by Alex Jane
When she saw him, she sat back and threw up her hands, slapping the palms back down on the wooden surface. "Where the hell have you been?" she asked him with a roll of her eyes. "I've been texting you for two days. I thought your thumbs had fallen off."
"Some of us have things to do," Justin grumbled. "I'm working. What do you want?"
"Who pissed in your breakfast?" Casey frowned at him for a second before waving away her concern and leaning back on the bar again, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "It doesn't matter. I've got something that will cheer you right up."
Justin folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow. Casey waited, becoming a little perturbed when that was the only reaction she got, but plowed on anyway, saying excitedly, "Road trip!"
"Road trip."
"Yes." Casey clapped her hands together and bounced a little on the barstool. The movement made the curls around her face shimmy, and Justin wondered for a moment just how long she had spent doing her hair before she came out. "You. Me. We can pack a bag, load up the car, and get out of here."
"And go where exactly?"
Justin's lack of enthusiasm didn't appear to get through to Casey at all. She dismissed the query with a wave. "Nowhere, everywhere, does it matter? The important thing is the journey, right?"
"And when exactly would we be going on this little trip?"
Casey looked at the delicate watch on her wrist, pinching the dial between her thumb and forefinger as she tilted her head and thought it over. "Well, I'm pretty sure I can be packed and ready to go by six."
She was stunned when Justin barked out a laugh. "Are you having a nervous breakdown? Or did you take a bang to the head? I can call Joel to come check you over if you like."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
Justin sighed and stepped forward, putting his hands on the bar across from her. "If you think I would drop everything and leave town with you, there has got to be something seriously wrong. Christmas is in two days. I'm here with my family for once. Also, school will be starting again real soon. Plus, if it hasn't escaped your notice, I have a job. Actually, I have two jobs. Do you really expect me to drop everything for you?"
"But we always talked about doing something crazy like this." Casey looked more confused than anything, and her obliviousness on top of her ridiculous expression just made Justin feel more angry.
"No, you talked about it. In fact, you talked about a lot of things. Like how the only thing you wanted to do was be a lawyer like your parents. And yet somehow it looks like that isn't going to happen either."
"Is that what this is about?" Casey screwed up her nose and glared at him. "Just because I have the guts to quit and you don't."
It took everything Justin had not to yell at her. "I don't want to quit. I've never wanted to quit. And the fact that you quit doesn't mean you have guts. Quite the opposite. And while we're at it, this has got nothing to do with college and everything to do with you being a shitty friend."
The sneer that cut across Casey's face was ugly, but for the first time Justin felt as if he was seeing her for real. "You've got a fucking nerve, after everything I've done for you."
"What exactly would that be?"
"You have no idea."
"Oh, I think I do," Justin said. "I spoke to Marcus." The way Casey's whole body appeared to twitch at the mention of that name—the cruel smile on her face faltering for just a second—was gratifying. "I'm not entirely sure why I didn't speak to him five years ago. But then I'm pretty sure that you probably had something to do with that too."
"I've got no idea what you're talking about," Casey said, her voice distracted and mumbling as she looked away from him.
Her effort to dismiss him had Justin slapping his palm hard against the bar top, making her jump and attracting attention from a few other people in the room. "I'm talking about the fact you are a lying bitch who managed to get me to turn my back on the one person I've ever loved."
"Seems to me," she said, sweet and sly as she leaned in, "if you really loved him that much, there wouldn't be a damn thing I could do to make that happen."
"You made me think he was using me. You made me think he was telling everyone I was a whore and that he wanted to break up with me."
Justin didn't realize how much he had been raising his voice until Tyler appeared at his elbow. "You two need to take this outside," his uncle said, his voice measured but full of warning. If it had been anybody else, they might have checked to see if everything was all right, but, Tyler being Tyler, he didn't bother. He'd never been one to fight Justin's battles for him.
