by Meghan Quinn
“That’s what I get for texting and driving,” she joked.
“I guess so,” Nash responded awkwardly, not really knowing what to say. “Uh, let me help you with your cart.”
“Oh, you don’t have to. Might be inappropriate, you know, you touching my underwear and all.”
“Underwear?” Nash asked.
Her hand went to her mouth instantly and her face brightened to a scary shade of red. “I mean toilet paper!”
“Why would that be weird?” Nash asked, starting to think the girl in front of him was all kinds of quirky.
“Because toilet paper is for private parts, so it would be like you’re touching my private parts.”
Nash bent down to help pick up the bundles of toilet paper when he stopped and stood back up, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Do you seriously believe that?”
“Do you believe in unicorns?”
What?
This chick was high; there was no other explanation for her weirdness.
Instead of answering, Nash laughed uncomfortably and started gathering the packages up as quickly as possible, wondering if the grocery store would get mad at him if he popped open a beer right now.
“I take that as a no. That’s okay. It’s harder for men to believe in things they can’t see.” She clanked two packages of toilet paper together and then tossed them in her cart. “Thankfully, you guys believe in toilet paper. Could you imagine if you didn’t? What a mess.”
Yup, she was certifiable.
“Okay,” he said.
“You must be wondering why I have so much toilet paper in my cart.”
“Hey, what you have in your cart is your own business,” Nash answered, not wanting to engage in conversation anymore.
“I’m going to toilet paper the mayor’s house,” she announced. “Got to stock up. I’m planning on making it rain white over there.”
Nash picked up the last of the spill and looked at the redhead with his hands on his hips. “You plan on toilet papering the mayor’s house? And you think you can get away with it?”
“Of course.”
Her confidence was entertaining.
“You realize he most likely has cameras on his property.”
“Oh, I know. Along the corridors and fence, but don’t worry. I know my way around them. I’m pretty stealth.”
“Okay,” Nash answered skeptically. “Good luck with that, lady.”
“Fallon.”
“Excuse me?” Nash asked.
“My name, it’s Fallon. And you’re Nash.”
“How do you know my name?” Nash backed up a little, wondering what else this nutcase knew.
“It says it on your dog tags dangling from your neck. Plus, I see you get weed from my little brother all the time. You really shouldn’t be smoking that stuff. I mean, I appreciate you supporting my brother’s entrepreneurial skills, but we are trying to encourage him to go the lemonade route, rather than the whole drug dealing thing.”
She was related to Sean? Talk about complete opposites. She was small, red-headed with green eyes. Sean was tall like Nash, blonde hair, and brown eyes. He never would have placed the two as relatives.
“Sean is your brother?”
“Sure,” she shrugged.
“Sure? You either know if he’s your bother or he isn’t.”
“I consider him my brother, but if you ripped us open for a DNA match, it would be a big negative. I was adopted when I was fifteen by Sean’s parents.”
Fifteen was old to be adopting someone; Nash had a new-found respect for Sean’s family.
“That’s cool,” Nash responded, really not knowing what else to say.
“So, you’re going to stop buying pot from Sean, right?” Her hands rested on her hips and she tried to stand tall, an intimidating position to her, but to Nash, she looked ridiculous.
“Sure,” Nash said, copying her answer.
“I don’t believe you, but that’s okay. Next time, I’ll make sure to swap out your stash with oregano. Have fun smoking up some Italian herbs instead.” With her head thrown back, she gripped her stomach and started laughing hysterically at her lame ass joke.
Fucking weirdo.
“Alright,” Nash nodded and stepped past her, heading straight for his beer. He was going to have to stop off at a liquor store as well, because after that conversation, he was going to need some heavy liquor to wash away that memory.
From over her shoulder, she called, “Sure you don’t want to toilet paper with me? It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
“Rather not go to jail, but thanks for the offer,” Nash shot back, loading his cart with beer.
