Suddenly I wondered if Tucker had saved me because he thought it would make up for what happened in the past.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Cass. I just meant he wouldn’t let someone he cared about get hurt again.”
I nodded, but the tears were forming in my eyes and I just wanted to break down.
“Does he know now that you had dated her?”
“Yeah. We got in a fight once and I let it slip. It didn’t make things any better between us.”
“Obviously,” I joked as I looked over his fat lip and bruised eye. He laughed. “I need to use the bathroom.”
Eric’s eyes scanned the room and he pointed to the back left corner with the neck of his bottle. I pushed from the table and walked on wobbly legs to the door. I hadn’t realized how much I had drunk until I stood. The bathroom was a single stall, and I was grateful for a little privacy. I splashed some cold water on my face. This was a lot to absorb. And suddenly, I questioned Tucker’s motives for wanting to help me. For the first time in a long time, I felt like a charity case. It made me sick.
I left the bathroom and pulled a one-dollar bill from my back pocket. Eric was staring down at his bottle, lost in memories.
“Can I get change?” I asked the bartender. He took the bill and gave me my quarters. I scanned over the machine, trying to find something to cheer up Eric before he noticed I was out of the bathroom. I flipped through the pages of CDs, reading over the titles carefully. Finally, I found a song I thought might make him smile. I made my way back to my seat hoping to lighten the mood.
As
“A girl after my own heart.” He put his hand on his chest and fell against the back of his chair.
“Did you drink more while I was gone?”
He held up his fingers to let me know he had a little more.
“I think you need to be cut off.”
He gave me a frightened looked and I laughed, loudly.
“Not Bobbit style. You need to slow down on the alcohol.”
“You might be right.” He picked up his bottle and drained the rest of the contents. “But we don’t have anywhere else to be.”
My heart sank again. I didn’t have anywhere to go, and all of my things were on the bus except for my bag from my trip. It was still on Tucker’s motorcycle and I wasn’t ready to face him yet. I was completely lost. I thought about calling my dad, but he had enough mouths to feed, and not nearly enough food to go around.
“I suppose you’re right.” I grabbed my bottle and drank the rest of the warming bubbly liquid.
“Tell me about the headaches.”
Eric sighed as he recalled the beating from his father two months after the death of his brother.
We sat for several more hours, drinking and reliving our pasts until we both were having trouble walking on our own. We left the bar and stumbled across the expansive parking lot, but everyone was long gone, including Tucker’s bike. Sadness consumed me again as I stared at the empty spot where it had been.
“We need a cab,” Eric slurred as he looked around.
“I need to call Tucker.” I held up the phone for Eric to see.
“You sure that’s a good idea?”
“What else are we going to do? I don’t have a choice.”
He nodded, rubbing the side of his head.
“You need your medicine, and we can’t just sleep out here in a parking lot.”
I pulled out my phone, expecting a screen filled with missed calls and texts from Tucker. My heart sank when I was greeted by a blank screen.
“Let me call Donna.” Eric grabbed his phone and dialed her number before I could argue. I hated Donna. I’d rather sleep with wild dogs than ask her for help, but Eric couldn’t go on suffering.
“Where are you?” he asked. Still massaging his head, his eyes closed as he listened. I chewed nervously on my lip, wishing I could make this whole day disappear.
Eric’s gaze met mine. I furrowed my brow, wishing I could hear the conversation.
“Why wait for things to cool down? It will only get worse when I come back. This shit needs to be settled.”
He fell silent again, and he shifted his weight from foot to foot.
“You know this is bullshit.” His entire tone changed, and I knew he was no longer talking to Donna. I wrapped my arms around myself and looked around the parking lot trying not to focus on the bitter fight I had caused. “Fine.”
He hung up the phone and began pacing.
“What did he say?”
“He will be here to pick you up in a few minutes.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
I took a step toward him and he turned around, trying to hide the sadness that was written all over his face.
“He can’t just leave you out here.”
“Cass, just go with him and fix this for yourself. I’ll be fine. He needs you.”
“I think I need him more than he needs me.”
Eric turned back around, shaking his head as we heard the distant growl of Tucker’s bike.
“You guys have been through a lot and that can either make you closer or rip you apart. You have to decide which way you want to go and stick with it.”
“That was deep.” I laughed, trying to lighten the situation.
“That’s what she said.” He winked as he smiled. His expression faded as Tucker pulled up beside us. He grabbed the spare helmet from the back of his bike and held it out to me. I looked from him to Eric, hating that he was being left behind. He had been through enough of that in his life.
I walked over to Tucker, my legs shaking from nervousness and inebriation.
“I’m not going to leave him out here.” I watched Tucker’s expression change to anger, and I held up a hand to stop him before he said something he would regret. I took another step closer and leaned in, kissing him softly on the lips. “I wouldn’t ever cheat on you, Tucker, and Eric would never hurt you like that. He is my friend, and he is yours, too. We are supposed to be a family. Family doesn’t do this.”
“You’re drunk,” was all he said. Tucker looked from Eric to me several times before he mumbled a curse word and pulled out his phone. He called Donna and told her to come pick up Eric. We all fell silent after he ended the call.
“Just go. I’ll be fine.” Eric waved his hand at us.
“She’ll be here any minute,” Tucker replied, not looking at him.
I nodded reluctantly and slid my leg over the back of Tucker’s bike. I took the helmet from his hand and secured it on my head. As we circled past Eric I gave him a smile before we took off fast across the deserted parking lot. I held on to Tucker, thankful I could wrap my arms around him again. I was hurt and confused, but Eric’s words had struck a chord. We needed to make a choice. We needed to decide if we would let our past pull us apart or help hold us together.
The ride back to the bus went entirely too fast. I didn’t want to let go of Tucker, not knowing if things were going to be okay between us. We had a lot to discuss. As the bus came into view I suddenly felt a new wave of emotion. Embarrassment. Luckily, the alcohol made me feel brave enough to pull myself from Tucker. I took off my helmet as he got off the bike, shaking out my hair. Tucker stood beside me not saying a word. He took my helmet from me, looking it over before tossing it on the back of his bike.
“We need to talk.” I wanted to clear the air and make all of this go away. I wanted to be mad at him and know that just because I was upset, he wasn’t going to leave me. He nodded, rubbing his hand over his hair as he sighed. It might be too late.
He grabbed my hand and began walking by the bus. I trailed behind him, trying to figure out how we would fix this.
“Thank you for helping Eric.”