Justin didn't hesitate, simply moved to the end of the bar, rounding it and heading for the door. Casey whined and slumped her shoulders, but Tyler wasn't going to fall for that. Raising his eyebrows, he put one meaty hand on the bar top and said quietly, "I can throw you out on your ass if you like."
It was freezing outside. There had been a dusting of snow a couple of days before and the ground had been cold enough to keep it there. But even the frigid wind that had picked up that day wasn't enough to cool Justin off. He paced up and down in the parking lot until Casey showed up, pulling her coat tight around her and lifting the fur-brimmed hood up over her head.
"You're making a fuss about nothing," she said as she approached him. "For god's sake, this happened years ago. Just because you happened to clap eyes on him again, I can't believe you're getting all mushy over that loser."
"Right now, how I feel or felt about Roman isn't the issue. Right now all I want to know is why in the hell you would do that to me?"
Casey looked genuinely surprised. "Do what to you? I saved you from yourself and your terrible taste in men. God knows somebody had to. You might have seen through his act eventually, but I wasn't going to wait around and have you ruin your life with someone like him."
Anger wasn't really an emotion Justin was familiar with. He could be bitchy—he was the first to admit that. He might get irritated and a little sarcastic, but he wasn't sure until that moment he'd really understood how a person could want to beat the crap out of another human being. Even during that terrible time when he and Roman had been breaking up, he had been angry then, but it had come from being heart-broken and hurt. Not rage like this.
"I was in love with him!" Justin wanted to shake her, to try to shake some sense into her. "You let me think that he didn't love me!"
Casey laughed, throwing her head back and cackling up at the sky. "Of course he didn't love you. And you never loved him, not really."
"How can you say that?"
"You've got to be kidding me? I make one comment about something he might have said, and the next thing I know you're coming crying to me because you broke up with him."
Fury was eating at Justin, and he felt as if he could hardly get his breath. "It wasn't like that and you know it." Clutching at his hair, it was Justin's turn to laugh then, a hysterical sound that bubbled right up from his chest. "I can't believe I've been so stupid. I can't believe I fell for your bullshit."
"You fell for it because you wanted to believe it. You were just looking for an excuse to get out and I gave you one. I'm ready any time you want to say thank you."
"Oh my god. You are delusional. How could I have ever thought you were my friend?"
"All I've ever done is think about your stupid feelings. You're such a baby about this stuff. I feel like I've spent my whole life clearing up your mess."
"You're so full of shit," Justin spat out, his fists curling at his sides, trembling with the effort of holding back. "It was never about me, not any of it. Just you and your selfish, spoiled ego."
"Selfish—?"
"No, you listen to me for once. I know this is my fault. I know that I have gone years ignoring people when they told me what a bitch you were. I know I shouldn't have taken what you told me at face value. I know I should have listened to Roman instead of just accusing him." Justin covered his face with his hands, his icy fingers pushing into
his hair. "Oh my god, I said such terrible things to him. I don't know how he can forgive me."
"I don't even know why you would want him to," Casey said, stepping forward and touching Justin on the arm. "He walked away from you once before, he'd only do it again given the chance.
Justin wrenched his arm away and stepped back, dropping his hands and glaring at her. But that didn't seem to deter Casey at all. "Look. Why don't you come away with me for a while? Like we talked about. I think it would do you good to get some distance and we can talk all this out."
"Come away with you?" Justin whispered. "I don't want to come away with you. I don't want to ever see you again after today. It's pretty clear you don't give a shit about me. And I'm starting to think you're actually a crazy person."
There was something in the way Casey blinked at him that made him think he was finally getting through her thick skull. "But it's always been you and me," she said, starting to sound desperate. "Casey and Justin. We're a team. You need me."
"I can categorically say I am one hundred percent sure that I will be alright without you. And for the record, I never needed you. And you never needed me. You just never wanted me to need somebody else."