“Fine, your loss. Oh, and by the way, the 420 drinks like piss. The Hops Hash is where it’s at.”
Nash was about to dispute her when she walked off with her cart full of toilet paper and her pants sagging in the butt.
What a strange, strange woman.
The next day, Nash was thumbing pretzel crumbs off his couch with the news playing in the background. His attention was drawn to the TV when a reporter started talking about the mayor’s house. Just as he looked up, a picture of the Mayor’s house, practically painted in white toilet paper, appeared on the screen. The trees were covered from trunk to branch. The bushes were draped, as well as the pillars, and even the lawn. It looked like it had snowed at the mayor’s house. When she said she was going to make it rain toilet paper, she meant it.
The reporter spoke up. “Authorities have no possible leads as to who made it snow at the mayor’s house, but the police did seem impressed with the culprit’s ability to work around the cameras. In good humor, the mayor said he was quite awestruck when he woke up to see the mess on his front yard and blamed his snoring for not hearing the ruckus outside. The police department will continue to look into the story, but for now, if you need some toilet paper, you know where to find some.”
Shaking his head in amusement, he thought of the weird redhead he met at the grocery store. If anyone could pull off toilet papering the mayor’s house, it was most likely Fallon. She was a bit of a wild card, slightly insane, and incredibly quirky. She probably dressed like a tree and threw toilet paper on herself. Nash wouldn’t put it past her.
**Connor**
Shades of black walked by him as he stared down at the ground, not making eye contact with any of the funeral attendees. It had been one hell of a long week with the baby in the NICU, trying to find Austin, and figuring out funeral arrangements.
After Lucy passed on the surgery table, Austin bolted. He never showed up to spring training, and he wasn’t at his apartment either. Therefore, Connor was left with trying to piece everything together. The baby still didn’t have a name, he was just known as Baby Lee, taking Austin’s last name, since technically, he was his child, but Connor was the one who spent night and day by the baby’s side, making sure his lungs developed.
Now, he had to say goodbye to the love of his life. The one woman he could see a future with.
A strong hand gripped his shoulder, and without looking, Connor knew it was his brother, Luke.
“Can I do anything for you?” Luke asked, strain in his voice.
Luke was still raw and patching up his own life. Connor feared if he clung closely to his brother for help, then Luke wouldn’t be able to fix himself; he would focus too much on helping his brother, so instead, Connor leaned on their parents for help.
“I’m good,” Connor croaked out, his voice a foreign sound to him.
“I’m so sorry,” Molly said, pulling Connor into a hug.
Molly, was she really sorry? She hated Lucy, more than anyone. Was she really sorry she passed or was she actually giddy inside?
“Are you really?” Connor asked before he could stop himself.
“Connor,” Luke warned, as Molly gasped and pulled away.
“Of course I’m sorry. Lucy and I had our differences, Connor, but I would never wish something like this to happen to any
one, especially my brother-in-law.”
“Okay,” Connor answered, not buying it. Maybe it was the mood he was in, but he refused to believe Molly wasn’t at least a little bit happy about the outcome.
“Connor…”
“Don’t,” Connor cut her off. “I’m not in the mood, Molly. Just leave me be for now.”
She paused and looked at Luke before speaking. She squeezed Connor’s hand and said, “Okay. I truly am sorry, and if you need anything, please let me know.”
Connor nodded and walked away from Luke and Molly. He would hear from Luke about his behavior, but that was a conversation Connor would worry about later. Right now, he just wanted to fold up inside himself and pretend the nightmare he’d been living in would disappear.
Jim and Marcia, Connor’s parents, talked to Lucy’s parents, expressing their condolences, as friends and family of Lucy’s milled about with sullen looks on their faces.
Lucy’s parents had decided on an open casket, choosing to give everyone one last chance to say their goodbyes. The white casket was in the middle of the funeral home, surrounded by bouquets of flowers offering their sympathies. Connor didn’t take the time to look at the notes from family and friends because half the people he didn’t even know. Technically, he was just the boyfriend, he wasn’t even the father of her baby, but even though his role in what happened seemed minimal, he felt like he suffered the greatest loss.
