Left Together (7 page)

He
laughs. “Me? Only once. However, she’s had to recently remind Meg more times
than should be necessary.” My uncle punches my shoulder. “I might be old, but I
can still hold my own.”

“Whatever.”
I roll my eyes.

“I’ll
be in the office.”

***

Every
one of my phone calls and texts have been ignored today, and it’s really
starting to piss me the fuck off. Apparently, Kacie has decided to turn her
phone off, but there’s no excuse for Jade or Jake. Between the messages Meg and
I left, one of them could have told Kacie how it was a simple mistake. Someone
could have taken a damn minute to return a phone call! I don’t understand how
they can be so angry at me when they fucking know all of the shit Kacie’s dad
has done in the past. I should get a break this one time.

Molly,
one of our waitresses, catches up with me before I can go hide in my office.
“Hey. Are you okay? You don’t seem like yourself tonight?”

“I
have some shit on my mind.”

“Anything
I can help with?” Molly’s a decent chick. She’s tall for a girl and on the
thinner side. Brunette. Pretty. Until I started dating Kacie, some of the
employees swore she and I were sleeping together, but we’ve only ever been
friends. I’m almost positive she’s the one who warns all of the new girls to
stay away from me. Out of all the waitresses we have, she handles herself the
best with the constant advances of drunk men.

“Kacie
isn’t talking to me,” I admit.

Molly
takes a step back. “Sorry, but you’re on your own. That kind of bullshit is one
of the many reasons I’m single. Kind of like someone I used to know,” she
reminds me. It almost seemed like she was disappointed when Kacie started
coming around. Like her and I had this connection because we were similar in
the respect that relationships were off limits.

“That
guy had no idea what he was missing.”

“You
aren’t going to try to convince me to give that shit a shot, are you?” she asks,
raising her eyebrows and putting her hand on her hip.

“Nah.
It’s not for everyone.”

“Good
because I wouldn’t want to kick your ass when you’re feeling down. You’d think
I had an advantage.”

“How
sweet of you.”

“If it
will distract you for a little bit, Danny and Mike are here with some guys from
the shop. They’re over in Ashley’s section, giving her a hard time. I think
Mike has a thing for her. He came in asking for her the other night.”

“Thanks.
I’ll go check on her.” I shake my head. Regardless of how good Mike is under
the hood of a car, he better not mess with one of my girls.

As
always, Danny has a full table. Wherever these guys go, so does half the female
population of Tampa. Why girls want to hang out with a bunch of guys who talk
about cars all the time makes no sense. Danny sees me coming and reaches for
the empty chair from the table behind him. He shakes my hand when I sit down
next to him.

“What’s
up?” I say.

“Not
much. Where the hell have you been all night? No one in this place has been able
to find you.”

“Just
keeping an eye on shit.”

“Oh.
Hey, Evan,” Ashley says, placing drinks in front of everyone. “What can I get
you?”

“I’m
good. Thanks, Ash.”

“Let
me know if you change your mind.” She smiles and heads off to her next table.

“Since
when do you turn down a beer?” Danny wonders.

“Since
I woke up hung over and can’t shake this headache.”

“Yo,
Evan,” Mike calls out. He’s switching seats with the girl sitting on my other
side. “What’s Ashley’s deal? Does she have a boyfriend or something?”

“No,
but she does have a kid she needs to support. Don’t make her quit.”

“She
barely looks old enough to work here, let alone have a kid.” He looks bummed.

“Exactly,
so watch it,” I warn.

Smirking,
Danny says, “You just ruined his night.”

“Not
my problem. Could you do something for me?” I ask him.

“Sure.”

“Shoot
Quinn a text. I just want to know if he responds.” I know it’s wrong to get
Danny involved, but I’m beyond desperate at this point.

“What’s
going on?” He stands up to pull his phone out of his pocket.

“I
fucked up with Kacie. I’ve been trying to get in touch with her or the Quinns
all day.”

“Dude,
those three are tight as shit. You piss off one, they’re all ready to cut your
balls off. They’ve always been that way.” He types something into his phone and
slides it over for me to see it.

Come
have a beer
.

Danny
is studying me. “You’re a fucking moron. You must not be aware of the line of
guys waiting for a chance with Kacie Foster.”

“And I
know who’s at the front of it,” I say, irritated.

Danny’s
phone lights up. “Speak of the devil,” he grins. After reading the text, he hands
the phone to me.

Can’t.
Busy.
 

Motherfucker
is obviously ignoring me. I hand him his phone back and he types a response,
then lets me see it.

What’s
her name?

I give
the phone back. “If he says Kacie, don’t tell me,” I mumble.

Jake
is quicker with his reply this time. “You’re good,” Danny jokes, handing me the
phone.

Jade.

Everything
cool?

After
he hits SEND, neither of us say anything for a bit. It’s taking him too long to
reply. “Want to tell me what happened?” he asks me.

“Her
dad,” I say, leaning on the table. My hand runs through my hair the way it
always does when I’m stressed.

“Ouch.”

“Tell
me about it. I overreacted and would fix it if she’d just call me the fuck back!”

He
tips the bottle back, emptying about a quarter of his beer. “There should be a
warning label for people who date Kacie.” I look at him. “I’ve been around.
That family is bad news.”

“She’s
nothing like them.”

“I
know, but she’s still a Foster.” If that’s the only problem, I’ll just have to
change her last name. “Honestly, I didn’t think she was ever coming back to
Tampa. She’s definitely a flight risk. Maybe you’re better off cutting your
losses.”

“I
thought you were my friend?” I snap.

“I
am
,
man. Are you sure you want to deal with this bullshit?”

“Are
you in that fucking line, too?”

