by Amelia Shea
Sadie walked to the couch and Krista took a step to the hallway. Sadie glared at her. Krista’s face changed at her anger. She had the nerve to smirk. Sadie knew she should turn around and go home, forget Stone ever existed. She should do exactly what she did with Tyler. It was what she should do. Just walk away and never look back. Sadie heard herself say it but she was too far gone. Sadie was done with walking away.
Sadie put on a sinister smile and cocked her head. Krista raised her eyebrows at Sadie and her expression changed once again. Krista just realized she might have underestimated the little diner girl.
“Uhh, baby, come out here,” Krista nervously shouted.
“Oh no, that’s not necessary you little fucking twit. You go back in and continue fucking that piece of shit motherfucker. Just do me a favor and tell him I think he is the biggest fucking asshole to ever walk the face of this earth. I hope he fucking catches all the venereal diseases your skanky ass is carrying. I hope he spends the rest of his life at clinics trying to treat all the warts on his cock. I hope the thing fucking rots off,” Sadie yelled at the top of her lungs.
A surprised male voice bellowed from the other room, “What the fuck?”
Sadie grabbed the tray of enchiladas and she ripped the cover off and flipped it over on the beautiful green couch. It splattered everywhere. The couch was ruined. She turned back to Krista.
“Enjoy dinner, it’s homemade. And tell him one more thing. Fuck you!” Sadie screamed.
She turned around and came to a halt. In the doorway, four sets of eyes were staring at her! Sadie could see them all, but one pair of confused eyes held hers. Stone. Stone was standing right in front of her. He wasn’t in his room waiting on his skank. He was ten feet in front of her. Sadie turned back to the skank who now tried to cover her breasts with one arm and her crotch with her hand. Sadie turned back to Stone.
Oh shit!
She met the stares of the others. Ethan and Roxanne looked back at her with stunned eyes while Bogs moved closer to Stone and looked as though he was trying to hold back from laughing.
“Sadie?” Stone questioned, bringing her attention back to him. “What the hell is going on?”
The color drained from her face. He wasn’t in his room having sex with Krista. Sadie had just yelled and screamed, called him names of the harshest kind, ruined his couch—all for nothing. He wasn’t even with her. Oh God!
“What the fuck?” Behind her came a furious roar. Sadie turned to see T, dressed in unbuttoned jeans standing in the doorway looking around the room. His voice was livid and his eyes blazed. His angry eyes landed on Sadie.
“This bitch just went psychotic on me,” Krista yelled, rushing behind T. “She’s fucking crazy, T. She told me to tell you to fuck off!”
Oh God! She was with T. It all became clear, she just completely fucked up.
“Sadie?” Her head whipped back to a bemused Stone.
“I just…I thought that you…” She looked over at a pissed off T. “But it was T and I…oh shit! I…I just…I fucked up.” She was such an idiot. Sadie bent her head down and tried to plan her escape. She needed the quickest way to dart out of the room. Suddenly, arms surrounded her and she was cradled with a chest to her back. His body rumbled.
“You thought it was me in the other room. Yeah?” He snorted.
Sadie nodded and peeked up to see Ethan and Bogs smirking. Roxanne had taken a seat on the untarnished couch. When Sadie’s eyes met hers, her lips were tight, trying to suppress her laugh. She winked at her.
“Is that why you were yelling about hoping my dick rots off?” He joked.
Sadie nodded again as the room erupted in laughter. She closed her eyes again. She was so embarrassed. Sadie had completely misjudged this situation and made a complete ass of herself. Why wasn’t he yelling at her telling her to get out of his house? She had just displayed the worst kind of insanity imaginable.
He leaned forward moving her with him. Sadie could see the chicken enchiladas all over his couch.
“You made me dinner?” he said, amused.
“Damn girl, it looks good.” Bogs chuckled.
Sadie was mortified.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Krista shouted from the other side of the room. “Get her out of here, T.”
Sadie looked over to T who now had a shocked looking girl standing next him in what looked to be his t-shirt. It was the other girl from the diner, Jill. T was pissed as he turned to Krista. “Go get your stuff.”
