"I hope you're about to elaborate," he says, watching me take a long drink. I set the glass down on the bar and wipe my mouth.
"Arrested for possession."
Harrison's expression becomes a mixture of anger and nervousness. "Wait a second," he says. He leans in and lowers his voice to a whisper. "You didn't tell them I--"
I'm offended he would even ask that, so I cut him off before he even finishes the question. "Of course not," I say. "I refused to say anything about where the pills came from. Unfortunately, that won't help my situation when I show up for court. Apparently they cut you slack when you rat people out." I laugh and shake my head. "That's fucked up, huh? We teach kids that tattling is wrong but as adults, we're rewarded for it."
Harrison doesn't respond. I can see all the words he wants to say, he's just doing his best to keep them in.
"Harrison," I say, leaning forward. "It's fine. It'll be fine. It's my first offense, so I doubt I'll get much . . ."
He shakes his head. "It's not fine, Owen! I've been telling you to stop this shit for over a year now. I knew it would catch up with you and I hate being the one to say I told you so, but I fucking told you so about a million goddamn times."
I exhale. I'm too tired to listen to this right now. I stand up and set a ten-dollar bill on the bar and I turn around and leave.
He's right, though. He told me so. And he's not the only one, because I've been telling myself this would catch up to me for a hell of a lot longer than Harrison has.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Auburn
Do you want a refill?"
I smile and say, "Sure," to the waitress, even though I know I don't need a refill. I should just leave, but there's still a small part of me that hopes Lydia will show up. Surely she didn't forget.
I debate whether or not to text her again. She's over an hour late and I'm sitting here, pathetically waiting, hoping I don't get stood up.
Not that she's the first person to stand me up. That award goes to Owen Mason Gentry.
I should have known. I should have been prepared for it. That entire night with him seemed too good to be true, and the fact that I haven't heard from him after three solid weeks only proves that my decision to forgo guys was a smart one.
It still stings, though. It hurts like hell because when he walked out my door that Thursday night, I felt so hopeful. Not just about meeting him, but because it made me think Texas wouldn't be all that bad. I thought maybe for once, things were going to go my way and karma was going to cut me some slack.
As much as it hurt to realize he was full of shit, being stood up by Lydia hurts a little bit more than being stood up by Owen, because at least Owen didn't stand me up on my birthday.
How could she forget?
I won't cry. I won't do it. I've shed enough tears over that woman and she's not causing any more.
The waitress is back at the table, refilling my drink. My nonalcoholic drink.
I'm drinking a pathetic soda, sitting alone in a restaurant, being stood up for the second time this month, and it's my twenty-first birthday.
"I'll take the bill," I say, defeated. The waitress gives me a look of pity as she lays the bill on the table. I pay it and leave.
I hate that I still have to walk past his studio on my way home from work. Or in this case, on my way home from being stood up. Sometimes the light is on in his apartment upstairs and I get the urge to set the place on fire.
Not really. That's a little bit harsh. I wouldn't burn his beautiful art.
Just him.
When I reach his building, I stop and stare at it. Maybe it's worth walking an extra block or two from now on, just so I'll never have to pass it again. Before I reroute myself, maybe I should leave a confession. I've been wanting to leave one for three weeks and tonight everything has lined up perfectly for me to finally be pissed enough to do so.
I walk to the front door of his building and stare at the slot while I reach inside my purse and pull out a pen. I don't have any paper, so I dig around until I find the receipt from the fantastic birthday dinner I just shared with myself. I flip it over and press the receipt to the window and begin my confession.
I met this really great guy three weeks ago. He taught me how to dance, reminded me of what it feels like to flirt, walked me home, made me smile, and then YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE, OWEN!
I press the button on the end of the pen to retract it. I put it back in my purse. Oddly enough, getting that out on paper actually made me feel a little better. I begin to fold the receipt but flatten it back out and retrieve my pen in order to add another sentence.
PS: Your initials are so stupid.
