Page 9 of Penance
“Coach wants to talk to you,” Tanner yells from somewhere deep in the house.
“Yeah, kid. I got that,” I yell back while simultaneously glaring at Hayes, but the man is unbothered by my glare. He hands the cereal box to Campbell, leans his chair back on two legs, and places his hands behind his head. I silently hope that he falls.
“Cool. I’m heading out.”
Without waiting for my goodbye, the garage door slams, and then he’s gone.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I deepen my scowl as I stare at the two men across from me. Now that Tanner is gone, there’s no need for pretenses.
“What can I do for you, gentleman?” I ask, kicking out my legs andcrossing one ankle over the other.
“Well, I, for one, could use some milk to go with this cereal,” Campbell says with a mouth full of food. “My mouth is a little dry.”
I press my lips together, irritation thrumming beneath my skin.
Hayes reaches out, smacking his friend on the back of the head. “Focus, you idiot.”
Campbell rubs the back of his head and looks thoroughly admonished.
“We heard about last night. We wanted to check on you.”
I scoff. “You wanted to check on me, or you wanted to decipher gossip from truth?”
Campbell winces and leans in close to Hayes. “I told you he would be suspicious.”
“Shut up,” Hayes hisses.
“Okay,” I say, clapping my hands and standing tall. “It’s time for you two to go. I just got off shift. I’m tired, and frankly, I don’t want to deal with you.”
“Well, that’s kind of rude.”
“Yeah,” Campbell echoes Hayes. “What he said.”
Walking past them, I grab each of their shirts and drag them behind me. They are both wearing their police uniforms—another reason to dislike them.
Who chooses to be a policeman over a fireman?
“Wait,” Hayes protests, digging in his heels, but I don’t stop. “Is it true that you saved Lily from the burning building, jumping from the second-story and landing on your own two feet?”
“That’s not what I heard,” Campbell says, standing on his tiptoes to see over my head with his shirt still clenched in my fist. “I heard he swooped her up bridal style when she passed out and woke her with a kiss—like Sleeping Beauty, but with fire.”
I roll my eyes. It’s not even been twenty-four hours since it happened,and the rumors are already out of hand.
“You two have to stop getting coffee with those old geezers at the diner at the crack of dawn. You’re starting to turn into them.”
“Hey,” Campbell cries. “I’m not like those old men. I still have a head full of hair. Hayes, on the other hand—”
I see the punch coming before Campbell has time to move. It catches my chin and follows through to Campbell’s arm. The room goes deathly quiet as I let go of each of their shirts and jerk open the front door.
“Out,” I say, pointing outside.
Hayes shakes out his hand. “Dang, Theo. I knew you had a hard head, but I didn’t know it was that hard. That kind of hurt.”
Jutting out my chin, I work my jaw. “Serves you right. Now, goodbye.”
Campbell is the only one who listens, saluting me before walking through the door and hopping off the porch.
“That man is an overgrown child,” I grumble, and Hayes chuckles.
