Chapter Sixteen
Killian
“Hey, Killian,” Zeke called as I crossed the courtyard with the cash drawer. If I never had to hole up in an office with Louis again, balancing cash drawers, I wouldn’t miss it. “You up for hanging out with us tonight?”
Us? “You’re going out with Zeke?” I asked Eden, returning the drawer to the register.
“Yeah. Just to shoot some pool.”
I shot Zeke a look. He started cracking up like I was a comedian who had just told him a good joke.
Eden looked from Zeke to me, no doubt confused as to why Zeke was so entertained by the scowl on my face. “We’re all done here. I just need to change out of this T-shirt and brush my paint-splattered hair,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”
“Hey, Eden,” Zeke called after her. “Ask Hailey to come along.”
She turned and walked backwards, a big smile on her face. “I’ll text her.” Eden re-directed her smile at me. “You should come with us. I mean…if you want.”
After what happened with Adam the other night, I had no intention of letting Eden go to a bar at two in the morning without me. I didn’t trust Zeke’s ability to protect her from drunk assholes.
If that night at The Rooftop had happened a few years ago, Adam wouldn’t have gotten off as easy. I would have gone straight in, raining punches on him, and he would have been lucky to crawl out of that bar.
“Where are you going?” I asked Zeke, who was digging around in his backpack and came out with a clean T-shirt.
“Fat Earl’s.”
Fuck. No. The last time I was in Fat Earl’s, I was twelve. It was the middle of the afternoon in January and Connor and I had a snow day. Fat Earl’s was quiet, just Seamus and a few dregs sitting at the bar. He was putting back the Jack Daniels, I was shooting pool in the back room, and Connor was sitting in the back corner, drawing superheroes on a stack of cardboard coasters I’d swiped from the bar. I had the brilliant idea to finish an open beer I’d found under the pool table. It was flat and warm and tasted like shit, but I drank it anyway, liking the way all the edges blurred with each sip.
I knew damn well I was pushing the boundaries, and I’d pay for it. But I didn’t realize how much I’d pay. Why hadn’t I stayed hidden, and out of the way, like Connor? I was a God damn idiot, poking a stick at a bear, but there was no tree to climb, and no way to escape my punishment—swift, brutal, and bloody. Maybe, in his blind rage fueled by too much whiskey, he didn’t realize what he’d done until it was too late. Who knows? We never spoke of it, not then and not in any of the years that followed.
“Hey, Killian,” Zeke said, jarring me from my memories. “You coming with us?”
I looked at the doves exploding from the grenade on the wall Eden had started painting today. It amazed me that she could create something so beautiful with just a brush and some paint. This morning, when I took her to Connor’s favorite art supply store in Bushwick, she was like a kid set loose in a candy store. Watching her face, so filled with joy and excitement, made me happy. Being with her makes me happy, and the thought of anything bad happening to her makes me feel sick inside.
“Yeah. I’m coming.”
“Cool. So, what happened to Eden the other night?” he asked as we walked into the bar.
I pressed my lips together and remained mute. He should know by now I rarely talked about myself, let alone anyone else. Once again, Zeke laughed for no apparent reason.
“Hailey said she’ll meet us there,” Eden said, walking down the hallway toward us, her hair loose and falling around her shoulders. She was wearing a tank top with jeans and Converse. It didn’t matter what she wore. Eden always looked beautiful. And fuck it. I wanted her, and I needed to do something about it. Tonight.
“How’s Hailey getting there?” I asked.
“Um…” She chewed on her lip, a tell-tale sign. “She said it’s only a ten-minute walk.”
I let out an exasperated breath. Why did these women take stupid chances? Did they honestly believe nothing bad could happen to them in Williamsburg? “Call her. Tell her not to start walking. We’ll pick her up.”
On the way to Fat Earl’s, the Jeep was noisy with chatter, but I had no idea what Zeke, Hailey, and Eden were talking about. I was too busy talking myself down from the ledge.
Growing up, most of the bad shit went down in my own house, and I had no choice but to live there every day, so this was no big deal. Better to face your fears than run from them. I wasn’t twelve anymore. No need to trip down memory lane, a journey I rarely took.
As soon as we walked in the door, the familiar scent of fried food and stale beer assaulted my senses, making my stomach churn. Country music blared from the jukebox, and although the ownership and crowd had changed, the place still looked the same, right down to the year-round Christmas tree lights strung above the bar.
It was a long time ago. It’s just a bar. Stop being a fucking pussy.
Deep breaths.