Page 42 of Sacrifice
I don’t want to push her to talk to me, so I try to stay busy to distract myself, but it was difficult when she wasn’t responding to my texts. I skipped my morning coffee dates with Layla and have been hitting up the gym more often. The anger and frustration I’ve felt is weighing on me and it was the only way I knew I could release some steam.
When my shift is over for the day, I considered going back home to unwind. I decided against it, not wanting more time to think about everything. I opted to go for a run instead.
By the time I was done, I was ready to eat dinner and crash.
The next day I woke up early to head to Everton. I’ve been teaching a traffic enforcement course as a part of the Police Academy training. I was in desperate need of a change of pace, and this was giving me the distraction I was looking for to get my mind off Haelynn.
Although, what I hadn’t considered was how word got out and people were starting to recognize me, asking a million questions about the photos Makenna shared online.
I pulled my truck up later that night outside Brodie’s and put it in park. Alex texted me, asking if I wanted to meet up with him and Gage for dinner and to grab a beer. I wasn’t in the mood to drink, but with nothing else to fill my time, I opted to take them up on the offer.
My eyes immediately were drawn to the bench outside the bar, facing the street running through downtown, recalling the last time I was here and how Haelynn had sat there waiting for me.
I wish I could go back to that night, wanting to relive our time together. Back to the night of the bonfire when we snuck over to her place for time alone, just the two of us. Better yet, back to the night I made love to her and we fell asleep with her in my arms.
I called Makenna yesterday to check in on how Haelynn was doing. She urged me to be patient, reminding me of what brought her to Arbor Creek. Although she knew I had good intentions and was good for her, Haelynn wasn’t searching for a relationship when I walked into the studio and her life that day.
It was a hard realization to accept, but Makenna had a point. Maybe she isn’t ready for a relationship. I fear if I push her too hard, she’ll take off running and I’ll lose her altogether.
If what she needs is time and space, I’d do my best to give her what she wanted. I just don’t want to lose her for good.
I spot Gage’s pickup just as Alex pulls into the spot next to me. He greets me with a brief nod. I push my door open, hollering, “What’s up,” as I slam the door shut behind me.
“How you hangin’ in there, man?”
I know by the tone and the way he raises his brow, he is referring to the incident over at Haelynn’s. I came back over after she put Huxton to bed, giving her a chance to calm down before taking her statement. Alex stopped me as I was leaving to see how I was doing. He could tell there was a lot on my mind, so he dropped it.
“I’m all right. I’d be doing a helluva lot better if she’d talk to me, but I’m giving her time.”
He nods. “Makenna mentioned she’s been working from home the last couple of days. They’re so damn busy now after those pictures of you two all over the internet. You see all those people talking about you and your ugly mug?”
Alex elbows me jokingly. He jogs ahead toward the door to grab the handle, stepping back to let me through.
We spot Gage at one of the high-top tables across the bar. A solemn expression marking his features. His elbows are resting on the table with a bottle of beer in his hand, studying the label, seemingly lost in thought.
“I had to turn off notifications on the post because my phone started going haywire. I couldn’t keep up with them all.”
I knew the photos would be a hit, but I hadn’t expected the response we were getting from them. I couldn’t help but wonder how Haelynn felt about it.
I claim a seat on the barstool across from Gage, and Alex takes the one on the right. The waitress is over as soon as we sit down, ready to take our orders. We’ve been here enough to know we don’t need to look at the menu to know what we want.
Alex talks about some work he was hoping to start before the fall weather hit us, wanting to take advantage of the few warm days we had left. It’s easy, and I’m grateful they invited me out, knowing how much I needed this right now.
“How have things been over at Compass?” I ask.
Gage was quiet for most of dinner. Something that’s been happening all too often lately. Things have been off between us since the day I dropped by on my lunch break. Tensions have only been building since the way he spoke to Haelynn at the bonfire.
I know Gage comes from a good place. We’ve been best friends since we were little, our parents have been close our entire lives. We used to tell each other everything, but lately something’s been bothering him and I haven’t managed to get to the bottom of it.
“Same ‘ol,” he mutters under his breath, lifting the bottle to his lips, taking a swig.
Alex raises his brows, shaking his head. He’s just as baffled by his attitude as I am.
“What’s your deal lately? You’ve been different these past few weeks. Agitated, on edge.”
He glances between me and back to Alex. I want to tell him to cut the bullshit.
“Did I do something? What the hell has gotten into you?”