Yes, Lucy’s parents lost a daughter, but they also had been a part of her entire life. Even Austin for that matter, he’d known Lucy for a long time. Connor on the other hand, he only had a short period of time to spend with her, but within that time, he fell madly in love with her…the kind of love he knew he would only find once in a lifetime.
Life was cruel.
“There you are,” Lucy’s father, Clint, said. “Were you able to see the baby this morning?”
Connor nodded. “Yeah, he was doing well this morning. There is real progress in his development. Last night I was able to hold him, do some skin on skin contact.”
“That’s great. Beth and I can’t tell you how grateful we are for you stepping in and taking care of our grandson.”
“It’s not stepping in,” Connor said with a bitter tone. “He was going to be mine to raise all the time.”
Once again, Connor felt like an outsider looking in. He wasn’t really a part of Lucy’s family, according to others. He hadn’t spent much time with Lucy’s parents; they didn’t know him that well, so right now, he looked like someone who felt obligated to help with their dead daughter’s baby, when in fact, he’d felt like a father ever since he found out Lucy was pregnant.
“That’s right, I’m sorry,” Clint apologized. “Have you seen Austin at all? I know he is at spring training. We were thrilled to hear he was the father of the baby, since he and Lucy were so close in high school. Such a shame they couldn’t work things out.”
Clint apparently wanted to be punched in the face at his own daughter’s funeral.
Not caring about saving face, Connor stood tall and spoke directly at Clint. “Austin is a sorry excuse for a man. He impregnated your daughter and went off with someone else. He used her. I was the one who took care of her, who made sure her heart was never broken again, who fucking loved her. Get that through your head. I was the man your daughter was going to marry, so bring up that fucker’s name again and see where it gets you.”
Clint’s shocked expression didn’t faze the seething Connor as he stepped to the side, bumped Clint’s shoulder, and walked off, not bothering to apologize for his harsh words. Where was a bar when he needed one?
“Hey, Connor.”
The small voice of Jane Matthews broke through the thick cloud hanging over Connor’s head. Jane knew what it was like to lose something so incredibly precious. She was the one person besides her husband who would know just a sliver of the kind of pain Connor was going through right now.
“Jane,” Connor addressed her, turning around to see her make-up free face full of sorrow.
Without even thinking twice, he wrapped her up in a hug and pulled her into his chest. Her small hands rubbed his back as they held each other and cried. Not only was Jane Lucy’s boss, but she was also her really good friend, so the loss of Lucy was also devastating for Jane.
As they hugged each other, another pair of arms wrapped around them. Patty joined in on their grief and cried onto Jane’s shoulder. Connor wrapped an arm around her as well and snuggled closely.
After a few minutes, Connor pulled away and wiped his face as he looked up to see Marc standing closely behind Patty and Brady Matthews off to the side, eyeing the embrace.
Patty grabbed Connor’s hand and squeezed it tightly, offering condolences. “I’m so sorry, Connor. I truly can’t believe she’s gone.”
“Me either. It just seems like a nightmare that won’t end,” Connor admitted.
“Well if you need anything, please let us know. We are here for you.”
“We are,” Marc confirmed, wrapping his arm around Patty’s waist.
“Thanks.” Connor squeezed Patty’s hand. As he squeezed, he felt something hard wrapped around her ring finger. Taking a gander, he saw she was wearing an enormous engagement ring. When he looked up at Patty to confirm, she almost looked guilty. “Did you two get engaged?”
“We don’t have to talk about that,” Patty offered.
“You did,” Connor responded, trying his best to put on a smile for the couple. “That’s fantastic. Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” Marc beamed with pride. Patty, on the other hand, hid her hand and looked ashamed.
