Page 18 of Ashes of Us
I turned the phone face-down and signaled for another.
It was over. Actually, truly over. Piper had done it. She'd called her parents, and her parents had called my parents, and now everyone knew. By tomorrow, the whole extended family would know. By next week, everyone we'd invited to the wedding would know.
And the station. Jesus Christ, the station.
Captain Morrison was going to be pissed. Not just disappointed—the man would beangry. He'd been at the engagement party, had given a speech about how happy he was for us. He'd known Piper for years, loved her like she was family. Everyone at 47 did.
And I'd cheated on her with someone from my own crew. Someone who reported to me.
Morrison was going to have my ass. I’d probably just torched my shot at captain when he retired.
Two hundred people were going to find out that Liam Sullivan was a cheating piece of shit who'd destroyed his relationship five weeks before his wedding.
I pressed my palms against my eyes.
How had I let it get this far? Four months. Four months of lying and sneaking around and telling myself it didn't mean anything, that I'd end it soon, that Piper would never find out. Four months of being stupid enough to think I could have both.
And now I had neither.
Jenna was gone for good. She’d made sure of it when she walked out yesterday, enough venom in her voice to make it clear she meant it. But she’d never been what I wanted, had she? She’d just been easy. A distraction.
Piper had blocked my number. Our apartment was full of her things—her shoes by the door, her coffee mug in the sink, the wedding cake still in the fridge—but she was gone.
I was completely, utterly alone.
And I deserved it.
The door opened behind me, letting in a blast of cool evening air. I didn't look up. Didn't care who it was.
Then someone sat down on the stool next to me.
"Mom sent me to find you," Scott said. "Figured I’d check the nearest dive serving bad decisions by the glass."
I kept my eyes on my glass. Scott was three years older, married with a kid on the way, the kind of guy who'd never made a stupid decision in his life. He coached Little League on weekends and remembered everyone's birthday and had probably never even looked at another woman since he'd met his wife in college.
Perfect Scott. Here to witness his little brother's spectacular implosion.
He signaled the bartender and ordered a beer. Didn't say anything else, just sat there nursing his drink while I worked on my fifth whiskey.
The silence stretched until it got uncomfortable. I could feel him looking at me.
"So," he said finally. "You want to tell me what happened, or should I just go with what Mom's been screaming into the phone for the last hour?"
"It's complicated."
"Try me. Use small words if you need to."
I stared into my glass. The whiskey was making everything blur at the edges, which was exactly what I wanted. "Piper and I... we were having problems."
"What kind of problems?"
"I don't know. The usual stuff. Work. Wedding stress. We barely saw each other anymore."
Scott took a drink. "And?"
"And I fucked up."
"How specifically did you fuck up, Liam?"
