The Reality of Wright and Wrong

by Leddy Harper

  Mercy made me feel on top of the world. Unbeatable. Unbreakable.

  Fearless.

  But the most amazing part about all that was how I used to believe I was all those things. Prior to meeting her, I was confident—not arrogant or egotistical, merely secure with who I was and what I was capable of. It was what made me good at what I did. And anyone who knew me would’ve agreed. Then I met her, and everything changed.

  Without knowing it, Mercy had opened my eyes. Made me see that what I’d assumed was confidence was really one step below it. It was a truth I never would’ve uncovered without having her by my side. She’d saved me, long before I understood how badly I needed it. And I truly believed that, had she not come along, had I not run into her that night, I would’ve continued slowly dying inside.

  In fact, it was the life she’d breathed into me that kept me sane as I walked through the front door of Wrong Inc, as I assessed the damage that only seemed to get worse the farther into the shop I went. It was the promise of a solid future she’d instilled in me that stopped me from losing hope. Stopped me from breaking down over the destruction of something I’d built from the ground up with my blood, sweat, and tears.

  As I stared at the back room—at the shelves that had been ripped off the walls, the supplies that littered the floor and striations of vibrant ink splattered about—I had to remind myself that this wasn’t my future.

  This wasn’t the sum of my worth.

  This wasn’t what got me out of bed anymore.

  No. I could walk away from this if I chose to. I could move on from this place and still be the man Nonna had raised me to be. All I needed was Mercy. Her love and support. Her laughter and kisses. So I held on to the knowledge that I had everything I needed. Everything I wanted. And I began to sort through the wreckage that no longer defined me.

  “You might want to take a second look, but I don’t think anything was stolen.” Indi came into the back room, wearing leggings and a ratty T-shirt. It was clear she’d been dragged out of bed to deal with this as well.

  There were so many questions running through my head, but while standing in the midst of this mess, only one came to mind. “Why’d the alarm company call you instead of me?”

  “It seems we never switched the primary number back to yours after your last vacation.”

  I’d taken the week off right after meeting Mercy, leaving Indi in charge of the shop in my absence. It wasn’t until now that I even remembered having the alarm company list her number before mine. Now that I thought about it, it made the most sense—she lived much closer than I did.

  “Looks like that worked out in our favor.” I crossed my arms, unsure if I was allowed to touch anything. “What all have the cops done?”

  Indi rolled her neck, exhaustion evident in her shoulders. “They went around assessing the damage while I started taking inventory. Like I said, as far as I can tell, nothing’s missing. And if the bastard did steal something, it wasn’t anything important.”

  “What about the register?”

  “Wasn’t touched. He came in through there, hitting this area first.”

  I followed her finger to the door that led outside from the storage room. From what I could see, there didn’t seem to be any damage to the frame. In fact, it didn’t look like it had been messed with at all. “How’d he get in?”

  She dropped her head—the universal sign for bad news. “The only thing I can think of is Kickstand forgot to lock the door. And for some reason, he only set the silent alert part of the security system.”

  “Had he fucking set it the way I showed him, the asshole would’ve taken off as soon as the alarm started blaring. Then again, he probably wouldn’t have made it that far if he’d locked the fucking door.” Knowing I’d allowed Kickstand to close up shop so I could be home with Mercy and Stella had me fuming with myself—as well as the irresponsible bastard who might not have a job after this.

  “It could’ve been worse, Wrong.”

  I silenced her with narrowed eyes and a tight jaw. “Worse? It looks pretty fucking bad. How in the hell can you say it could’ve been worse while I’m standing in the middle of this?”

  “Well, it appears he went from here to the studios and ransacked those, but only the first two were thoroughly smashed.”

  The shop only had four studio spaces, two on each side of the hallway that led from the front of the building to the back. Indi and I had our own, while the rest of the guys shared the others, depending on how much privacy their clients needed. Beyond those, there were a couple of additional stations, sectioned off by half walls with no doors on either side of the front desk.

