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"How about you?" I asked Jayden, trying to keep my tone even with my gaze fixed on my pad with my pen pressed to the paper, but when he didn't answer, I blinked up. His gaze was locked on mine. "What can I get you to drink?"
"Whiskey," he finally said. I scratched it down on my pad and twisted to walk away.
Drew and Alma helped me prepare and serve all the drinks. By the time The Untouchables were served, the bar was picking up.
"I need two Coronas, a margarita, and three fireballs," I shouted to Sam, the bartender. Sam's gaze flicked over my shoulder, and his brows raised.
"Whiskey," Jayden said, setting his glass on the bar beside me, and my entire body tensed. Typically, I would apologize if a customer had to get up and get his own drink, but I would apologize to Jayden for nothing. "I really didn't know you'd be working tonight, but I can't say I'm mad I get to see you again before I leave."
I didn't understand why he was leaving so early, but I also didn't care enough to ask. "When do you leave?"
"Friday," he said. Sam slid Jayden's whiskey down the bar to him before setting my tray on the counter.
"Well, good luck," I muttered, pulling my tray off the bar and walking away from him again.
* * *
The rest of the night went smoothly, and most of the bar had cleared out, including all the Untouchables, and I was exhausted.
"Hey, when are you leaving?" I asked Drew as I untied my apron and dropped it on the bar.
"I probably still have another hour of work to finish," he said without looking up from the money he was organizing into piles.
"I'm going to head out." I yawned. "I'll see you next weekend."
"Be careful," he said. " Oh, and the Untouchables left you a pretty hefty tip." I raised my brows. "$500." He flipped through the receipts, reading them as he flipped. "$250. $100. $125. $300 and $75. Guess they thought you did a good job." I forced a smile and nodded, but we both knew that wasn't the case. This was how Jayden said I'm sorry without saying the words. Too bad it wasn't enough.
Stepping out into the cool night air, I sucked in a deep breath. I knew I was supposed to wait for Drew to take me home, but I was too tired to wait another hour, and it wasn't like I hadn't made this walk hundreds of times alone. Since the day I remembered what happened to my family, everyone was paranoid, including myself, and it was taking a toll on my mental health.
I only got a few steps in before I spotted Jayden shouldering a light pole with his arms crossed over his massive chest.
"Can I walk you home?" he asked as I passed him.
"No."
"Sadie."
"No, Jayden. Go home."
"I can't leave without saying goodbye," he said, hot on my heels. "I can't leave things the way they ended."
I stopped and whipped around so fast that he stepped back to keep from slamming into me. "You chose how things ended." I pressed a finger into his chest. "You did."
"I know," he started.
"You want a goodbye," I growled, cutting him off. "Will that make you feel better about what you did?" My fist clenched at my side. "Well fuck you." I flipped him the bird. "I don't owe you shit." I was about to storm off but stopped myself. This might be my last chance to tell him exactly how I felt. "I didn't ask for any of this, Jayden. I didn't ask for you to force yourself into my life, but you did, and then you made me feel like I was nothing. You deserve nothing from me."
"Sadie, I'm sorry for what I did," he said; the sorrow in his tone made my chest tighten. "I never expected to—" He trailed off.
"To what, Jayden?" I growled. The only emotion I was able to register was anger. He didn't answer. Fuck, that; he wasn't taking the easy way this time. "To, fucking, what?"
"To fall in love with you."
"Fuck you," I growled, my heart pounding painfully against my rib cage as my eyes swelled with tears. "You don't do that to people you love." I whipped around to storm off, but he caught me by the arm, jerking me to face him.
"I fucked up, Sadie," he said, pain flickered in his eyes. "I'm fucked up." He was right. He was fucked up, but despite what he did, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't know the truth about my father.
"KJ told me it was you who hired the attorney for my dad," I said. "You should have told me."
