Page 18 of Trust Me
“Do I know him?” Pause. “Well, I wanna fucking meet him, Avery!” Another pause. “Maddox has a damn date Friday night too,” he says, not able to hide his irritation. And now I’m practically shitting in my pants. The car starts to feel like it’s closing in on me as more sweat breaks out on my upper lip. “Fine. I guess I’ll catch you on another night off. I want to meet this guy. Soon. I wanna make sure he understands what will happen if he messes with my baby sister.” He listens to her for a few more minutes and finally signs off.
As he drops his phone back into his shirt pocket, he lets out a big sigh.
“She’s got a date. Won’t tell me who it is. How am I supposed to scare the living shit out of him if I don’t know who I’m threatening?”
I pick my words carefully and say, “She must have a good reason to not want you to know right away.”
“Yeah, she says it’s too new and she doesn’t want me interfering. Says it’s nothing for me to get excited about…yet. I know what guys are after, and he isn’t getting it from my sister. Not if I can help it.”
“She’s a grown-up, man. She’s gonna go on dates, you know. She’s got a kid.”
“What is up with you? Did you lose your balls or something? You used to stand back and hold my beer while I was dealing with the assholes who messed with my sister.”
“Nothing is up with me. I’ve got your back one hundred percent. I just don’t think you should get yourself worked up until you have something to get worked up about.”
“Whatever.” He crosses his arms over his broad chest and turns to face out the passenger window, basically ending our conversation. We hit a drive-thru for lunch and are heading back to the precinct when my phone chimes. I pull it out and notice a text from Avery. I glance at Jake out of the corner of my eye, but he seems to be focused on a couple walking down the street. I open the message.
Avery: Are we doing the right thing?
I don’t hesitate in my reply.
Me: Yes.
I hit send.
Another ding.
Avery: What if he findsout?
When we stop at the stoplight, I type another quick reply.
Me: Then it’s on me. I’ll handle it.
Avery: You won’t deal with him alone. I’m a big girl and can handle Jake.
The light is getting ready to change back to green so I type quickly.
Me: Trust me, I know you’re a big girl. *insert smiling emoji* See you Friday.
I put my phone away as we pull away from the intersection, heading back toward the other end of town. We have a few more hours left of our shift, but I’m anxious to get home and burn off a little energy with a run.
“What are you doing tonight?” Jake asks after several minutes of silence.
“Probably going for a run, and then relaxing with a littleSports Center.”
“Mind if I tag along? I’m not feeling like hanging out at home tonight.” I look over at my best friend and notice for the first time the dark circles under his eyes. He looks beat.
“You feelin’ all right, man?”
“Yeah,” he replies as he rubs his hand through his hair and down his face. “Just notsleeping well lately.”
“Something you want to talk about?”
“No. Just have a lot on my mind. I’m good,” he reassures me as he continues to rub the top of his forehead. He lets out another sigh, and we enjoy more comfortable silence. I should probably push him a little harder and find out what’s eating at him, but my mind keeps going back to planning my date with Avery. I know she’s a simple girl, who doesn’t need fancy restaurants where she has to dress up and be someone’s arm candy for the night, which is good because I sure as hell am not into that scene.
Me? I’ll take the tailgate of a pickup truck in the middle of nowhere with some classic rock music, and I’m good. Avery and I spent a lot of our youth swimming in the river and hanging out with our friends in the middle of nowhere. That’s where we are both comfortable.
After our shift is over and the paperwork is wrapped up, Jake and I each jump into our own trucks and head back toward my house. He has to swing by his place and grab a change of clothes before he comes over, so I take the opportunity to drive by Avery’s house. I tell myself that I’m just fulfilling my civic duty as a police officer to make sure everything is okay in her neighborhood, but if I’m being honest with myself, I’d drive by andcheck on her even if I wasn’t a cop.