  “Based on the CCTV feed,” she continued, “he got spooked and split. That’s why most of the damage is back here. Looks like he went to trash the front, but after a couple of minutes, something outside sent him running. We’re not sure what it was, though.”

  “Do we have good enough footage to find out who did this?” I prayed the asshole wasn’t wearing anything to obscure his face.

  Her nod filled me with hope. “The dumbass assumed that just because the lights weren’t on, it meant he couldn’t be seen. Thank God for stupidity…and cameras that don’t need light. I made a disk for the cops with the entire footage, as well as several stills and close-ups of his face.”

  “That’s great, except without an identity, all we have is a face and a fucked-up shop.”

  Her lips split into the faintest, most hesitant grin I think I’d ever seen on her. “I know who he is…I’m just waiting for my sister to call me back so I can give the cops his name.” Without prompting, she answered the question that burned the tip of my tongue. “He’s some guy she hooked up with a month or so ago—the one she would always ditch me for whenever we’d go out.”

  “When you get his name…I want it.”

  “Only if you swear to let the police handle this.” Her raised brows were more than a scary threat, and enough to make me agree.

  One of the officers came to the doorway and asked to speak with me. And for the next hour or so, we moved from one room to the next, noting damage while we chatted about the shop, ink, and the show. Apparently, he was a big fan. Go figure.

  By the time we finished that, it was late enough to call Mercy without worry I’d wake her. I’d left a note near the coffee pot, as well as a text telling her about the shop and that I’d call as soon as I could. I imagined her sitting in the kitchen, phone in hand, frantically waiting for it to ring, and I refused to make her wait any longer.

  Luckily, she remained quiet while I explained what I could, which allowed me to get it all out as quickly as possible. But the second I had her caught up with my morning so far, the questions began, flying through the earpiece one right after the other.

  “Listen, babe…there’s still a lot to do here, so we’ll have to finish this later. Is that okay?”

  Her sigh felt like a punch in the gut. “I’m sorry, Brogan. I didn’t mean to keep you.”

  “Don’t apologize. I want you to keep me.”

  “Good. That makes two of us.” The happiness in her tone put a smile on my face. “Do you have any idea what time you might get home tonight?”

  Just then, Indi came into the room and handed me her phone, the screen unlocked and opened to a text conversation. As I tried to understand what she wanted me to see, I said, “Not a clue, but I assume it’ll be late.”

  “Well, Stella and I can come by and help any way we can. There’s something I need to deal with first, but hopefully, that won’t take too long.” Mercy continued to talk in my ear, though her words began to fade once I figured out the texts in my hand were from Indi’s sister—with the information about the guy who had destroyed my shop. As soon as I read his name, Mercy’s voice returned. “…so I can put Jordan behind me.”

  “Jordan…” I repeated. “What’s his last name?”

  “Hamilton. Why?”

  My chest constricted to the point I became concerned my ribs wou
ld snap. “I’m sorry, babe, but I have to take care of something.”

  “Okay, but before you go, is it all right if Stella and I come to help? I don’t want to get in your way, but we want to give you a hand if you need it.” Damn…it was as though she knew exactly what I needed before I realized it.

  “I can’t think of anything better than having you here with me.”

  I couldn’t take my eyes off Indi’s phone. Off the text from her sister.

  Off his name.

  Jordan Hamilton.

  17

  Mercy

  My heart thumped vigorously against my ribcage as I waited for Jordan to meet me in the lobby of his office building. Even though he believed we’d spoken yesterday through texts, I hadn’t actually held a single conversation with him since my life blew up all over the internet. Not to mention, this would be the first time we’d seen each other face to face in a month.

  When he came down the hall, he walked with his head bowed. Meaning, I noticed him first. And when he glanced up, catching the sight of me in the lobby, the surprise on his face told me he wasn’t expecting to find me there. It left me to wonder what the receptionist had told him when she called him down here.