“We shouldn’t be talking about this here,” Patty chastised Marc.
“It’s okay,” Connor said. “I’m happy for you two. Lucy would have been over the moon about the news. You two have been through a lot and deserve this.”
“Thank you.”
“Hey, man,” Brady said, walking up to the group. He and Marc shook hands, and then Brady offered his hand to Connor, who took it. Brady pulled Connor into a one handed hug. “I’m sorry about your loss.”
How many more times was Connor going to have to hear those words? “I’m sorry for your loss.” He hated those five words, fucking despised them. Hearing those words combined together with the sympathetic looks made it even more difficult for him to breathe. It made it almost impossible for him to function.
When they pulled away, Connor noticed Jane was no longer standing near Patty and Marc. She’d disappeared. Brady noticed the same thing when he looked around while stepping back.
“Thanks for coming. It means a lot,” Connor said on auto-pilot. “I know you have a lot going on with spring training and all of that.”
“Baseball can wait during times like this. How’s the little guy?”
“Doing well. Getting stronger each day.” Not really caring about where Austin was, but needing him to sign the baby out of the hospital when the time came, Connor asked, “Have you heard from Austin?”
Brady shook his head. “We’ve tried calling him a few times. Coach is giving him a little bit of a break, but I can tell he’s starting to get impatient…not knowing Austin’s whereabouts.”
“Well, if you hear anything, let me know.”
Just as Connor was saying the words, a loud ruckus broke out over by the casket.
“Don’t talk to her like that. She’s not dead!”
Connor quickly rushed over to see a drunken Austin hovering over the casket, pushing people away and yelling at them.
Needing to diffuse the scene before a fight broke out, he grabbed Austin by the back of his shirt and rushed him to a corner, where Austin’s flying appendages knocked over a few flower arrangements.
“Get the fuck off of me, needle dick,” Austin spat, vodka pouring off of his breath.
Connor’s hand went straight to Austin’s throat, pinning him to the wall. “Shut the fuck up, you piece of shit.”
Austin’s knee flew up into Connor’s s
tomach, making him buckle over in pain, relieving Austin of his pin down.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do. You knew Lucy for what? Two days? I’ve known her for my whole life. You don’t get to have a say in what happens now that she’s gone.”
“The hell I don’t,” Connor roared, forgetting about not wanting to cause a scene. “Unlike you, I loved her and treated her with respect. I wanted to grow old with her.”
Austin rolled his eyes and moved his hand up and down like a fake puppet. Drunk Austin equaled extremely immature Austin. “She was using you to make me jealous.”
“Say that again, asshole,” Connor threatened.
Austin unsteadily matched Connor’s height, toe to toe, and practically rubbed noses with him as he spoke. “She was only using your dick to make me jealous.”
“Mother fucker,” Connor yelled, pushing Austin to the ground and attacking him.
They rolled around on the ground, throwing punches at each other every chance they got, until Luke and Brady broke them up. Brady picked Austin up off of Connor and spoke into his ear as Luke grabbed onto Connor, trying to soothe him.
“Dude, you have to calm down.” Luke’s voice held a heavy warning in it.
Blood dripped from Connor’s nose. Quickly wiping it away, he pointed at Austin and said, “Are you going to actually try to be a father, or are you going to bail on that as well?”
“Child was going to be a bastard anyway, why would I help?”
A gasp fell over the crowd at Austin’s callous words, just as Clint stepped up to diffuse the disruption.
“You two have done enough for today. You can either leave on your own, or I will have the police escort you out.”
“You can’t make us leave,” Connor said, fear lacing his heart at not being able to say good bye to Lucy.
“Watch me,” Clint answered.
Luke let go of Connor and pulled Clint to the side, clearly trying to find some reasoning for Clint’s ultimatum. Connor stood to the side, feeling completely numb. His eyes drifted over the crowd that formed around them, and that was when he finally looked at Lucy. She was completely lifeless, but gorgeous as ever.