“Wait, what? You’re kicking me out? No! Make her leave.” She screamed, pointed, and then glared at Sadie.
The room exploded in more laughter. She now glared at the entire room.
“Come on, Krista, let’s go!” said Jill in a quiet voice. She turned to go back to T’s room.
Krista stormed past T and followed Jill. Sadie had ruined not only the couch but T’s night. He looked at her and ran his hand over his face. “You are a pain in the ass.” He walked away.
The next hour was surreal. Stone refused to let her leave when she tried. He said they needed to talk. Apparently, he needed to inform her exactly what it meant to be his woman. He didn’t seem mad which surprised her. Sadie had ruined his couch and caused a scene in his apartment. But everybody laughed it off.
Roxanne ordered Chinese food for everyone and rehashed the night with quotes of Sadie’s from earlier. Roxanne’s favorite was “Oh that’s not necessary, you little fucking twit.” Sadie blushed at her reliving the highlights from the night while the others just laughed.
Ethan told her not to bother but she insisted on trying to clean up the couch. It was pointless, it was ruined. She offered to pay for the replacement. But Ethan just shrugged it off claiming the security would cover it. Sadie fully intended to pay Stone back. After all, it was her fault.
When T came out with Jill and Krista behind him, Sadie grabbed his arm. He still looked pissed and who could blame him. She fucked up. She needed to apologize.
“I’m really sorry.” Sadie looked back at Krista who was glaring and Jill who looked embarrassed.
T just shrugged off her hand and walked out the door. Krista muttered “bitch” as she passed her. Jill was last in line. When she looked at her Sadie gave a slight smile. Jill smiled back and leaned into her. At first Sadie thought she might hit her but she didn’t.
She whispered, “No harm, I got to come. Krista didn’t, that’s why she’s so mad!”
Sadie giggled and Jill joined in. She winked at Sadie and closed the door behind her.
During dinner everyone wanted to know what Jill said but Sadie kept her mouth shut. When T came back, he made a plate of food and took the empty seat on the good couch next to Sadie. Sadie refused to look at him, feeling horrible about the misunderstanding. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw him reaching in his pocket.
“Wanna give this to Stone?”
Sadie looked down at his hand and saw a cell phone. Stone’s cell phone. She bit her lip and took the phone without making eye contact with T, passing it over to Stone on the other side of her.
“He left it in the truck. I guess he was in such a hurry to get in here to see you he forgot to grab it.”
Sadie looked up at T and gave him a strained smile. She was so embarrassed.
“I checked the truck earlier and didn’t see it,” Stone said.
“It was in the back on the floor, musta slid out your bag, I guess.” T took a bite of his food and turned his focus to Roxanne who was talking about their dad.
Sadie leaned over to Stone who was checking his messages and whispered, “I’m really sorry, I feel like such a jerk and I…”
Stone interrupted and hushed her, keeping his voice low only she could hear, “Shh…Sadie, it’s fine. I know you’re sorry and I know you feel bad.” He leaned in and kissed her lips softly. “I also know you don’t get what it means to be mine but you will. There is no one else, babe. No one, just you. You get me?”
Sadie stared at Stone, she was his, o
nly her. She nodded and rested back in the couch with a smile on her face. Only her.
They all started talking about Thanksgiving. They were leaving on Tuesday night for their flight home. When she asked when they were coming back, the room fell silent. They weren’t coming back. The job was over.
Roxanne broke the silence with stories of their Thanksgiving pasts.
“It’s tradition that we hang out Wednesday night. The tradition started when we were kids, we would have a bonfire at the house. It was awesome, Sadie. Mom and Dad invited family and friends over and we’d roast marshmallows.”
Sadie smiled at Roxanne’s excitement as she told the story
“When the guys got older, they wanted to party at their friend’s house. But that didn’t last long.” Roxanne smirked and looked at Stone and then Bogs. Stone’s face turned a shade a red.
