Reckoning

by R. S. Broadhead

  “I don’t know what to tell you because I’m not on the “dude” side of things, but judging from this side, I think Jace loves you. He’s probably scared to death to text or call. You’re a little scary when you’re not mad, so he’s probably goin’ off that.” I hoped my little joke lightened her mood. Shayla was the stronger between the two of us, never letting anything faze her, so this was something new to me.

  “I’m not that scary,” she said, smiling.

  “You’re pretty hardcore. I don’t blame you for wantin’ to get the hell out of here though. I kinda wanna join you at this point.” I sat against the wall and bit my lip. In just a little while Sim would be here to make everything more complicated. How would I manage that?

  “Are things still bad with Steele?” His face popped into mind from earlier. The way he looked at me, it wasn’t something I liked. His eyes were always supposed to be warm and loving, not cold.

  “You saw the hole in the wall, so that should answer your question. I just need him to understand that Sim’s a part of my life that will always be there. I’m gonna always love him, no matter what. It doesn’t mean I wanna be with him though. I can’t trust him.”

  “Ollie’s gonna end up losin’ you if he doesn’t watch out. Believe me, there’s plenty out there waitin’ to be the next in line,” she said as she rolled over to spoon her teddy bear.

  “Yeah, well, I’m not gonna tell him that. I think that would make it a lot worse than it is already. So, do you want me to help you pack?”

  “You’re actually gonna allow me to go home without pitching a bitch fit?” she asked, sitting up. She wiped her snotty nose with the sleeve of her shirt as she stared at me with wide eyes.

  “I’m not gonna have my best friend miserable here, so if you wanna go home, I’ll support your choice. Don’t make me regret it though.”

  “I won’t. Yeah, let’s get this junk packed so I can put this place behind me.” We spent the next hour tearing apart the room she made just as cozy as the loft she called home. After we were done, the cold, bare walls looked just like they did the first day we got here. We had come so far. None of us were the same as when we started.

  “How’s it goin’, man?” a familiar voice, from not so far away, said. Shayla and I looked at each other with arched brows. We walked out of her room and peaked around the corner to see Sim and Fuzz in the hall with a bemused Payne standing in front of them.

  “Don’t talk to me, dude. I might have to live with you now, but that doesn’t mean we’re gonna be friends,” Payne told him. Sim smirked at him and nodded slightly. Payne crossed his arms, making the muscles bulge in a threatening way.

  “Fuzz, where’s he gonna sleep? We don’t want him on our side,” came Ollie’s voice. He strolled up, not even giving Sim the courtesy of eye contact. Lance was at his side giving Sim the skank eye.

  “He can have my room. I’m leaving today to go home. I’m sure he’ll be much more comfortable bein’ close to Reese anyway,” Shayla said. They all turned in our direction.

  “Hell yeah I would. You know, in case she wants to come tell me some bedtime stories or somethin’,” Sim replied. I couldn’t control my nerves. My heart was beating so hard. I didn’t dare look at Steele. I couldn’t take him looking at me now. I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants. He walked over to us, leaving them staring hatefully after him. Fuzz shook his head and turned to leave.

  “Crazy ass kids,” he mumbled. Sim threw his arm around my shoulders, which I shrugged off to keep my distance. He didn’t seem to care.

  “See, I told you I wouldn’t have a problem findin’ this place. Y’all got a sweet set up down here,” Sim said while checking the place out. “Which one of these rooms is yours, Reese?” he asked extra loud so the three guys still standing in the hall would hear with crystal clear perfection.

  “This one is mine,” I replied quietly, pointing to the one on the end. I was right. This was going to be extremely hard having him here. The best thing to do was keep my distance from him. “The one next to me is Dax, and the one on the other side is your new room.”

  “Nice. At least we won’t have far to walk to see each other at night.”

  “You tryin’ to stir up shit, ain’t you, Sim? This kinda makes me wanna stay just to see what’s gonna happen.” Shayla laughed.

  “You damn right, I am. They wanna be a dick to me, then I can show them a dick,” he said, cutting eyes back behind us.

