Page 4 of Ember
“He was attacked by a janitor with a crowbar. He was at work, and the guy just started hitting him with the tool, and well, it took him a while to get back on his feet,” she said. She stood by him the whole time, too. She worked as many shifts as she could pick up down at the Beauty Bar. She was a stylist, and she really loved her job. Her favorite clients were the ones who came in and told her to cut off all their hair and give them a change. She loved creating a whole new look for a woman that would have her feeling refreshed and ready to conquer the world—or at least the grocery store. Ember supported Marco for all the good it did her, and when he was cleared to leave the hospital, he repaid her by verbally abusing her and beating the shit out of her. Her grandmother used to say that no good deed went unpunished, and she always thought that was such a mean saying when she was a kid. But now that she was an adult, she understood itperfectly. She felt that fucking saying down into the depths of her soul.
“Um, I just met your ex, and I’m not a betting man, but if I was, I’d put money on the janitor nailing him for being an asshole,” Jack breathed.
Ember laughed, “Yeah, and you’d win that bet. Marco has always been a live wire, and when he doesn’t feel as though anyone is listening to him, or understands him, he goes a little crazy.”
“As in, following his ex-girlfriend from Florida to New York, crazy?” he asked. Ember was pretty sure that Jack didn’t miss a thing. In fact, he seemed more in tune with everything that she had been saying than most guys would have been.
“You sure pick up a lot of stuff from just one conversation, Jack,” she said. “What did you say that you do for a living?” Ember knew that he hadn’t said anything about what he did for work, but she was beginning to become more and more suspicious that he was a good listener for a reason.
“I’m a cop,” he said. Well, that made a lot of fucking sense.
“Ahh, so not a guy with a heart of gold then. Just a cop out doing his duty. Am I a case or something like that now?” she asked.
“That depends,” he said, “have you broken the law lately?”
“Does breaking into an abandoned church and sleeping there count as a crime?”
“Did you take anything that didn’t belong to you while you were there?” he asked.
She shook her head, “Nope,” she said.
“Did you commit any crimes while you were in the church?” he asked.
“Nope,” she repeated. “I didn’t even have to break down the door or pick the lock. It was already open, and well, that place didn’t seem to even have any locks.
“Then, I think that we can forgo my arresting you. So, no, you aren’t a case for me,” he admitted.
“Why help me then?” she asked again.
He shrugged, “Maybe I’m just a nice guy,” he said. She barked out her laugh, and he feigned hurt. “Hey, we’ve already admitted that we don’t know each other. You don’t know if I’m a nice guy or not,” he insisted.
Ember sobered, “You’re right. I’m sorry,” she said. She was beginning to believe that he was a nice guy, but she had no idea what to do with that knowledge. It was so much easier to believe that all people—especially men- were just plain evil. Marco had proven to be so; why would Jack be any different?
“You don’t trust very easily, do you?” he asked, pulling into a small neighborhood. If she had blinked, she would have missed the tiny uniform houses that lined the street. It was quaint and reminded her of neighborhoods on television shows—the ones where kids would play outside until dusk and everyone knew their neighbor. She had never lived in a place like that—hell, she didn’t think that places like that even existed.
“It’s been hard to trust people lately. I only trust a few people, and well, that’s partially why I’m here.” When Marco’s mother, Jean, told her to run and never look back, she did. She trusted Jean and Marco’s little sister, Kelsey. But the rest of the people from her past were questionable. Her own mother wasn’t someone she’d trust, and her father was the same. Of course, it was hard to trust a drunk.
“What about family?” he asked. “Do you have someone you can call to help you?”
“Are you sick of me already, Jack?” she teased.
“No, that’s not what I meant,” he insisted. She couldn’t help her giggle. Her mother used to say that Ember could get under just about the thickest-skinned person out there, and Jack wasno exception to the rule. “You were joking,” he grumbled under his breath.
“Yeah—sarcasm is my second language. Sorry,” she said. He pulled into the driveway of the cutest little white house with black shutters. Honestly, she had only dreamed of such quaint little houses existing out in the world.
“This is me,” he said. “I’d park in the garage, but I’ve been working on my bike at night in there, and well, it’s kind of a mess. I know that it’s inconvenient.”
“It’s okay,” she breathed, “I’ve never lived in a house with a garage before. But then again, most single-wide trailers don’t have garages.”
“There isn’t anything wrong with a single wide. I grew up in one with my mom and sister after my dad left us. Mom worked two jobs to keep that roof over our heads, and when I was old enough, I got a job to help while going to school. Some of my favorite memories were in that little trailer with the two of them.” She chanced a look over at Jack, noting the hint of sadness that she saw in his eye when he talked about his mom and sister.
“What happened to them?” she asked.
“Mom lives about an hour from here, in the little town where I grew up. My sister, Josie, is kind of a nomad. She was attacked by some asshole in college and was never the same after it happened. She dropped out and decided to live in an RV—you know, a camper. She travels full-time and is lucky enough to be able to work from anywhere. I miss her, though, and I know that my mom misses her too.”
“You said your dad took off,” she prompted.
“He did, and I don’t really remember him. He left when I was just a kid. I don’t know where he is and honestly, I don’t care,” he said.
