Reflect Me

by K. B. Webb

  He crawled in beside me and kissed my cheek softly before rolling me over so my back was to his front.

  I smiled contently. “Thank you for the best first date ever.” He squeezed me and pulled me in a little closer to him.

  “It’s only going to get better, Cookie. I promise.” And I believed him.

  Ryan had been staying at my house for a week and it was great. He referred to Lyric as his niece and loved on her every chance he got. He spent lots of time with Logan, Lucas, and Justin. All of the guys seemed to accept Ryan instantly, which was a great feeling for me. Ryan was my brother as much as Wynee was my sister, and I wanted my friends and my boyfriend to love him too. Ryan spent most of his days applying for training positions, working out, and seeing his counselor. He hadn’t gone into too much detail about what had happened when he was deployed, but I could hear him cry and scream in his sleep some nights. I never brought it up to him though. Logan and I both agreed that he must have known about the problem because he took sleeping meds, and us bringing it up would just be awkward for everyone.

  Ryan only brought up Colt once, and it was when he and I were alone.

  Logan was at work and Lyric was napping. I was helping him fold his clothes when I noticed a picture on his dresser. It was from my high school graduation. I was sandwiched between Ryan and Colt; we were all smiling. I walked over and picked it up, running my fingers across Colt’s face.

  “You know I still miss him every day. I keep thinking it will get easier, but I still miss him just as much as I did four years ago.” Ryan was sitting on his bed, watching me hold the picture. I knew what he meant by thinking it would get easier. You assume the pain will fade, and while it may dull some, it never really goes away. You still wake up each day feeling like there is a hole in your heart.

  “I miss him too. So damn much. He was my best friend. I sometimes wonder what things would be like if he was still here.” I sat down next to Ryan with tears running down my face.

  “Well, I think if he was still here, he would be really happy you found Logan.” I looked at him with shock in my eyes. I always assumed that if Colt had lived we would have ended up together. I felt like it was inevitable. “Don’t look at me like that, Birdie. I know you loved Colt, and I know Colt loved you, but y’all were never meant to spend the rest of y’all’s lives together. It was never in the cards for y’all. But, I know y’all would have always been friends. Best friends.”

  I nodded in agreement. I guess I had never thought about it like that, but Ryan was right. Colt and I loved each other deeply, but we weren’t soul mates. Logan was my soul mate, and I knew it.

  “You think he would like Logan though?” I smiled shyly at Ryan.

  “I know so, Birdie. Logan’s a great guy. He’s good to you and my little niece. He loves you two so damn much, anyone can see that. Colt would have been able to see that.”

  We quickly left the heavy conversation for a lighter one. He started talking about me egging Colt’s girlfriends from their tree house. Everyone loved that damn story, even Colt.

  The only thing in my life that wasn’t going smoothly were the random phone calls I was getting. They were always from blocked numbers and the person on the other end never spoke, just lots of heavy breathing. In my gut, I knew it was Brian. I didn’t know where he was, or why he was calling, but I knew it was him.

  I thought about telling Logan about it, but I didn’t want to worry him. Brian was just trying to intimidate me, but it wouldn’t work this time. He didn’t have enough balls to actually show up anywhere near my house. Ryan lived here now, and Logan basically did too. He would know he couldn’t win against those two.

  I was getting ready for work that Friday, excited to be singing that night. Music was a big part of Ryan’s life too. It was something Ryan, Colt, and I all did together. He and Colt actually called me songbird, which they eventually shortened to Birdie. Ryan still played guitar and was great at it. He kept trying to convince me to pick it back up. He was certain that I would still know how to play everything I did years ago. I was pretty sure he was right, but I just couldn’t do it. I was slowly getting over Colt’s death, in my own time, but I wasn’t ready for that part yet.

  I got to work a few minutes early that night. I was itching to perform. I had this feeling that it was going to be a special one. I couldn’t place exactly why, but I just knew it.