  “That’s why you’ll always be my damn hero,” Shayla said. She gave him a fist bump. Sim started unpacking his stuff while Shayla and I grabbed all her bags and boxes and took them to my car parked in the garage.

  “Are you gonna tell anyone bye?” I asked.

  “No, I think they’ll manage. You can just tell them when they ask where I’m at.”

  “All right. Wait here, and I’ll go find out where we need to go to get out of this place.” I walked quietly toward Fuzz’s office and stopped when I heard voices. I peaked around the corner, careful not to let anyone see me.

  “I’m tellin’ you, Ollie needs to go ahead and cut that one loose. He even mentioned that to me. He said he shouldn’t have gotten involved with someone he works with,” Lance said.

  “Bullshit. That’s just him tryin’ not to look like a dumbass in case Reese does decide she wants Sim. Ollie loves her. I know my boy, and he’d rather do anything other than lose that girl,” Payne replied.

  “All it’s gonna take is one more thing to break that up. You wanna bet? Come on … I need some cash to fix the exhaust on my car anyway. Not all of us have an endless trust fund from our grandparents like Ollie. I wouldn’t trade my car for his, but it’d be nice to finish that beauty.”

  “Beauty? More like piece of shit,” Payne replied, laughing as they walked off.

  “It’s a classic.”

  I couldn’t say I wasn’t pissed about what I’d just overheard. Just because Sim was here, and I didn’t want to tell Ollie about stuff going on with me right now didn’t give him the right to go behind my back and tell his friend he was considering ending our relationship. But then again, maybe this was the opportunity I needed to leave.

  A FEW DAYS WENT BY with such awkwardness it made it almost impossible to live at the training facility. Ollie had only spoken a few words to me, making my anger toward him grow even more. I tried to stay clear of Sim to keep those thoughts out of Steele’s mind, and on top of everything else, Shayla hadn’t answered any of my calls or talked with anyone here. Worry was eating me alive, and I was beginning to think I did the wrong thing by taking her home. I kept replaying her words about being tired of it all. I thought horrible things until one day I couldn’t stand it any longer. I needed to check on her, regardless of the fact that she wanted to be alone.

  I threw my hair up in a loose bun and applied some lip gloss. I grabbed my purse and opened the door only to find Ollie on the other side.

  “Oh!” I said. My heart fluttered at the sight of him. His hair was messy as usual and his handsome face had a light stubble.

  “Dax and Fuzz wanted you to come down to the lab. They have somethin’ for you to take a look at,” he said, his voice emotionless.

  “Okay. I’m about to head out right now. I’m goin’ to check on Shayla. She hasn’t answered my calls since she left, and I’m worried about her. I really hope she hasn’t done anything crazy, you know?” He blinked a few times, and I briefly saw the Ollie who wanted to hold and comfort me, but then his face changed. He stared at me as if I were a stranger. No warmth, no emotion, he didn’t care.

  “She probably just doesn’t wanna talk to anyone,” he said after regaining his composure.

  “Will you ride with me to check on her?” I wanted him to say yes. I needed him now, and I missed his arms around me. I wasn’t ready to leave him just yet.

  “I’m busy with the guys. You’ll be fine. I’m sure she wants to spend time with you since you haven’t seen each other in a few days.” He turned and walked off befor
e I could say anything else. I really didn’t want to go alone, just in case I found something I didn’t want to. I let out an exasperated sigh and walked two doors over and tapped against the door. Despite wanting to stay away from him to prove a point to Ollie, I knew he wouldn’t let me go alone. Sim opened the door in a pair of loose jeans and a button down plaid shirt that hung open.

  “Hey there,” he said, leaning against the door. He gave me a cocky smile as he looked me up and down.

  “I was wonderin’ if you wanted to check on Shayla with me. She’s not answering when I call. I think I need to get her out, to take her mind off everything. You’re a good person for that.” I looked down at the floor to avoid his bare chest, but it was difficult.