Clearly, that touched a nerve, given the way Casey screeched and launched herself at him. Under different circumstances the look on her face might have been funny, the way she came at him with her manicured nails ready to scratch his eyes out, but it was no joke. He raised his arms and covered his face, hoping that was enough to protect him. He had no intention of hitting back, but when he stumbled and fell backward she threw herself on him, raining down blows with closed fists, he wondered whether he should be doing a better job of defending himself.
In the end, he didn't have to. After a second, the weight on his chest vanished as someone lifted Casey off him. As he struggled to his feet, he could still hear her screeching. Standing a few feet away was Eric, his father's friend, with one hand around Casey's waist as he held her effortlessly against his side while she kicked and bleated out expletives.
"Jesus, kid." Eric looked unfazed by the assault going on next to him and more concerned about the state of Justin. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay," Justin murmured, although he wasn't sure how truthful he was being. He felt shaken and scratched up and raised his hand to touch the back of his head where he was pretty sure he'd hit the ground. Looking at his fingers and seeing no blood, he was a little relieved he hadn't knocked himself out, although he was still pissed Eric'd had to save him in the first place.
"You should get back inside," Eric said calmly. "Maybe get Ty to check you over. You're the last person I expect to see fighting in the parking lot. I think this one should stay out here until she's cooled off."
"No," Justin barked. "I don't want her back inside. I don't want her anywhere near me. She's barred."
Whatever was going on in Casey's head at that moment, Justin's words got through, and she went from raging to weeping in the blink of an eye. The sorrowful sound even made Eric look sympathetic, until Justin caught him with a steady glare. "Don't fall for it. The bitch ruined my life. She comes near me again I'm pressing charges. Let's see how Mommy and Daddy like her after that."
He walked away, not worrying how Eric would handle things. The man was six foot four of muscle and tattoos and had faced down worse things than a raging girl. Although knowing him, he'll be taking Casey out for coffee and a shoulder to cry on before taking her home and talking to her parents about family therapy or something. Justin often wondered whether Eric was the kind of guy social workers loved for helping out or hated for taking their jobs.
When he walked back into the bar, he kind of wished he had Eric there to back him up. He made a point of keeping his eyes on the floor, but that didn't stop the sensation of a room full of people watching him as he stomped across the room towards the staff bathroom. He was washing his hands in the sink when his uncle came in. Tyler didn't say anything, just laid the first aid kit down on the edge of the sink and started checking Justin over.
Justin stood there, letting Tyler grab his hands and turn them over to check his knuckles and push his sleeves up to check his elbows. When he cupped the back of Justin's head. Justin winced.
"You've got a lump the size of an egg," Tyler said, matter-of-factly, as he broke an ice pack, shaking the bag before applying it to the back of Justin's head, dragging Justin's hand up to keep it there. "I hope the other guy is worse off than you."
"I'm not going to hit a girl, Jesus, "Justin mumbled.
Tyler snorted. "Maybe if you had done back then, this wouldn't have gone so far."
"Maybe." Justin covered his face with his hand, unsuccessfully trying to keep back the tears. "I can't believe I've been so fucking stupid."
"And what makes you so special that you think you don't get to be stupid like the rest of us."
Justin huffed out a wet laugh and looked up at his uncle. "I don't see you acting like a dumbass and falling for some stupid lies when you should know better."
There was something about the way Tyler smiled slightly to himself and shook his head as he opened the Neosporin and started dabbing it onto some of the scratches Justin had on his face and forearm. "Ah, kiddo. You should ask your dad sometime. He'll tell you there's a picture of me under 'dumbass' in the dictionary. So believe me when I tell you, it doesn't matter what you've done, it only matters what you're going to do."
"I have no fucking idea what I'm going to do," Justin whispered.
Tyler finished packing up the medical kit and then lightly smacked Justin on the cheek. "Language. And, you better figure it out soon. I think you've both waited long enough to be happy, don't you?"
