She’s spoken to me about this Hadley girl before. She’s the daughter of some hoity-toity member of the House of Lords or some shit that makes her think she’s special. Ri has told me about how she walks around with her nose in the air making statements like, “I’m a direct descendant of Elizabeth I, you know” to which Ri really wants to crack her head open because everyone knows Elizabeth I didn’t have any kids—something she’s learned over there that I have no clue about.
Regardless, I’m supposed to be the mature adult here who gives her solid advice about how to interact with other humans, and every time she gets into a fight, for any reason, I feel like I’m failing because I have taught her how to survive, not how to play a meaningful role in society. Not that kind of society, anyway. Nevertheless, I am proud of the kid.
“I just didn’t think it was right of her to take that girl’s lunchbox from her, even if it did have a Pokémon on it and Hadley thinks that’s lame. Who died and left her the fucking queen of the universe! Not Elizabeth the First!”
Again, I find myself stifling laughter. “Isn’t this the same girl who wears Hello Kitty socks?”
“Exactly!” Riley says, grumbling a bit into the phone. “Anyway, the Headmaster says I have to do twenty hours of public service to make up for spilling the blood of a classmate. Really, she’s lucky I aimed for her lip and not her nose, or else she’d have to get a nose job to actually fix something instead of to just make that schnoz smaller.”
This time, I actually can’t control it, and I catch myself laughing out loud at her before I’m able to rein it in. “Listen, Ri,” I say, trying to find my ‘responsible big brother’ voice, “you know you can’t act that way and not expect to have consequences. Can you please try your best to keep your hands to yourself? You’ll be eighteen before too much longer, and then, you’ll be considered an adult. If you get arrested in LA, that’s one thing, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to bail your ass out of jail as easily over there—and forget about making it go away. I don’t have the same kind of connections in England that I have here.”
“Okay, okay,” she says. “I just wanted you to hear it from me instead of from the Headmaster. I mean, I know he’ll call you, but at least you’ll know what it’s about, and you can tell him the truth, that I was defending Muriel Packer and her lunchbox.”
“I hope Muriel appreciates what you did for her,” I say, envisioning a nerdy kid with buck teeth, thick glasses, unruly hair, and a Pokémon lunchbox held tightly in her grasp.
“Oh, she does. We are best friends now.” I can hear the eye roll in my sister’s statement.
“So let me get this straight. You don’t want anyone else to make fun of Muriel Packer, but you don’t like her either?”
“It’s not that I don’t like her,” Riley corrects. “It’s just… we don’t need to be best friends.”
“All right. Well, just play nice with the other kiddies, all right, sis?” I check the clock and see that the club has been open for about half an hour. It’s time for me to go make my rounds and check that everyone has everything they need in order to be successful for tonight’s shift, but I don’t want to hang up until I’m sure my sister is okay.
“Yes, sir,” she says, her tone dripping with sarcasm. I tell her I love her, she does the same, and then we say goodbye.
My phone goes back into my pocket, and I decide I’d better wash the dried blood off of my hand before I go out to the club. I think there’s a drywall repair kit in the closet, but I’m not sure it’s big enough this time. It’s not like this is the first time my fist has met the inside of the building.
As I walk down the hall to the club, my stomach begins to tighten with nervous anticipation. I haven’t seen Meg since she opened her door and asked me if I wanted her or not, and I did not answer in a timely fashion, so I don’t know what will happen when I see her now.
But I want to see her. I need to see her. I’ve missed her so much. It has only been a couple of days, but it feels like a lifetime. I can still smell her on my sheets; I haven’t washed them for that very reason. I’m already picturing her face when I walk out and survey the club.
Allie waves at me. I see Sadie and Mia across the floor, taking drink orders, and Lexi is dancing her way through the crowd with a tray. I am confused as I continue to look around. Then I see Stephanie, and my heart plummets into my stomach.
Turning around, I approach the bar. “Carter?” I call, and as soon as he gets done with the customer he’s serving, he comes over. “Why is Steph here?” She’s one of my backup waitresses who used to work here but has moved on to other things.
“Oh, uh… Meghan called in sick,” he says, and I can tell by his tone he both didn’t want to tell me that and also doesn’t think she’s actually sick.
I nod, trying to accept what he is telling me. Disappointment runs through me as I think about how it’s going to be a long night without her, but all I can think to say is, “Yeah, I think there’s something going around.”
He nods, but we both know that’s not the case any more than it always is. Besides, that’s not why Meghan’s not here. It’s because of me. I’m sure Carter, along with the rest of the staff who was here that night, saw us kissing and then disappear together.
My bartender probably thinks I am a douche. And he’s probably not wrong…
I start to turn around and go back to my office when he calls, “Are you all right, bossman?”
Carter and I are good friends. I’ve known him for a couple of years now, and I think I could probably confide in him. But now just doesn’t feel like the right time. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good,” I tell him.
He pretends to believe me and goes back to work, but as I head to my office, the music begins to dull, the lights are no longer as bright, and the energy of the club seems to dwindle around me.
Without Meg here, nothing is as good as it could be…
CHAPTER20
MEGHAN
Today is my day off.
I awoke to this realization not long ago, and ever since then, I’ve felt reenergized, despite my horrible diet the last few days, relentless bouts of crying, and worry over the fact that I had unprotected sex with a man I thought cared for me but actually doesn’t care about anyone but himself, apparently.