Chapter Twenty-Three

Ian

“You look tired,” Chris said to me as I walked in.

I still hadn’t told him about Eliza, and about the fact that I’d slept over there two nights in a row. It was only supposed to be the one night, but last night I found myself lying in bed and wondering if she was okay. So I’d gone over and insisted that I stayed the night. She resisted at first, but I could tell that she was glad I was there. We’d stayed up watching movies until late.

“Uh, yeah, I slept over at Eliza’s last night,” I told Chris.

“You did? Nice. No wonder you’re tired. Although, don’t tell me what you were doing. I don’t want the details.”

The details involved a lot of movies and a lot of coffee. We’d held hands and kissed, but that’s as far as it had gone.

“Uh, yeah. Actually, she’s going through a bit of a bad time,” I said.

“Why? What’s going on, man?”

“She left California to get away from her abusive ex-boyfriend. The idiot,” I muttered before continuing. “Anyway, she didn’t tell him where she had gone, and now her mother has spilled the beans. Mostly because the guy is this charmer who her mother thinks the world of.”

“Seriously? The mother chose to listen to the ex-boyfriend rather than her own daughter? That’s quite harsh.”

“Tell me about it. She’s acting like she’s not too cut up about it, but I know she is.”

Chris pulled a face. “Okay, that’s horrible. And now what? Is she scared that this dude is going to come for her?”

“Yeah, pretty much. He doesn’t sound all that macho, but then again, he did hit her, and he’s a bit of an alcoholic. So who knows?”

“Gunner, you can’t just hang out at her house in case he comes. You do realize that it’s not the smartest idea. I mean, soon you’ll practically be living with her. You don’t when he’s going to come, or even if he’s going to come.”

“I know. I know. It’s easier said than done, though. You try lying in bed at night knowing that something might happen to a girl you really like. It’s not easy.”

“You sure it’s just like?”

“What do you mean?”

“Isn’t it love? Sounds like it.”

I was taken aback by the question. Especially coming from Chris. It wasn’t the sort of thing he usually said.

I shook my head. “No, it’s not love. We’re not even dating.”

“So, what are you, then?”

“We’re  . . . I don’t know. We’re just seeing each other. She’s a cool chick. That’s all.”

“Hmm,” Chris said with uncertainty. “Okay then, whatever you say. Anyway, I think you should just stay away from the problem. You’re going to get yourself caught up in something that you don’t want to be caught up in. And then what’s going to happen?”

“I know. I know.”

“Why don’t you call the police? Maybe this is something that they should be aware of.”

“Yeah, I thought about it. But come on man, what are they going to do? I mean, the police have bigger things to worry about. He hasn’t even threatened her, so she has no proof that he is going to come. They’re not going to do a thing, and you know that.”

“You’re probably right,” Chris agreed. “But I still don’t think that you should get involved. This is her past and something that she needs to deal with herself. Like you said, the two of you are not even dating. So why get yourself so involved?”

I agreed with Chris, and the two of us started working. We had the music on loud, and for most of the day, we didn’t talk to one another. When we did, we had changed the subject to something else. But every now and again I would think back to what he said. I knew that I should just walk away from the situation, but how could I leave Eliza all alone while this horrible ex-boyfriend could appear at any moment? It made me feel slightly ill just thinking about it. And I was just not the sort of person that could lay low and let things happen around me.

After work, I made my way to the bar where Patriot was meeting me. I would’ve preferred to go and see Eliza. But she’d called to say that she was working late that night. I promised to come around once she was done.

“You don’t have to,” she said.

“But I’m going to,” I insisted, and ignored everything that Chris had just said to me.

At the bar, I saw Patriot sitting at the counter with two beers in front of him. He slid one toward me when I sat down.

“Thanks, Patriot.”

“No problem. Good day?”

I nodded. “Yeah, another busy one. But it was good.”

“You guys still thinking of getting some more help in the shop? Especially now that you’re so busy?”

I wondered if my father had been speaking to him. I was just about to call him out for it, but then I remembered that we’d had this conversation in front of Patriot before.

