Archer’s eyes flashed with anger when he looked at Sky. “I’m not worth it? Is that what you told yourself when you bailed? That I wasn’t worth the paper to write a goddamn note tellin’ me you were leavin’?”
There was so much simmering beneath the surface I couldn’t even read my good friend, but it was obvious he’d never gotten over whatever happened between him and Sky. And she definitely meant more to him than any random hook-up he’d ever had.
“This isn’t the time,” she said, between clenched teeth. “If you wanna call me and talk like a civilized human being, you have my number.”
“Don’t hold your breath, sweetheart.” He smiled at the waitress who delivered another round of drinks to the table. “What time you get off, Trish?”
The pretty young waitress’s face lit up like she’d just been handed a winning lottery ticket. “Uh, not ‘til closing time.”
His dirty smirk was filled with promise when he said, “I just might stick around, give you aridehome.”
“I’d love that,” she said, her eyes widening as Sky’s jaw dropped. “See you later, Archer.”
Sky waited until Trish walked away before she said to Archer, “You make me sick. You’re so pathetic, trapped in your own anger, drowning in negativity, because you feel the world wronged you. But you made the decision to enlist,” she said, pointing a finger at him. “No one twisted your arm. And if it fucked you up, you have no one to blame but yourself!” There were tears in her eyes before she turned away, trying to dodge all the guys vying for her attention as she made her way to the restroom.
There was a beat of silence before Reed finally said, “Well, that was intense.”
“Uh yeah,” I said, sliding onto the bench seat next to Archer. “What was that about?”
I could tell he was clenching his teeth when he said, “Her brother was in the military too. She said he came back different.” He bit into his bottom lip hard, like he was struggling to get the words out. “P.T.S.D. cost him his marriage, a relationship with his kids, everything. He eventually offed himself ‘cause he couldn’t cope anymore.”
“Shit,” I whispered. “I had no idea.” Sky and I had become friends on the road. She talked a lot about her friends and family. I knew she had several brothers and sisters, but she’d never mentioned having a brother who’d killed himself.
“She told you all this the first night you met?” Reed asked, raising an eyebrow. When Archer nodded, he said, “Must’ve made one hell of a connection.”
“I thought so.” He cleared his throat. “Thought she understood me better than most, because of what her brother had been through.” He shrugged. “Guess I was wrong. She must’ve woken up in the middle of the night and realized my mess was too much for her to take on.”
I hated that Archer felt like damaged goods because of his issues. He was a decorated war hero. He may have taken countless lives in the line of duty, but he’d saved so many more.
“Dude, listen,” I said, trying to find the words to help him. “I know you—”
“No, you don’t know, man.” Archer swiped his hand over his face. “You don’t have a clue.” He nudged me with his elbow. “I gotta get outta here. Now. Tell Trish I’m sorry I couldn’t stick around.”
I knew he was getting antsy, ready to blow or have a meltdown, and this wasn’t the time or place for that, so I got up, allowing him to slide out of the booth. “I’ll call ya tomorrow,” I said, gripping his shoulder before he could get away. I couldn’t pretend to understand his pain, but during moments like this I felt his suffering.
He raised his hand before striding to the door without a backward glance.
Reed stared at the door. “I love that guy like a brother, but he’s seriously messed up. Pushing people away—”
“You don’t live inside his head, Reed. You don’t know what it’s like to… battle his demons.”
“Yeah, but why the hell’s he goin’ to war with Sky? Because she made him feel something and it pissed him off? Or because she bailed and made him feel worthless?” Disgust crossed his face. “You know Sky better than I do. You really think she cut and run with no good reason?”
I intended to find out what the deal was between my two good friends, because if there was any way I could help them make peace, I wanted to. Getting caught between them was bullshit and I was over it.
“No, there’s gotta be more to the story.”
Sky was taking the stage and her eyes drifted to our table. I could tell she was looking for Archer and the defeat showed in the slump of her shoulders when she saw he was MIA.
“You gonna find out what it is?”
I checked my phone when it buzzed. Another text from my manager asking me to call him. He wanted to know what the hell to tell people about me and Charli. Apparently, he was getting calls demanding a statement about the new lady in my life. Nosy bastards could suck it as far as I was concerned.
“Yeah, I’ll talk to Sky after her set. See if she wants to talk about it.”
The owner of Jimmy’s, J.T. McCall, walked up to the table. “Hey, boys. How’s it goin’?”
He’d given us both a shot playing his bar years ago and it helped us gain a lot of local fans, so we owed him bigtime.