  Ricky’s was packed when I showed up around 10pm. Luckily, Molly had sat a reserved sign at our usual table. There were more girls out than there normally were, and many of them flocked to our table. Molly, Wynee, and Dani would take turns shooing them away. Lucas wouldn’t tell me what was going on with him and Dani, but I did see her kiss him when he walked to the bar to say hi to her. Those two were complicated, and that was coming from someone in a complicated relationship of their own.

  There was one blonde girl that kept coming back to Ryan. She was laying it on thick and he was trying his best to just ignore her. She caught sight of the scar on the back of his arm and ran her finger across it.

  “What happened here, bad boy? Get into a fight or something?” God her bubble gum voice was worse than nails on a chalkboard. So sugary and sweet, even though she was obviously neither.

  “Yeah, I got in a fight with a car bomb. The car bomb won.” Ryan spoke through gritted teeth. His shoulders were tense and the grip he had on his beer bottle was a deadly one.

  “Oh, you’re a soldier? I think men in uniform are so sexy.” Jesus, this girl couldn’t take a hint to save her life!

  “Beat it, bitch. He has no interest in you or your toddler voice.” Molly spoke from behind Miss Priss and we all laughed at the look of shock across the girl’s face.

  “I don’t think I was talking to you, fat ass. Move along. These guys are too good for a girl like you anyway.” I was about to say something but Ryan beat me to it.

  “See that’s where you’re wrong. Molly here is better than you will ever be. Now go back to your little friends and tell them that you got shot down by four guys at once.” Ryan was the kind of guy who didn’t have to say a lot to get his point across. He spoke in short sentences, but they always had an impact.

  Dumb blonde started rambling again and Molly grabbed her ponytail. “I think this nice guy told you to get the fuck away from him. Do we need to write it in pink glitter on a fucking poster board for you to get it?” That must have gotten the point across because she finally stormed off back to a table full of girls that looked just like her.

  Molly kissed me and hugged Ryan before walking to check on her tables.

  “Dude, I don’t mean to be rude, but why didn’t you just bang her and never talk to her again. That’s what I would have done. I mean, if I didn’t have Dani that is.” Lucas had always been a player. He didn’t do serious relationships, well not before Dani at least.

  “Honestly, man, girls like that just don’t appeal to me anymore. Every time I would come back to the states for a few months of leave, I would fuck at least twenty girls who were just like that.” He pointed at the table full of silicone clones. “Now, I just don’t have any interest in them. I’m 26-years-old, and at some point, I need to find a good girl and settle down. But, it damn sure won’t be with a girl like that.”

  We all agreed. I think each of us had been with a few of those girls in our day, but we all had found good girls worth having now. I just hoped that Ryan would find his good girl one day.

  Molly’s songs with Texas Line that night went great. She started with “All For You” by Sister Hazel, which was a huge crowd pleaser. The bar was packed and there were people everywhere dancing and singing along. For her next song, she did “Run Around” by Blues Traveler. That was another song that the crowd loved. Seeing Molly dance around the stage, singing and laughing was the most beautiful sight. We all raised our beers and sang along with her. She was so damn talented. She could have gone far with her music, but she always told me if it was work, it wouldn’t be fun anymore.


  For her third and final song of the night, all the guys cleared the stage and Molly brought up two stools. She stood in front of the microphone. “Hey, guys, I hope everyone is having a great night.” The bar erupted in cheers and claps. “Great! We’re going to do something a little different tonight. A dear, dear friend of mine just came back from his final deployment with the Army. He plays guitar and he is honestly amazing. I was hoping I could convince him to come play along with me for just one song.”

  Ryan’s eyes were as big as saucers and he was shaking his head side to side. I didn’t even know Ryan played guitar, but it didn’t surprise me. That guy seemed like he knew how to do a little bit of everything. “Come on, Ryan, what do you say? Just one song. Pretty please?” Molly had her hands folded in front of her chest in a praying position. Ryan sat for a second before sighing and making his way to the stage. The crowd’s cheers became louder and Molly joined along. Wynee had taken a spot next to Justin and Dani sat in Lucas’ lap.