  “Hey,” I said while taking a few steps toward him. “Do you have a minute or two to talk?”

  Jordan glanced around the empty space, as if looking for someone. His narrowed gaze and creased brow only worsened once he returned his attention to me. “Why are you here?”

  “I, um…” At least I hadn’t expected this to go well. “I was hoping we could talk.”

  “Did he send you?”

  Confused, it was my turn to search the room for someone else. “Uh, no. It was my choice to come. I figured it would be best if we had this conversation sooner rather than later. And as much as I would’ve rather done this somewhere other than your office, it would be best if we take care of it now.”

  Defeat painted his expression as he nodded and glanced at his feet. With his hands in his pockets, resignation weighing down his shoulders, he tipped his head toward the exit. “Probably best if we speak outside then.”

  This whole situation was becoming weirder by the second.

  All I’d come for was to address the issue to his face. I’d chosen Brogan without explaining anything to Jordan, and while I understood it wasn’t feasible to have left Brogan’s bedroom to call my ex and let him in on what was happening, it didn’t change anything in Jordan’s mind. All he could focus on was being the last to know.

  “Listen, Mercy…” He waited until we were around the side of the building before speaking, which prevented anyone from overhearing our conversation. It would’ve been easier to have done this in his office, but if this was the way he wanted to do it, I couldn’t complain. “I’m sorry. Okay?”

  Well, that certainly threw me for a loop. I hadn’t expected him to apologize.

  Stunned silent, I couldn’t manage much beyond blinking, mouth agape, which gave him ample opportunity to continue surprising me. “I’ve had a hard time with this—with you and him. I realize I haven’t handled it very well, but I guess I’ve held on to hope that you’d come back and we’d figure everything out together. And I know…I should’ve expected it. I should’ve seen it coming. But I couldn’t seem to let go of the dream we started, or the promises we made. So when I heard that you had made your choice, and it wasn’t me—and I hadn’t heard anything from you—I lashed out.”

  “Jordan…” My voice was so low and airy I doubted he heard me.

  “I’ve had a shitty couple of days, and I know I shouldn’t have done what I did. I shouldn’t have stooped so low, but I was so hurt by losing you that I couldn’t think straight. Trust me; I wish I could take it back. All of it. It was stupid of me to think I wouldn’t get caught.” He ran his fingers through his hair and met my stare. The amount of regret that pooled in his eyes made my chest ache with sympathy. “He’s going to press charges, isn’t he?”

  “Um…I’m not sure.” My mind continued to swirl with utter confusion.

  Until he said, “It was dark, so I couldn’t really see what I was doing, but I’m sure I did a lot of damage. And I assume it’ll cost a lot to replace everything. But I’ll pay him back. I’ll do what I have to for the money—but please, Mercy, don’t let him press charges. You know me. I’m not a bad guy. I’ve just been in a horrible place since you left, and I guess I took it out on him. I shouldn’t have. But it’s so hard not to blame him when he’s the one you left me for.”

  In my muddled brain, it seemed like he was admitting to being the one who’d destroyed Brogan’s shop. In fact, I couldn’t imagine he’d meant anything else. Yet I couldn’t very well ask if that was what he meant, because it would prove that I hadn’t known prior to coming here. Which I hadn’t. And if he realized I hadn’t known ahead of time, I ran the risk of him clamming up and not giving me anything else.

  I had to play my cards right.

  Unfortunately, I sucked at poker.

  “Why, Jordan? I don’t understand why you’d do something like that.”

  His eyes closed, and a long, broken exhale seeped past his dry lips. The same lips I used to kiss. The same ones that used to caress parts of my body. At one point in time, my whole world had revolved around him. I’d loved him—hell, I still did, only in a different capacity. The last thing I wanted for him was to be in pain. But he was the only one who could change that. Until he could snuff out the flame he still carried for me, he’d never understand the blessing this tragedy offered.