8
The back door of the house opened the moment Justin was shaking some painkillers from the bottle into his palm. Looking up, he felt the need to groan when he saw Joel, in uniform and holding his medical bag, his eyebrows raised in a "what the hell?" expression.
"Did Tyler call you?" Justin asked, leaning back against the counter and trying not to wince at the pulsing headache. "I'm fine. It's just a couple of scratches."
"And a s-solid b-bang to the head, from what I h-hear," Joel added, with a look that said he wouldn't be putting up with any argument. When he jerked his head to the kitchen table, Justin rolled his eyes, but dutifully pulled out a chair while Joel opened his kit and snapped on a pair of latex gloves. "You w-wanna tell me what happened?"
"Not really," Justin muttered when Joel tipped his head forward and started pressing around the back of his skull. "She pushed me, I slipped on nothing, banged my head and my shoulder on the curb when I hit the deck. It was a stupid accident. I'm fine."
"I guess you're t-taking T-T-Tylenol just for fun, then?"
Justin shrugged. "I've got a headache." He turned slightly in his seat and looked up over his shoulder, smirking. "I did bang my head, y'know."
"Smart ass." Smiling, he slipped his penlight out of his pocket and gave it a twist as he came to step in front of Justin, flicking the light back-and-forth in front of Justin's eyes, the look of concentration on his face didn't waver, even when they heard the back door open. "Well, you look okay to me," he said, stepping back.
"Awesome. Is that enough evidence for you to report back to my mom, or do you need me to take my shirt off?" Justin asked with a wry smile.
It dropped away pretty quickly when a voice behind him said, "Don't let me stop you."
Justin turned abruptly towards the sound of Roman's voice, blushing a little at being caught flirting with his uncle's husband. Anyone who knew Justin had to know cheekiness was ninety percent of his personality, and he had never made any effort to disguise the fact he thought Joel was incredibly attractive. Still, it wasn't the sort of thing he would ever do in front of Roman. Even though they weren't together anymore.
Joel, thankfully, thought the whole incident was hilarious. He chuckled to himself as he slipped off his gloves and put them in the trash. "You should be f-fine," he said. "B
ut if you s-start to feel n-nauseated, g-get double vision or—"
"I know, I know," Justin mumbled. "I'm pretty sure if I had a concussion I would know already."
Joel raised his eyebrows at him again and scooped up his bag. "Don't t-take any chances," he said with a pointed finger for Justin and a slap on Roman's shoulder as he passed him, saying, "Let me know if you need a lift later," before he disappeared out the door.
Justin frowned up at Roman, somewhat wrong-footed by his appearance. "What are you doing here?"
"What? I'm not allowed to even visit? Not even to get the lowdown on your epic fistfight?"
Justin laughed, pushing himself out of the chair and towards the fridge. "Do I really look like someone who would be in a fistfight?"
"Okay," Roman said as he slid into Justin's vacated seat. "Let me rephrase that. Am I not allowed to visit you after you've been bitch-slapped?"
Justin gasped dramatically and clutched at his chest. "Okay, technically she is a bitch and, technically, she did slap me—"
"I'm not hearing any kind of denial here," Roman said, a wicked smile on his face.
Justin was finding it too hard to think, given the way Roman was lolling in the chair, his thighs spread, one arm hooked over the back, looking comfortable as all hell. It took him a second to regain his composure before he could answer. "I slipped, okay? It's not my fault. I could've totally taken her."
"Sure you could." Justin scowled and threw a spoon at him. Roman laughed but quickly his expression became somber. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"
It was Justin's turn to laugh then. "Why does everybody keep asking me that?"
"I don't know. Maybe because not talking got us fucked up in the first place?" It was a low blow. Even though what he was saying was true—probably especially because it was true—the words tore through Justin's heart and left him breathless. Their effect wasn't lost on Roman either, as he cleared his throat and added, "Shit. I didn't mean it like that."