Page 11 of The Home Grown
“I think I need another drink,” I say, and instead of asking blondie if she wants one too, I turn on my heel and head back to the bar on my own where I order a fresh beer.
Danny joins me a moment later.
“What happened? I thought she was into it,” he says, nudging me.
What am I supposed to say to that? I let my ex get in my head? Nah—I can’t be admitting that to Danny.
“I’m thinking I want more of a challenge,” I say, trying to inject some confidence into my voice. “Maybe I’ll save my energy for camp … you know, I hear they have an ‘ice team’—those cheerleaders who scrape the ice.”
Danny scoffs. “Not a bad idea, actually.”
The bartender taps me on the shoulder, placing my beer down on the bar and I take my wallet out to pay, as there’s a chorus of cheers from the corner of the bar, loud enough to get the attention of everyone in a five-mile radius.
The rest of the team are crammed into that corner of the bar, one booth and several extra tables pulled up to accommodate the numbers—and I can see from a glance that Johnny and my sister are missing, but I decide I don’t want to know where they’ve gone.
“Shit—what’s going on there?” Danny says. “Let’s find out.”
“I’ll be over in a sec,” I say.
He disappears into a small crowd of people.
I take the alone time as an opportunity to throw back some shots, letting the liquor burn the back of my throat as it slides down, then I get my phone out of my pocket, wondering if I should call Rochelle and tell her what a piece of shit she is, but before I can make any rash decisions, Danny’s hand slaps me on the back.
“You’ll never guess what?” he says.
I shove my phone away in time to see Liam and Ryan Preston sliding into the space between Danny and me.
“Don’t tell him,” Danny says, flashing a look at the guys. “You’ll break his heart, Lee.”
“Vicky and I got engaged, that’s all. We weren’t making a big deal of it but—” Liam says.
“What do you mean you weren’t making a big deal of it? This is great news,” I say, forcing a smile.
I’m happy for them. I am. But I’m also jealous—not because I’ll have to stop the harmless flirting with Vicky, but because I don’t think I’ll ever find what Liam has with her.
“Shots?” I say, since I’ve already got the flavour.
I signal to the bartender before anyone can protest.
“Shouldn’t you be laying off a bit—with camp coming up?” Liam asks, though he’s the first one reaching for the tray of shot glasses when they’re deposited in front of us.
“Yeah, but a few shots won’t hurt,” I say.
And it’s true.
Shots don’t hurt at all. Heartache on the other hand…
Chapter Three
ELLIE
Seven days.That’s how long I avoided it.
If I ignore something long enough, it’ll go away, right?
Wrong. Because the red document wallet from last week is still there on Sunday afternoon. Still there. Still begging for attention.
And I know, deep down, I can’t leave it any longer.