  “I would just like to say that I am doing this purely out of guilt, and the fact that I live with this girl and I don’t want to get evicted.” Molly slapped Ryan’s shoulder and he let out a loud laugh. “I’m just kidding. I love this girl dearly, and I would do anything for her. Just remember she forced me to do this when you all realize I’m not nearly as good as she said I was.”

  Ryan placed the guitar over his shoulder and sat on the stool next to Molly, adjusting the microphone. They both covered their mics and whispered back and forth. They both laughed and nodded once they seemed to agree on what song to play.

  “Okay, guys, this song is going to sound a little different than you’re used to, but it’s still kick ass.” Molly smiled and glanced sideways at Ryan. He started playing out a tune on the guitar and it wasn’t till Molly started singing that I realized what it was. They were singing “This Is How We Do It” by Montell Jordan but the version they were playing was acoustic. The entire bar sang along to every word, including our table full of friends. Molly and Ryan had an amazing stage presence together.

  By the time they finished their song, everyone was on their feet, dancing and singing along. Molly’s voice sounded great and Ryan was killer on a guitar.

  As they made their way back to our table, they were both told how amazing they were and slapped on the back a few times. Ryan was even slapped on the ass once or twice, but Molly wasn’t. Guys around the place knew better.

  The rest of the night passed in a blur. We all drank and laughed while Molly, Wynee, and Dani raked in great tips. Ryan was hit on a few more times, but learned that if he literally just acted like they weren’t there, they would get annoyed and walk away. We had all had a great night by the time the bar was closing down.

  Justin and Wynee headed to Wynee’s mom’s house while Ryan and I stuck around with Molly while she cleaned up and closed out the registers.

  Not thirty minutes after they had left, my phone rang and Justin’s name came across my screen.

  “What’s up, man?”

  “Logan! Did any of y’all happen to leave all the lights on in the house?” What the fuck kind of question was that? Who leaves all the lights on when they know they won’t be there.

  “No, we didn’t. Why?” At this point, Ryan was staring at me intently. I think he could hear the loud, panicked tone Justin had through the phone.

  “They’re all on and the dog’s going crazy! We can hear him but we can’t get in. The doors are locked and the spare key’s gone!” Fuck. Brian.

  “We’ll be there soon. Guard the fucking doors in case he tries to leave. I’m not letting that fucker get away with this.” I hung up with Justin and quickly filled Ryan in on everything. He grabbed his truck keys at the same time I grabbed mine.

  “Should one of us stay here with Molly?” Molly. Hell, I hadn’t even thought about that!

  “Where are you two running off to?” Molly walked out from the double doors and watched us with confusion.

  “Cookie, Justin just called me. All the lights in the house are on, the dog’s going crazy, the doors are locked, and the spare key is gone. I’m going to go check it out while Ryan stays here with you.”

  She didn’t seem nervous. She just seemed angry. “No, you both go. I need Justin to watch Lyric while you two inspect the house. I can’t bring my daughter there unless I know everything is safe. And Logan, you need to call the cops. We all know who did this. We also need to get the locks changed as soon as possible.”

  “No, Cookie. Someone needs to stay here with you.”

  “No, Logan. No! I’m fine here. I’ll lock all the doors when y’all leave and I’ll be leaving in less than twenty minutes. Please, go check on our house and our dog. Please.” I wanted to keep arguing with her, but I didn’t really have time. I had no clue if Brian was in that house or not, but I had to find out.

  I finally relented and made Molly promise to lock all the doors as soon as Ryan and I left. We both drove at least 80 the whole way home. I tore in to the driveway with Ryan right behind me. Justin was right. All the lights were on and I could hear Scottie barking from outside. I sent Justin next door to stay with Lyric while Ryan and I searched the house.

  I unlocked the door and prepared myself for what I would find. I saw Scottie tied to the leg of the table by his leash. He was barking and trying to get free. I left him there so Ryan and I could finish looking through the house.