  After all, the stars can’t shine without darkness.

  “I was hurt.” His words croaked out as his gaze landed on mine, feeding me the raw emotion within him. “I’m not excusing my behavior, so please don’t think that. I admit it was wrong, and if I could go back in time and stop myself from going to his shop, I would.”

  “I get that…but why were you even there to begin with?”

  He gave a pitiful shrug. “I guess I wanted to see what he has that I don’t. It sounds ridiculous, but I’ve struggled to understand why you’d choose him. It took you six months to tell me you love me. A year into our relationship, you told Stella you wouldn’t say yes if I asked you to marry me. And when I finally did ask, and you said yes, I felt like I had to beg you to start planning the wedding—even though you’ll deny that’s how it was. So excuse me if I can’t comprehend how someone who seemed so scared of marriage would jump into it with a stranger…and then refuse to get it annulled.”

  This was where my own guilt reared its ugly head. I’d avoided him for the last month, claiming there was nothing he could do or say that would help me sort through the mess I’d found myself in. And maybe that was true, but I never considered that there might’ve been something I could’ve done or said to help him find peace with this.

  Nothing tasted worse than the bitter realization of selfishness.

  After a deep inhale followed by a long, heavy sigh, I steeled myself to give him the truth. “I can’t tell you why I decided to marry him when I did. I’ve spent a lot of time analyzing that decision, picking it apart, questioning everything. I was hurt by what I saw in the club that night. In a way, it felt worse than betrayal. From the moment I had my flight switched to the second I walked into that club, I was practically jumping up and down at the thought of surprising you. I had imagined all the ways you’d react—that goofy grin, sparkling eyes, your arms around my waist as you lifted me off my feet. And in a split second, my balloon popped. My mirror shattered. Everything came crashing down around me, and all I wanted to do was close my eyes, cover my ears, and sing a ridiculous song until the picture of you with that woman stopped playing in my head.”

  “It wasn’t me,” he argued—the same argument he made every time this came up.

  “I know. But it doesn’t change what I saw. What I felt. The heartache and emptiness I left that club with was real, whether what I saw was you or not. Listen, Jordan…I don’t expect you to get it. I was there,
and even I don’t understand; maybe we aren’t meant to. Maybe this all happened for a reason, and when the time’s right, we’ll see what it was. Until then, arguing about it, obsessing over it, and questioning every little thing is only dragging it out. We need to make peace with it and move on.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. You aren’t the one who lost everything over an assumption. The least you can do is be honest with me. I’ve already lost you. The future we planned together is gone. There’s no need to sugarcoat anything anymore, so you might as well tell me the ugly truth. We both know you wouldn’t have chosen to stay with him without a list of pros and cons.”

  The lump in my throat grew larger until I could no longer swallow without feeling like I was about to choke. “I don’t know how to talk to you about this.”

  “Have you always had a problem talking to me about things?”

  A horn honked in the distance, pulling my attention to the parking lot while his gaze remained on me. His intense stare made it clear he wouldn’t let me avoid this. Jordan deserved answers. He deserved the truth. As well as my parents and everyone who had been invited to the wedding. The only problem was, I was terrified to speak the words aloud.

  “No, Jordan,” I whispered slowly, closing my eyes and shaking my head. “But this is different. We’re not discussing vacation plans or how my day was. No matter what I say, it’ll hurt you, and I don’t want to do that.”

  His incredulous laughter boomed around us. “You ran off and married someone else without informing me that we had broken up. I told you I didn’t care, that we could figure it out together. I was willing to move past it. I was willing to still marry you and spend the rest of my life with you. But instead of getting the marriage annulled, you moved in with him. And still, I stuck around like a fool. I had to find out that you’d made up your mind from the internet. You couldn’t even show me enough respect to let me know you weren’t ever coming back. So excuse me for laughing, but I don’t see how you can look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t want to hurt me, when you’ve already left me gutted and filled with salt.”