“Nah, not at the moment,” I said. Not at any moment, I thought. “We’re doing okay at the moment just with Chris and I. He’s a hard worker, that guy.”

Patriot laughed. “You wouldn’t think by looking at him, would you?”

That made me laugh, too. “Yeah. The most laid back guy in the world when it comes to everything else. But put him in front of a motorcycle, and he’s a whizz.”

“That’s cool, man. Not like you and I.”

“What do you mean? We’re hard-working.”

“Oh yeah, we’re definitely hard-working, but we’re not laid back.”

I was about to argue the point, but that would just prove his point, so I smiled. “I guess we’re not. So, why are you here? I’m assuming there’s something that you wanted to talk to me about. And don’t give me that crap about why can’t brothers just have a beer together. This doesn’t normally happen, so I know there’s a reason.”

Patriot laughed. “You’re right. There’s a reason. Although I still don’t see why we can’t just have a beer together. But forget that. I wanted to talk to you about Pop.”

I groaned. “I’m sure you did. What about him?”

“Pop is sick. He’s got cancer.”

I put my drink down and stared at him. It was the last thing that I expected him to say. “Excuse me?”

“He’s sick, Gunner. Thankfully, the cancer is treatable, but he is going to be in and out of the hospital for months. Maybe even a year.”

“He’s sick?” I said incredulously.

“He is. And I really think you should consider taking over the club for him. He wants you to, and he believes that you can do it. Hell, you’re probably the only one that knows every detail of the club like he does. And the only reason why I’m talking to you now about it is because I want you to do take the job. He doesn’t know that I’m here talking to you, and I doubt he’d want me to. I know he wants you to want to take the job, and not to be forced to do it. But the man is sick, Gunner. He needs our help.”

I looked at him then. There was something I still didn’t understand. “And yet he spoke to you about it and not me. Why? Why wouldn’t he tell me?”

Patriot shrugged. “I don’t know, Gunner. You’re not the easiest person to talk to. Maybe he didn’t want to upset you. I don’t know.”

I nodded. I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. I asked if we could change the subject and said I’d give it some thought. I was glad he told me, but I still couldn’t understand why he knew instead of me. What was it about Patriot that my dad trusted so much? And why then would he ask me and not him to run the shop and the club? I downed my beer too quickly. And when Patriot asked if he could get another one, I turned him down.

“I have somewhere I need to be,” I said. It wasn’t a lie; once I heard from Eliza, I was going straight to see her. Patriot didn’t ask me any more questions about it.

When I got out the bar, I checked my phone, but there was still no message from Eliza. So I hopped on my bike and rode around the area, over and over. I was surprised when I finally stopped and looked at my watch. I’d been riding for two hours. I obviously needed it, because my head felt a bit clearer from it. I got out my phone and saw that Eliza had already been home for an hour and a half.

I rode back to her place, and Eliza let me into her apartment. She was wearing the cutest flannel pajamas, and she looked exhausted.

“Were you sleeping?” I asked. She looked as if she might still be sleeping. Her eyes were half closed.

She nodded. “Yeah, I guess all that computer work got me tired. I’m sorry I took so long to answer the door. I thought it was a part of my dream or something. Are you hungry? I kept some food for you if you want. You just need to heat it up.”

I smiled and reached down to kiss her button nose. “Thank you, that’s very sweet of you. Go back to sleep, Lashes. I’ll have some food and join you when I’m done.”

She nodded and reached up to kiss me. Her little lips were soft against mine.

I went to the kitchen and heated up the cheese and bacon pasta that she’d left for me. It was delicious and exactly what I needed. Eliza wasn’t my girlfriend, and yet she had thought about leaving something out for me to eat. It was one of the nicest things that anyone had ever done for me. I sat there for a while just thinking about everything that Patriot had said to me. My father was sick? The thought left me feeling cold. I felt a mixture of emotions as I thought about what I had just found out. I was upset about my father being sick, and angry that he didn’t tell me. And was Patriot being kind or just being smug? I couldn’t figure it out. After the food, I brushed my teeth and took off my clothes. Then I climbed into bed with Eliza and wrapped my arms around her. She was fast asleep, and I lie there just listening to the sound of her breathing.