AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hey man, you can ask me all the questions you want, but can we hurry?” I didn’t take my eyes from where she stood when I asked him, but I didn’t miss his own pointed look in her direction.
Sheriff Roans tilted his head. “You going to admit you love the girl?”
“What?” I scoffed, choking and coughing. I patted my hand against my chest as if to clear a blockage that wasn’t there. I looked at him.
“You heard me.” He looked amused. “You say you didn’t hear any of this because you were having sex. I don’t know a woman alive loud enough to cover the sound of breaking glass, but I’ve been in love. I know what it’s like to look at the woman you love and the world around you disappear. That I would believe.”
He reached across the table, patting my shoulder. My stomach did somersaults, trying its best to climb its way into my throat. “I don’t love her.”
When he laughed, I cringed. “Okay, kid.”
I glared at him. Twenty-six was too old to be called kid, but the frustration was short-lived when Sheriff Roans was joined at the door by his associate. Auston surveyed the shards of glass at his feet as he walked to the officers, shaking both of their hands. He talked to them for a moment, but their words turned to hums.
Simone hugged herself, leaning her hip against the counter. Her eyes darted back and forth across the red paint, and my chest squeezed when she convulsed. She was crying.
I didn’t care if Auston was watching when I walked across the bar. Simone shivered when I hugged her from behind, flattening my chest against her back and holding my arm across the front of her chest. She relaxed against mine, and I took deep breaths against her ear to encourage her to do the same.
You love the girl.
Did I? I shook my head, but when Auston approached us, I cringed. I hadn’t heard his steps. Sheriff Roans’s words repeated in my head again.
He cleared his throat. “I want to talk to you.”
Simone nodded, probably assuming he meant her. She didn’t look up to see his eyes burning a hole in my composure. “I’m coming,” I said.
I tightened my arms again, squeezing her and burying my face in her hair for a moment before I reluctantly let go. She shivered violently when I stepped back to follow Auston into the office.
When she took a step to follow, Auston held up his hand. “I just need to talk to Logan right now. You can go home if you want. We’ll figure all of this out later,” he said, waving his hand around the damage.
She looked at me, her eyes pleading like she wanted to stay. I nodded at her, then looked at the door, suggesting she take Auston’s direction. Simone’s first step was small, followed by a more hesitant second step.
“I’ll call you when I leave,” I told her, ignoring the huff from my best friend behind me.
With a small nod, Simone took meek steps towards the hallway leading to the back door. I tried to listen for the metal to slam shut, and even though I knew I wouldn’t hear it, I strained to see if I would be able to hear the car she’d borrowed from her roommate start. I groaned.
“What the fuck, Logan?” Auston yelled as soon as he figured she was out of earshot. The volume of his voice wouldn’t guarantee that she couldn’t have heard it in the parking lot if she hadn’t driven away yet. Again, I wished I could have heard the car start.
I shrugged, trying to shake the shame that weighed heavy on my shoulders. “I don’t know.”
“You’re fucking her? How long?”
I reared back, furrowing my brow and holding up a single finger. “What did you just say?” The bar was just vandalized and robbed, and his concern was whether I was sleeping with Simone.
“You heard me. How long have you been fucking Simone? Here?” He shook his head like he was my father. The disappointment was blatant. “Don’t lie to me either. I recognize the sweatshirt. I know she was the girl you brought home. I’m not stupid, Logan.”
“Then I guess you don’t need my answer, since you already know.” The resentment was probably unjustified. Auston was in charge of the bar, and he trusted me as his assistant manager. I was in charge tonight, and we stood surrounded by the results of my losing control of a situation. It didn’t mean that I wanted him to nitpick how long I’d been fucking Simone.
It was more than that.
Auston sighed. “Something really bad could’ve happened. It’s not about some glasses and a stolen cash drawer. You could’ve both been hurt. Did you think about any of that? No. You were fucking selfish.”
The shame he layered on thick felt heavy on my chest, but when he shook his head again, anger filled me. It burst through the layers of disappointment and embarrassment, quickly rising to the surface. I stepped forward, raising my voice to match his.
“Don’t you dare! How many girls have you fucked in this office? The bathroom? The same fucking closet I was in?” My chest heaved, and I huffed a few deep breaths while Auston just stared at me. “You don’t get to act like I did anything you haven’t done. Get fucked.”
I whipped around to walk away. He cleared his throat, expecting me to turn around. I didn’t. “The bar didn’t get robbed when I did it. I didn’t risk anyone’s life.”
“Neither did I,” I said, emphasizing each word. I took a few steps towards the exit, turning back around. I shook my head. “You’re a hypocrite. The only difference in our motives is I wasn’t just screwing some bimbo I have no feelings for.”
