Page 18 of Say You'll Stay

He tries not to judge based on appearances. Cole knows how easy is it to assume the worst about him, from the tattoos running a sleeve up his left arm, the permanent disgruntlement on his face, and how quick he is to anger. He and Wade have been on the receiving end of plenty of glares, all earned by simply existing.

That doesn’t mean he can’t spot a junkie when he sees one, and this guy is definitely jonesing for a fix.

“Feeling okay?” Cole states plainly.

He’s given a shifty nod in return.

The man opposite the checkers board kindly pats his opponent’s hand. “Waylon here is getting clean. Everyone deserves a chance, even in a world like this.”

Waylon bristles. “Damn, nothing’s private, I guess.”

Cole shrugs. “Not my business. Was good to meet you.”

He doesn’t waste time in collecting Olivia and the baby and herding them back to the room again before laying out the details of that exchange.

“None of this sounds good.” She winces.

“Nope. I mean, it’s an admirable thing to do, but he’ll turn on them soon and we shouldn’t be here when it goes down. He has people out there. This place has enough drugs in it to kill ten elephants. No chance they won’t try to take it when they show up.”

He’s not one to hide from every threat. In othercircumstances, he might help these folks out when the time comes, but taking chances isn’t something he’s willing to do anymore. He’s got one mission at the moment, keep his wife and baby safe, and anything that conflicts with that is a problem.

“We’ll leave tomorrow,” she agrees.

“Yeah. Tomorrow. I was hoping for longer, but I got a weird feeling.”

“Maybe…it’s not a bad idea to stay married,” Olivia says suddenly, sending him a tentative but hopeful glance. “I was going to set them straight, and I still will about certain things, but I’d feel a lot safer if everyone thought we were together. This group and anyone else we meet.”

“Pffft. Some shitty proposal right there.”

She gasps, a full white-toothed smile blooming on her lips that he hasn’t seen before. “I was barely even awake when you married us! Not very romantic on your part, either.”

“Alright, alright. You wanna stay fake married, I’m in.”

“Thanks, honey. Sweetie. Darling.”

He scowls. “Already regretting this.”

Her laughter makes it worth it, though. He wants to keep hearing that musical sound. Likes that she’s comfortable enough to joke with him, and hates that he enjoys it even one tiny bit.

This is all practical, he rationalizes. Smart. She sees the value in projecting themselves as a unit.

“Did you ask them about your friend?”

He frowns. “They haven’t seen him.

“I know you must be worried.”

“It is what it is. Wade can take care of himself. I gotta believe that.”

“If he’s even a little like you, then I know that’s true,” shesays softly.

Wade would deny that being like him is anything to aim for, but Olivia thinks it is.

He’s sure as hell doing a shit job of keeping them both at arm’s length, he thinks. Got fake married already. Worries about them like he cares,which he absolutely does not.Olivia gazes at him like Lucy did before, as if she’s imprinted on him too.

The most surprising part is that only half of him wants to fight it. He’ll have to get a handle on this going forward or he’s only setting himself up for depression, regret, and self-doubt when they inevitably go their separate ways. He’s not stupid enough to think she’ll want anything to do with him once he’s no longer needed for protection.

Chapter 6

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