Page 127 of Firecracker

“Then why the fuck are you quitting?” he yelled.

“Don’t yell at me!”

“I’m not yelling!”

“You’re both yelling,” Sorcha shouted.

Arden clamped her mouth shut, her bottom lip quivering. Dense silence filled the bar. “I have to go,” she finally said. “I messed up. I got involved with Tyler. I should have known better.”

Waves of displeasure radiated off Sorcha, who gave her a slitty-eyed, thin-lipped look, arms crossed.

Arden rested her forehead into her shaking hand.

“A chara.” Liam came around from behind the bar, slid his arm behind her shoulders, and led her to a table. He eased her down into a chair and pulled one up for himself. “Talk to me.”

She laid her head down on her arms on the table and rolled her forehead back and forth. “I just told you what happened.”

“You told me nothing. I already knew you and Tyler were involved. What’s the problem with that?”

She had no clue what to say that, acutely aware of Sorcha’s simmering presence nearby. “Let’s just say we ended things. It’s super awkward living right across the hall from him. He’s my brother’s best friend. I knew that, I knew I shouldn’t have gotten involved with him.”

Liam rubbed her back. “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks.”

“So that’s why I have to quit. Because this is his hangout place. I can’t be here.”

“Shit.”

Arden’s head jerked up to look at Sorcha.

“I should be happy,” Sorcha said. “You’re leaving. Tyler’s single again. Why am I not happy?”

“Because you know you never had a chance with him,a leanbh.” Liam rubbed another circle on Arden’s back. “And you care about both him and Arden.”

Sorcha huffed. “Maybe.”

The door opened and their first customers of the day walked in.

“Time to get to work.” Sorcha jerked her head. “If this is your last day, make it good.”

Arden’s heart squeezed. Dammit, she was going to miss Sorcha and Liam as much as anyone.

Not as much as she was going to miss Tyler.

* * *

Arden leaned back into the lounge chair next to the pool at her parents’ retirement complex. The fronds of a nearby palm tree tossed in the gentle breeze. An elderly couple on the opposite side of the pool were holding hands and kissing and laughing. Gah.

She tossed down the magazine she’d borrowed from Mom, unable to focus on anything. Closing her eyes, she let the hot sun warm her, trying to let the heat melt away her sadness. And pain. And guilt.

Her parents had been surprised when she’d shown up there, happily surprised at first, before clueing in that Arden was not okay. She kept telling them she was, but clearly she wasn’t putting on a good enough act.

She’d run away without saying goodbye or telling anyone. When she’d arrived at Mom and Dad’s, she’d texted Jamie to let him know where she was. He’d replied with a barrage of messages, mostly questions, which she’d ignored, then a bunch of phone calls she hadn’t picked up.

She couldn’t stay here forever, but she needed a plan. She hadn’t had enough time to save any substantial amount of money. She had no home. No job. She was right back where she’d started months ago when she was leaving Phoenix. In fact, she was even worse off. This time, she actually had awesome people in her life she cared about, and she was losing them too. She’d taken the generous opportunity Jamie had given her to live in his building, the job Liam had given her, and the friendship they’d all offered her, and she’d completely fucked it all up.

“Arden.” Mom took the lounge chair next to her. “Jamie just called.”

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