  Nothing was out of place. Nothing was broken either. We checked under every bed, in every closet, and every possible hiding place there was. When we were done, we checked around the entire outside of the house and in the storage building built off the side of the house. Nothing. Brian must have just been trying to scare us, not really hurt us. I hated to admit it, but he had succeeded. For a few moments, I was terrified. Not of Brian, but of what he was capable of.

  I went back inside and untied Scott so I could take him outside to pee. Ryan went into the house, feeling the need to check everything one more time.

  I walked Scottie back inside and heard Ryan scream, “FUCK!” I ran to his room, “What, dude? What’s wrong?”

  He held up a small black case that was empty except for eggshell type foam padding on the top and bottom with a small piece of white paper.

  “What’s that?” He handed me the note. In scribbled handwriting was just one sentence. ‘I told you it wasn’t over.’

  “Ryan, what the fuck was in there?”

  “My pistol. I keep it at the top of the closet so Lyric can’t get to it. It’s fucking gone, man.”

  We both blankly watched each other for a few moments. Both wondering why Brian would steal Ryan’s gun in the first place.

  “Molly!” We both screamed at almost the exact same time.

  “I’ll call her cell, you call Ricky’s.” Ryan nodded at me, obviously just as nervous as I was. We both started grabbing our keys. Molly’s cell went straight to voicemail and the line at Ricky’s just kept ringing.

  “Motherfucker!” Justin was sitting outside Wynee’s house.

  “What? What happened?”

  “Brian stole Ryan’s gun and Molly’s not answering her phone. We need to go, now!” Justin shook his head in agreement and ran inside to tell Wynee where we were going and to tell her to call the cops and tell them to get to Ricky’s now.

  We all jumped in Ryan’s truck and drove towards Ricky’s.

  I was silent the whole way there. It felt like it took hours, but I knew it didn’t. Ryan was driving as fast as his old truck would allow him too. I just kept thinking of Molly and praying to God that she was okay. I agreed that I would give up anything for Molly’s safety if God would just make sure I didn’t lose her. I wasn’t ready to lose her. She had too much life to live for it to be taken away by that selfish prick.

  We pulled up at Ricky’s and all ran straight to the back door, but it was locked. In a move of pure strength that surprised even me, Ryan kicked the door in. As soon as we all stepped foot into the back of Ricky’s, I heard a g
unshot and a scream. I ran as fast as I could toward where the sounds were coming from, the locker room.

  Dear God, not Molly. Please. Not my Molly.

  I heard Ryan and Logan run out the backdoor of Ricky’s right before I heard two loud trucks power up and tear out of the parking lot. I swore to God that if Brian fucked up my house or laid a hand on my dog, I would kill him. Why couldn’t he just leave us alone? He didn’t love Lyric, and he damn sure didn’t love me. He just wanted me to be miserable. He was trying to ruin all the good things I had in my life. I wanted to regret ever meeting him, but I couldn’t. With no Brian, there would have been no Lyric, and I couldn’t begin to imagine a life without her.

  I finished cleaning, stocking, and closing out registers before I walked toward the locker room to get my purse out of my locker. I had my cell phone in my hand and was waiting for Logan or Ryan to call me to update me on what was going on. I knew that they would triple check to make sure everything was okay before they every called me.

  I had my phone and was placing my purse over my shoulder when my head was slammed into my locker from behind. I fell and slid down the lockers before turning around to see what the fuck had just happened.

  Brian.

  He stood in front of me with a gun in his hand. He looked like total shit. He had obviously lost weight and he looked like he hadn’t slept in days. I could see track marks running down his arms, a sign that he was obviously shooting up something. I saw my phone on the floor out of the corner of my eye and dove for it. Brian’s foot beat me to it. He stomped on it, shattering it into pieces before kicking me in the chest.

  I sat with my back against the lockers and my knees pulled to my chest while he sat down on the bench in front of me.

  “Logan can’t save you now, Molly. I can’t believe those dumbasses fell for me leaving all the lights on in the house. Cute dog by the way. I always said we should get one but you always told me no.”