  “Hey! No lookin’,” he said, catching me eyeing him. He covered his pecks. “Unless you wanna show me yours, then you can look all you want.”

  “I don’t think that’s somethin’ we need to be worrying about right now,” I said.

  “I’m always worried about it, when it comes to you.” He chuckled slightly as he noticed my face turning red. “You wantin’ to go hit some dirt roads? Cause if you are, we’ll have to make a beer run before headin’ out. Hell, I can’t remember the last time I’ve been this long without havin’ a cold one.”

  “Well, normally dirt roads would be awesome, but I’m thinkin’ she might be able to think about stuff too much out there. You know, because it’s all dark, she can look out the window while listening to some music, start reminiscing, and shit. So I was hopin’ you might have some other idea.”

  “Hmm … let’s just go out there and check on her first, and let me think about it.” He started buttoning his shirt and stopped about half way up, leaving his chest exposed. He grabbed a light jacket and ushered me out the door. “I don’t know why you have those keys out. You know I’m drivin’ us wherever we end up.” I glanced down at the hand that held onto my keys and smiled slightly, putting them in my bag.

  “Good, I kinda, sorta hate drivin’ anyway.”

  “You just grab me whenever you wanna go somewhere, and I’ll gladly take you, no matter where it is or how far. We can even drive to Vegas and get married tonight if you want to.” He walked me around to the passenger side of his truck and opened the door.

  “Thank you,” I said. I purposely ignored the last part. Sim was so full of crap. He didn’t mean anything he said. I seriously thought he was incapable of really having feelings for anyone.

  “Anything for you, Reese.” He gave me a wink and shut the door. Our ride to Shayla’s was quiet. I didn’t want him getting the wrong idea about my invitation. It was far from wanting to be alone with him.

  Shayla’s loft looked dark and deserted. Sim and I got out the truck and carefully went up the steps. I knocked on the door, but didn’t get a response. I knocked again and stood quietly trying to hear something inside. But there was nothing but silence.

  “Good thing I brought this,” I said as I pulled out the lock picking kit from my purse.

  “Man, they have literally taught you how to do everything, haven’t they? You don’t even need a man around anymore, do you?”

  “I don’t know. I think there are some things I need a man around for, but not many.” Before I heard the lock click, the door swung open, and Shayla’s gun and bewildered eyes met us. “Whoa now, you crazy ass hefer!” I shouted at her, stumbling back, bumping into Sim. Her skin was oily, and her normally shiny blond bob was matted and clumped together. She was wearing some stained pajamas, that looked like she’d been wearing them for days.

  “I didn’t kn … know who it w … was,” she replied, stuttering.

  “You better be glad it was us, otherwise you’d probably been done scared off a normal person with this wicked ass appearance you got goin’ on,” I told her as we pushed past her. “Now get in the shower and dress in somethin’ clean so me and Sim don’t have to hold our breath ridin’ in the truck with you.”

  “What makes you think I wanna go anywhere?” she asked, eyebrow arched. She threw the gun on the couch and crossed her arms. Her fuzzy, hot pink slipper tapped repeatedly against the wood floor.

  “You might not wanna go, but I’ma make you get in that truck one way or another. I don’t think you can get that gun up fast enough to stop me either,” I replied, giving her a slightly smart-ass grin.

  “Whatever.” She rolled her eyes, but turned and started back to her room. I sat beside Sim on the couch, and a few moments later, the shower cut on.

  “Shayla’s got a nice place,” Sim said, looking around the room. “Stinks like shit right now though.” I glanced back toward the kitchen and noticed the trash can overflowing with garbage and dirty dishes scattered across the counter, obviously the source of the horrendous odor in the normally tidy living space.

  “Yeah, she does,” I agreed. Ollie was everywhere in here. All around me were reminders of our first night together. I was so nervous as he confidently strolled over to me. He knew he wanted me that night. Had his feelings changed? It seemed like they had. I remember us laughing in the kitchen. I missed him so much.