Danny
laughs. “Nah. I’m smart enough to know I don’t have a shot in hell.” He looks
down at his phone when a text comes in.

Rough
day. Family bs. 

“You
better hope you and Jade don’t cross paths for a while.”

“Right
now, I really wish we would. She’s on my shit list, right under Kacie’s dad. I
assumed Jade would be the one reminding Kacie how much I care about her, not
helping her act like I cheated on her.”

“Just
the guy I was looking for.” Meg barges in between us.

“Hey,
beautiful,” Danny says, grinning up at my cousin.

“I
heard you have something for me.”

“Think
you could handle what I have for you?” he remarks sarcastically.

She’s
holding her hand out. He pulls a set of keys from his pocket and drops them
into Meg’s palm. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much I missed my
car.” I totally forgot about Danny having it.

“She’s
running so much better. Don’t let routine maintenance go for too long again.”

“I
won’t. I promise.”

“Let
me know how much I owe you,” I tell Danny. “I appreciate you getting to it so
fast.”

“You
don’t have to pay for my car, Evan.”

“I’m
the one who wanted it looked at. I’m paying for it.” I stand up. “I’ll be in
the office if anyone needs anything.”

“No,
you won’t. We’re going home,” Meg announces.

“It’s
my night, Meg. I can’t just walk out.”

“Daddy
came back in to relieve you. He said to take you home.”

“I
told him I was fine.”

“But
you’re not fine and he wanted to. Let’s go.” She loops her arm through mine.
“Stop being difficult. You always take care of me. It’s my turn to be there for
you.”

“If
you don’t want to take her home…,” Danny utters.

“Don’t
make me add you to the list of people I want to fucking kill tonight,” I advise
my friend.

He
finds that hysterical. “Good luck with Kacie.”

Meg
and I say goodnight to everyone at the table. As we make our way to the
employee parking lot, I consider telling my cousin I’ll meet her at home after
driving out to Kacie’s. I decide against it. If the red convertible isn’t in
the driveway, I’ll lose my goddamn mind. Instead, I behave the way Meg expects
me to. Frankly, I’m wiped out and could use a nice hot shower and some sleep
anyway.

***

Good
thing for Meg, I’m already awake and dressed when she comes prancing into my
room without knocking. Sitting on the edge of my bed tying my shoes, I look
over at her. She’s already had multiple cups of coffee, so her skinny ass leaps
up onto my bed and starts bouncing like a toddler trying to wake up her parents.

“Hurry
up. Mom has breakfast ready,” she says.

“What
the fuck is wrong with you?” I mumble. Another one of my calls just went
unanswered, so I’m irritated.

“Nothing
and there shouldn’t be anything wrong with you, either.”

“I can
think of a few reasons.” I get up and off the bed. The constant movement of the
mattress is making me sick.

“Today
is going to be a good day.” She flops on her ass and springs up, grabbing my
arm to drag me toward the door. “We’re eating eggs, then I’m taking you to set
this crap straight with your girlfriend. I’ve had enough of moody Evan. I want
my cousin back.”

“And
you think you have some magical power that’s going to persuade her to talk to
me because…?”

“Weren’t
you listening? You aren’t just talking to her. I will personally make sure
you’re late to work, again, because Kacie will be refusing to let you out of
her bed. You might have to beg me to cover for you tonight since her argument
will be too good to resist.”

For
the first time in days, I chuckled a little. “You sound as if you believe that
shit coming out of your mouth.”

“Please.
Kacie may have Jade on her side, but you have me. I’ve never been afraid of
Jade Quinn.”

***

It’s
actually a beautiful July morning. The sun is shining. The sky is the perfect
shade of bright blue with only a few puffy, white clouds scattered about. The
temperature is perfect. Warm, but not too hot. I’m resting my head back in the
passenger seat of Meg’s car, imagining what Kacie is doing at the moment. She’s
probably finished with her laps in the pool. Maybe she’s lounging out back,
working on her school stuff at the table on the patio, or sitting on the swing
in the garden. Has she been upset the way I have? Will Meg really be able to
get her to talk to me? Does Kacie still want me? Or has she decided to revert
back to not dating anyone?

“Stop
it,” Meg glowers at me. “Stop with the ‘what-if’s’ and start worrying about how
to pace yourself once I leave. You
will
wait until I leave, right? I
don’t want to see anything other than a kiss. Understood?”

“You’re
so annoying sometimes, but I love you.”

She
smiles. “I know. Love you, too. In case I haven’t mentioned it lately, I’m so
glad you came to live down here.”

“So am
I.”

Before
I know it, Meg is pulling up to Kacie’s house. The driveway is still empty. I
sigh.

“Do
you think she parked in the garage to make it look like she’s not home?” Meg
asks.

We
both exit the car. Meg comes around to my side. “I didn’t think of that, but I
doubt it. Her grandmother’s car is in there and Kacie tends to avoid it as much
as she can.”

“We’ll
try anyway.” Meg makes her way up the steps. I hang back by the car while she
rings the bell, tries to look through the windows on either side of the door,
then bangs on it for emphasis.

Something
makes me turn toward the house next door. Heading in this direction, like a
deranged lunatic, is Jade. “Um, Meg?” I call out to get her attention.
“Remember what you said about not being afraid of Jade?”

Meg
retraces her steps to stand beside me just in time for Jade, who’s being tailed
by her brother, to start screaming at me. “This is all your fault! I fucking
told you to stay away from her from the very beginning!” Jake manages to catch
up to her just as she’s ready to physically attack me.

“Don’t
do this,” he’s telling her. “It’s not going to help the situation.” I notice he
looks just as beat as I feel.