look at the file first. Then you’ll know if he’s an abuser.”
Just hearing those words from her mouth is like a dagger to my heart.
An abuser…
I can’t even picture it. Sure, Gareth ‘abused’ his police power to get with me, but I know that if I had made it clear to him that I wanted to leave, he would have let me go.
But I wanted it. And he saw that. And he gave me things…brought me places I never knew existed.
“I just…don’t believe it,” I finally whisper. Sarah leans in, placing a caring hand on my shoulder.
“I know. But we have to be honest here. You’ve known the guy for what? Less than a week? What do you really know about him?”
“Yeah,” I admit, the pain in my heart spreading. “You’re right.”
“Maybe go and look at what this Felch guy has to show you before you make your next move.”
I dig my teeth into my lip until it hurts, trying to distract myself from my internal pain. The pain of feeling my life crumble beneath my feet.
Going to Felch feels like a betrayal. I’ll be going behind Gareth’s back and snooping on him, just because another man said some things.
But if I’m going to stand by this man and devote my life to him, I have to know.
Slowly, I nod. “Yeah. I’ll go see him tomorrow.”
Sarah takes a moment, then leans in. “And don’t tell Gareth.”
Tears fall from my eyes. I shake my head. “Yeah. I won’t.”