  “She’s got a pretty hardcore horror movie collection over here,” he said, pulling me from my memories. He was crouched near her black entertainment center, fingering through some movies stacked in any open spot available. “You know, I haven’t watched shit like this since the night I got scared out of my damn mind at Cry Baby Bridge.”

  “What’s Cry Baby Bridge?” I asked, curiously.

  “It’s a bridge close to Saraland, that they say is haunted, and believe me, it is.”

  “That’s perfect!”

  “What’s perfect?” he asked, replacing the movie case he had been reading.

  “Let’s go ghost hunting! She’ll love that, and more importantly, it leaves no room for her to think about junk goin’ on with Jace.”

  I felt pretty confident in this new plan, even if Sim hadn’t intended on leading us out there. From the look he was giving me, he wasn’t too thrilled about the idea of revisiting it.

  “Just because I told you about the place doesn’t mean I wanna go back. Didn’t you just hear me say I got the shit scared out of me that night?”

  “Please, Sim?” I asked, moving a little closer to him. I gave him my best puppy dog expression. “You said you’d take me anywhere.” He laughed at me.

  “Damn that awesome charm of mine.” He sighed heavily and looked back at me. “All right, I guess I can take you out there, but if shit starts to get real, I’m shag assin’ outta there.”

  “Agreed. This is only for her benefit. I’m not too crazy about the idea either.” I sat back onto the couch, sinking into its soft cushions.

  “What idea is that?” Shayla asked as she came into the room. She replaced her dirty clothes with a t-shirt that read, ‘Jam Out With Your Clam Out’ and a pair of old, holey jeans. She sat beside me and started putting her socks and sneakers on.

  “Oh, just a little ghost hunting trip we’re takin’,” I replied. The corners of her mouth turned up.

  “Swwwweeeet!”

  Sim shook his head like both of us had officially lost our minds.

  “Y’all gonna give me a heart attack out there. I mean … I’m too pretty to die at such a young age. Me and Reese haven’t even got to bump uglies again or anything.” Shayla stopped what she was doing to stare at him.

  “Sim, if you really wanted all that then you shouldn’t have lost your damn mind when the two of you were dating. Now let’s get goin’, it stinks in here. Why didn’t y’all tell me that when you came in? I guess I’ve been marinating in it for so long I couldn’t smell it.” She wrinkled her nose and placed a hand across her face.

  The sun set behind the clouds as we arrived in Saraland. During the hour drive, I filled Shayla in on everything happening at the training camp. Sim grunted a few times during my rant over Steele. We were too early so we decided to grab a bite to eat while waiting on the night to fully settle in. “

  So, tel
l us what happened to you there,” Shayla demanded of Sim. She shoved a fork full of mashed potatoes in her mouth. He coughed and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. It was obviously something that embarrassed him.

  “Me and a buddy of mine crashed an after prom party one night in Chatom. Well, he comes up with the bright idea to go out there with a couple of folks from the party because someone told him about it. We didn’t think nothin’ was gonna happen. We stopped on the bridge because that’s what you’re supposed to do. We’re sittin’ there with the engine turned off, shootin’ the shit, and out of nowhere this radar detector thing that hadn’t worked in months starts goin’ crazy in the backseat. I’m thinkin’ maybe it was still plugged up, like in the back somewhere, so I reached around to grab it, but there wasn’t a cord comin’ out of it anymore. I started hearin’ this baby crying comin’ outta the speakers, and every hair on my body stood up. You better believe I turned that truck back on and gassed the shit out of it. Bad thing is the road dead ends so we had to go to the end and turn around to go back across it. That scanner was goin’ nuts the whole time. I straight up chunked that bitch out the window on the way back over it though.”

  “Wow. I’m so stinkin’ excited about this,” Shayla squealed, making an older couple a few tables away from us turn in our direction. “Let’s get movin’.” She grabbed her trash and strolled to the trash can, leaving us staring after her.

  “I guess that means we need to follow her,” Sim said. He was dragging behind like he was trying to take as much time as possible.

  “You don’t act excited about this,” I said, slowing down to walk beside him.