“So, Bogs and Stone come home shitfaced, absolutely wasted. They both pass out on the front porch. The next morning everyone assumed they were sleeping in, recovering from the night before so no one checked on them. It turns out they were still passed out on the porch when the guests started to arrive. Mom banned all of them the following year from going out the night before Thanksgiving.” Roxanne was laughing through her last sentence. Bogs and Stone remained quietly chuckling at the memory.
Sadie laughed hysterically as they told more stories. Her favorite was the story Ethan told about Darla’s last Thanksgiving.
“We knew it would be her last. She had fought so long and hard, she just wanted Thanksgiving. In our house, all holidays were celebrated but Thanksgiving was her favorite. A day devoted to being with the family. I know you didn’t know her, Sadie, but Darla was the epitome of what a mother should be. I think if any one of us could have dreamed up the perfect mom, we would have all gotten ours. Three years ago, T and Stone were overseas. They tried to get leave but as you can imagine everyone wants to go home for the holidays. Anyway, we planned the day with everyone, minus T and Stone. Halfway through the day we heard a chopper from outside. It was so loud it sounded like it was shaking the house. Everyone goes outside to see a helicopter hovering over the pasture near our house. Two seconds later someone jumps out and then another person.” He started laughing with sadness. “I’ll never forget the look on Mom’s face when she saw it was Stone and T.”
Everyone laughed but there was sadness beyond the laughs. They all missed their mom. Darla Garrison sounded like a mom who loved her kids. And they loved her.
“So, Sadie, tell us a story,” Roxanne said. “About a funny Thanksgiving you had.”
Sadie was sitting on the couch cuddled up to Stone with his arm around her. Her hand was on his leg while they told their stories.
“I don’t have funny stories like you guys.” Her anxiety grew.
“It doesn’t have to be funny; it doesn’t even have to be about Thanksgiving. Just anything.” Roxanne adjusted her feet underneath her and her elbow to the recliner. She looked over at Sadie with anticipation as she placed her chin in her palm. She was waiting for a story Sadie didn’t have to tell.
Her stories weren’t happy ones. Looking back, they were funny but in a pitiful way and there weren’t any that she wanted to share. Sadie could make one up, she thought. Stone’s arms tightened around her.
“I’m sorry.” Sadie let out a nervous laugh. “I can’t think of any right now. Rox, tell me another one of yours.”
“No, I want to hear about you, Sadie.”
“Let it go, Rox,” Stone demanded.
“Let what go?” Roxanne was confused.
“She doesn’t want to share. Back off,” he growled.
“But I just…” She was interrupted by Ethan this time.
“Roxanne! Let. It. Go.” He stated it calmly but his intent to her was obvious. He wanted her to shut up.
Sadie felt bad. Roxanne was trying to get to know her, include her, and now she was getting yelled at.
“Okay, Rox, I have one. It’s not funny and nobody jumps out of a plane,” Sadie winked at Stone, “but it’s a happy one.”
Stone and T snorted while everyone else smiled at her. Roxanne grinned at Sadie, the mood shifted back to happy and she eagerly gestured her to go on.
“So, I have this neighbor Miss Trudy,” she turned to Ethan, “you met her when you stopped by, remember?”
“Miss Trudy. I remember.” He winked.
“Well, Miss Trudy is an incredible baker, every Christmas she bakes cookies for me. They are amazing. Anyway, when I was eight, I became obsessed with butterflies. I would watch them, draw them. I even wrote stories about them. I loved them. By the time my birthday rolled around, I was still into my butterflies. For my ninth birthday, she made me a purple and yellow butterfly cake. It was even in the shape of a butterfly! It was the best gift I ever got. It was awesome!” That story made Sadie happy.
“That’s so sweet! Did you have a butterfly themed party, too?” Roxanne asked.
“Uh, no. No party, just the cake.” Sadie was feeling a little uneasy again. Her mom never let her have birthday parties and Sadie got the feeling that Darla made sure Roxanne never missed one.
“Oh! Well, Sadie, that’s a great story! And I love that you got the cake of your dreams for your ninth birthday.”
“Me too!” She smiled back. It wasn’t much but it was a great memory.