Much better. I slip the confession through the slot before I give myself enough time to think it through. I take a few steps away from the building and bid it farewell.
I turn toward my apartment and my phone sounds off. I pull it out and open my text.
Lydia: Sorry! I got sidetracked and it's been such a crazy day. I hope you didn't wait long. Heading back to Pasadena in the morning, but you'll be at dinner Sunday, right?
I read the text and all I can think is, Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch.
I'm so immature. But come on, she couldn't even tell me happy birthday?
God, my heart hurts.
I begin to put the phone back into my pocket when it sounds off again. Maybe she remembered it was my birthday. At least she'll feel a little guilty about it. Maybe I shouldn't have called her a bitch.
Lydia: Next time, remind me before I'm supposed to be there. You know I have my hands full.
Bitch, bitch, bitch, big huge bitch.
I clench my teeth and scream out of frustration. I can't win with her. I'll never win with her.
I can't believe I'm about to do this, but I need a drink. An alcoholic drink. And lucky for me, I know just where to get one.
"You lied."
Harrison is looking at my ID.
I assume he just noticed that today is my birthday and I wasn't at all twenty-one when I walked in here with Owen the first time.
"Owen made me."
Harrison shakes his head and hands me back my ID. "Owen does a lot of things Owen shouldn't do." He wipes down the bar between us and tosses the rag aside, but I'm hoping he'll elaborate on that comment. "So what'll it be, Ms. Reed? Jack and Coke again?"
I immediately shake my head. "No thanks. Something a little less assaulting."
"Margarita?"
I nod.
He turns around to make my first legally ordered alcoholic beverage. I hope he puts one of those tiny umbrellas in it.
"Where's Owen?" he asks.
I roll my eyes. "Do I look like Owen's keeper? He's probably inside Hannah."
Harrison spins around, wide-eyed. I shrug off my insult and he laughs before returning his attention to my drink. When he's finished making it, he sets it on the bar in front of me. I begin to frown, but he reaches to his right, plucks an umbrella out of a jar, and places it in the drink. "See how you like this one."
I bring the margarita to my lips and lick the salt off first, then take a sip. My eyes light up, because this is so much better than the shit Owen ordered for me. I nod and motion for him to go ahead and make me another one.
"Why don't you finish that one first," he suggests.
"Another one," I say, wiping my mouth. "It's my birthday and I'm a responsible adult who wants two drinks."
His shoulders rise with his intake of breath and he shakes his head, but he does what I ask. Which is a good thing, because as soon as he finishes making my second one, I'm ordering a third one. Because I can. Because it's my birthday and I'm all alone, and Portland is way on top of the country and I'm way down here, all the way at the bottom, and Owen Mason Gentry is a huge asshole!
And Lydia is a bitch.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Owen
There's someone here who belongs to you."
It takes me a few seconds to adjust to the middle-of-the-night phone call. I sit
up in bed and rub my eyes. "Harrison?"
"You're asleep?" He sounds shocked. "It's not even one in the morning."
I swing my legs to the side of the bed and press my palm to my forehead. "Been a rough week. Haven't slept much." I stand up and look for my jeans. "Why are you calling?"
There's a pause and I hear a clatter come from his end of the line. "No! You can't touch that! Sit down!"
I pull the phone away from my ear to salvage my eardrum. "Owen, you better get your ass over here. I close in fifteen minutes and she doesn't take last call well."
"What are you talking about? Who are you talking about?"
And then it hits me.
Auburn.
"Shit. I'll be right there."
Harrison hangs up without saying good-bye and I'm pulling a T-shirt over my head as I make my way downstairs.
Why are you there, Auburn? And why are you there alone?
I make it to the front door and kick a few of the confessions that have piled in front of it out of the way. I average about ten most weekdays, but the downtown traffic triples the number on Saturdays. I usually throw them all in a pile until I'm ready to begin a new painting before I read them, but one of the confessions on the floor catches my eye. I notice it because it has my name on it, so I pick it up.
I met this really great guy three weeks ago. He taught me how to dance, reminded me of what it feels like to flirt, walked me home, made me smile, and then YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE, OWEN!
PS: Your initials are so stupid.
The confessions are supposed to be anonymous, Auburn. This isn't anonymous. As much as I want to laugh, her confession also reminds me of how much I let her down and how I'm probably the last person she wants to see come rescue her from a bar.
I walk across the street anyway and open the door, immediately searching for her. Harrison notices me approaching and nods his head toward the restroom. "She's hiding from you."
I grip the back of my neck and look in the direction of the restrooms. "What's she doing here?"
Harrison lifts his shoulders in a shrug. "Celebrating her birthday, I guess."
You've got to be kidding me. Could I feel any more like shit?
"It's her birthday?" I begin making my way toward the bathroom. "Why didn't you call me sooner?"
"She made me swear I wouldn't."
I knock on the restroom door but get no response. I slowly push it open and immediately see her feet protruding from the last stall.
Shit, Auburn.
I rush to where she is but stop just as fast when I see she isn't passed out. In fact, she's wide awake. She looks a little too comfortable for someone sprawled out in a bar bathroom. She's resting her head against the wall of the stall, looking up at me.
I'm not surprised by the anger in her eyes. I probably wouldn't want to speak to me right now, either. In fact, I'm not even going to make her speak to me. I'll just take a seat right here on the floor with her.
She watches me as I walk into the stall and take a seat directly in front of her. I pull my knees up and wrap my arms around them and then lean my head back against the stall.
She doesn't look away from me, she doesn't speak, she doesn't smile. She just inhales a slow breath and gives her head the slightest disappointed shake.
"You look like shit, Owen."
I smile, because she doesn't sound as drunk as I thought she might be. But she's probably right. I haven't looked in a mirror in over three days. That happens when I get caught up in my work. I haven't shaved, so I more than likely have a good case of stubble going on.
She doesn't look like shit, though, and I should probably say that out loud. She looks sad and a little bit drunk, but for a girl sprawled out on a bathroom floor, she looks pretty damn hot.
I know I should apologize to her for what I did. I know that's the only thing that should be coming out of my mouth right now, but I'm scared if I apologize then she'll start asking questions, and I don't want to have to tell her the truth. I would rather she be disappointed that I stood her up than know the truth about why I stood her up.
"Are you okay?"
She rolls her eyes and focuses on the ceiling and I can see her attempt to blink back her tears. She brings her hands up to her face and rubs them up and down in an attempt to sober herself up, or maybe because she's frustrated that I'm here. Probably a little of both.
"I got stood up tonight."
She continues to stare up at the ceiling. I'm not sure how to feel about this confession of hers, because my first reaction is jealousy and I know that isn't fair. I just don't like the thought of her being so upset over someone who isn't me, when really it's none of my business.
"You get stood up by a guy so you spend the rest of the night drinking in a bar? That doesn't sound like you."
Her chin immediately drops to her chest and she looks up at me through her lashes. "I didn't get stood up by a guy, Owen. That's very presumptuous of you. And for your information, I happen to like drinking. I just didn't like your drink."
I shouldn't be focusing on that one word in her sentence, but . . .
"You got stood up by a girl?"
I have nothing against lesbians, but please don't be one. That's not how I envision this ending between us.
"Not by a girl, either," she says. "I got stood up by a bitch. A big, mean, selfish bitch."
Her words make me smile even though I don't mean for them to. There's nothing about her situation worth smiling over, but the way her nose crinkled up while she insulted whoever stood her up was really cute.
I straighten my legs out, placing them on the outsides of her legs. She looks as defeated as I feel.
What a pair we make.
I want so badly to tell her the truth, but I also know that the truth won't make things any better between us than they are now. The truth makes less sense than the lie, and I don't even know which one I should go with anymore.