Ethan and Roxanne headed back to their apartment while Sadie cleaned up the mess. Roxanne offered to help but Sadie insisted it was the least she could do. She relented, gave her a hug, and went back to her place. Ethan followed behind Roxanne with a wave and a look Sadie couldn’t quite explain. He looked hopeful? She waved back and cleaned up while Stone, T, and Bogs were in T’s room. She wished she had known T lived with Stone. Stone never mentioned it. However, that explained why T was in the apartment the other morning. Now my mind centered on T’s room. While she wasn’t intentionally snooping, she did go into a closed room and open up the laptop. She had to tell Stone. She wasn’t a dishonest person and didn’t want him to find out before she could tell him. She was thinking of a way to broach the subject when they came out of T’s room.
****
Stone stood in T’s room with arms crossed, body rigid, staring at the monitor. With Bogs sitting at the desk and T next to him, they watched Sadie enter T’s room. She looked around and turned to the computer. She walked over hesitantly and opened up the screen. Stone’s body became tense.
“What file?”
T took a breath and sighed. “Cavanaugh.”
“Shit!” Stone hissed through gritted teeth.
Stone intently viewed the monitor. Sadie scrolled through the file and stopped. She was obviously reading it. Stone was mad. Why would she come into T’s room? There had to be a reason, Sadie wasn’t the kind to snoop around. Was she?
As he watched, he saw something change in Sadie’s face.
“Zoom in on her, Bogs,” he demanded.
Bogs punched a few keys and Sadie’s face took up the whole screen. He looked at her tear-filled eyes. Her face became sadder as he watched her scroll down the screen. She was reading the news articles, he bet. She was reading about Macey. Tears fell from her eyes. Then, her sad eyes suddenly changed to surprise.
“This is when Ethan messaged. He thought you guys were back,” Bogs stated.
Sadie looked shocked and surprised and if he wasn’t mistaken, guilty. She jumped back from the screen and looked around the room. When she turned back to the screen, she looked scared. Then the screen went black.
“I shut it down when I thought the line was compromised,” Bogs explained.
Stone stood silent with the others waiting on him. He was conflicted. He trusted Sadie and she betrayed him by sneaking around digging through their stuff.
“What ya wanna do, man?” T asked.
Stone kept his eyes on the dark screen. He didn’t know what he wanted to do. How much did she piece together? Would the information she got be enough or would she continue to dig?
>
Bogs shook his head and sighed. “I like her bro, ya know I do but…how much do we really know about Sadie besides what’s in her file?
As much as it angered him to hear it, Bogs was right. He didn’t know her all that well, did he?
T spoke again in a low voice. “Look, she didn’t know this was my room; that was obvious tonight, right? Give her a chance to explain.”
Stone nodded. Bogs as stood up and slapped Stone on the back as he passed by. He was sure they all had the same thought. They were all hoping she had a good reason for being in T’s room.
Stone followed Bogs out of the room with T at his back. Once in the kitchen, he saw her drying her hands. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him.
“See you tomorrow! Sadie, sweetheart, have a good night and please don’t trash any more furniture!” Bogs walked out as he waved to Sadie.
“Good night.” Stone watched her face flush with embarrassment. Bogs would never let her live this down.
Stone came over to her and touched her hand. Sadie grabbed his and followed him back down the hall. T was behind her. Sadie turned around as she pulled Stone’s hand back to get his attention. They were at T’s bedroom door. T walked in and turned around to look at them. He raised his brows, waiting on Sadie to say something.
“Babe, what’s up?” Stone asked her. She seemed nervous the way her eyes darted between him and T. Sadie inhaled a deep breath and gripped his hand. She looked at Stone.
“Last night, after everybody left, I was heading down to your room when I heard a beeping sound. It was coming from this room. T’s room,” Sadie pointed into the room and directed her words to T, “but I had no idea this was your room, I swear. Stone didn’t mention you guys shared. I swear, T, I didn’t know and if I did there’s no way, I would have gone in.” She finished with a gulp.
T’s eyes shot to Stone. He kept his stare hard but Stone knew what he was thinking. Give her a chance to explain.