The only thing I do know is that, whether she's mad or happy or sad or excited, she has this calming energy that radiates from her. Every day of my life it feels as if I'm fighting my way up an escalator that only goes down. And no matter how fast or how hard I run to try to reach the top, I stay in the same place, sprinting, getting nowhere. But when I'm with her it doesn't feel like I'm on that escalator. It feels as if I'm on a moving walkway, and I'm effortlessly just carried along. Like I can finally relax and take a breath and not feel the constant pressure to sprint in order to prevent hitting rock bottom.
Her presence calms me, relaxes me, makes me feel as though maybe things aren't as hard as they appear to be when she isn't around. So no matter how pathetic we may seem right now, sitting on the floor of the women's restroom, there isn't anywhere else I would rather be at this moment.
"OMG," she says, leaning forward to pull at my hair. Her entire face contorts into a frown and I can't understand how my hair is displeasing her so much right now. "We need to fix this shit," she mutters.
She puts one hand on the wall and one on my shoulder and she pushes herself up. When she's standing, she reaches for my hand. "Come on, Owen. I'm gonna fix your shit."
I don't know that she's sober enough to fix anything, really. But that's okay, because I'm still on my moving walkway, so I'll effortlessly follow her anywhere she wants to go.
"Let's wash our hands, Owen. The floor is gross." She walks to the sink and squirts soap on my palm. She glances at me in the mirror and looks down at my hand. "Here's you some soap," she says, wiping the soap across my hand.
I can't tell with her. I don't know how much she's had to drink, but this interaction isn't what I was expecting tonight. Especially after reading her confession.
We wash our hands in silence. She pulls two paper towels out and hands one to me. "Dry your hands, Owen."
I take the paper towels from her and do as she says. She's confident and in charge right now and I think it's best to leave it that way. Until I figure out her level of sobriety, I don't want to do anything to trigger a
ny type of reaction from her other than what I'm getting right now.
I walk to the door and open it. She steps away from the sink and I watch her stumble slightly, but she catches herself on the wall. She immediately looks down at her shoes and glares at them.
"Fucking heels," she mumbles. Only she isn't wearing heels. She's wearing black flats, but she blames them, anyway.
We make our way back out into the bar and Harrison has already closed up and shut off some of the lights. He raises a brow as we pass by him.
"Harrison?" she says to him, pointing a finger in his direction.
"Auburn," he says flatly.
She wags her finger and I can tell Harrison wants to laugh, but he keeps it in check. "You put those wonderful drinks on my tab, okay?"
He shakes his head. "We close out all tabs at the end of the night."
She places her hands on her hips and pouts. "But I don't have any money. I lost my purse."
Harrison leans over and grabs a purse from behind the bar. "You didn't lose it." He shoves it across the bar and she stares at the purse like she's upset she didn't lose it.
"Well, shit. Now I have to pay you." She steps forward and opens her purse. "I'm only paying you for one drink because I don't even think you put alcohol in that second one."
Harrison looks at me and rolls his eyes, then pushes her money away. "It's on the house. Happy birthday," he says. "And for the record, you had three drinks. All with alcohol."
She throws her purse over her shoulder. "Thank you. You're the only person in the entire state of Texas to tell me happy birthday today."
Is it possible to hate myself more than I did three weeks ago? Yes, it absolutely is.
She turns to me and tucks her chin in when she sees the look on my face. "Why do you look so sad, Owen? We're going to fix your shit, remember?" She takes a step toward me and grabs my hand. "Bye, Harrison. I hate you for calling Owen."
Harrison smiles and gives me a nervous look as if he's silently saying, "Good luck." I shrug and allow her to pull me behind her as we walk toward the exit.
"I got presents from Portland today," she says as we near the exit. "People love me in Portland. My mom and dad. My brother and sisters."
I push the door open and wait for her to walk outside first. It's the first day of September--happy birthday--and the night has an unseasonable chill to it for Texas.