Breathe Me In

The angry rampage of a spoiled little shit. “Brian did tell you he has an enemy, right?”

“He mentioned it. Anything you can tell us?”

“Only that I was here until around one o’clock last night and the place was fine when I left. I didn’t see anything suspicious.” As the officer quickly made a note, Ghost chewed over dropping Macy’s name and decided against it. Probably a bad idea, but really, she hadn’t seen anything he hadn’t. Why drag her into all this?

He scoffed at the idea of her spending a couple of hours with him and then getting a visit from the cops about it. How freaking classic.

The officer asked a few more questions, took all of his information down and gave him a card with a number to call if he remembered anything else. Whatever. Ghost doubted they’d be putting in overtime down at the station to investigate; this town was so f**king conservative the citizens and surrounding businesses would probably be more than happy to see the parlor shut down permanently.

So much for his livelihood the next few weeks.

The curse he muttered got Janelle’s attention, and his coworker wandered over from where she’d been looking in the busted windows. Her short, usually spiked blue hair was flat and demure this morning. “Sucks, doesn’t it,” she said glumly.

He agreed, and then remembered the scene with Brian and his girlfriend. “Why the hell was Candace giving Brian shit?”

“I tried not to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t really help it. I gather it was about the possibility of her brother doing this.”

“Well, if he did it, the sonofabitch oughta pay. If she doesn’t think so then—”

“I don’t think she’s mad because Brian thinks he did it. She’s upset that her family would strike out at him and thinks he’d be better off without her.”

She might be onto something, if this was the result of their hooking up. But he didn’t say that. He might say it to Brian later, though. It was affecting them all now, and maybe he was a jaded bastard, but Ghost couldn’t imagine any relationship being worth all this.

Macy’s amused hazel gaze floated through his mind and he felt a little bit guilty and resentful about being such a jaded bastard.

“Did I hear you say you were here late last night?” Janelle asked.

“Yeah.”

“Doing what? That’s not like you.”

“I wasn’t trashing the f**king place, if that’s what you’re—”

“Oh God, don’t be a dick. I’m just saying it’s weird for you not to cut out soon as closing time comes around.”

Again, he doubted Macy would appreciate him getting the rumor mill working overtime. He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I was here late. I didn’t see anything. End of story.”

“Fine.” She ambled away, leaving him alone for the moment. In a few minutes, though, Connor and Tay showed up to curse and vow revenge along with him. Not long after that, Evan dropped Brian off. The guy looked like a caged animal that had been zapped with a cattle prod one too many times, and they pretty much let him brood on his own as he paced around and muttered under his breath.

Ghost wasn’t a big enough idiot to ask him if he was all right. He knew the answer to that. But he did walk over and stand beside him once his pacing slowed and he finally stood staring into the busted-out maw of his business and the detritus within with his arms crossed.

“I can’t believe this, man,” Brian finally said. He was positively trembling with pent-up rage.

“I know.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Well, it’s not just me now; that f**ker has dragged you guys into this too.”

“We’re with you. We’ll get it all back.”

“Just so he can do it again?”

“I’m sure there will be ways to persuade him not to do that, know what I’m sayin’?”

Brian shook his head. “Where will it end? We kick his ass, the p**sy sends us to jail. We get out, kick his ass again, he sends us back. That’s how little piece-of-shit piss-ant cowards operate.”

“Right. That’s definitely what we’re dealing with.”

“And Candace, she thinks the answer is to give that motherfucker and her entire family exactly what they want.” Ghost remained silent for so long that Brian finally looked over at him. “I guess you have something to say.”

“Something you might hit me for.”

“Then don’t say it. Not now.”

“All right.” He sighed then, defeat settling in when he realized Brian was quite possibly more upset over Candace’s reaction than the building. “No really, man. I’m with you. I’m on your side. You know what you have with her and if she’s worth it, then hang in.”

“I kind of need her on board with that too, and right now she’s not.”

“If she loves you like that, she won’t stay away for long.”

Brian scoffed. “When did you turn into a fuckin’ romantic?”

Last night? “Oh, piss off.”

The problem with first love was that it usually led to first heartbreak. Macy sighed after listening to Candace blubber for ten minutes and finally pulled her in for a hug when her words dissolved into hiccupping sobs. They sat on Macy’s couch, having settled in for an ice cream binge while trying to find something to lift Candace’s spirits on TV. It didn’t look promising.

Seriously. How many people really ended up with their first love? Well…her parents, if they were to be believed. But still. It was rare. And while Macy wished she could spare her best friend the pain, she supposed in the end it was a necessary evil. Now Candace could work on getting over Brian and moving on with her life, maybe to another guy her parents wouldn’t want to lynch on sight.

Macy wasn’t trying to be the bad guy. She simply believed there was someone out there that Candace could love without bringing down the entirety of the Andrews family’s wrath on her head. But Candace didn’t need to hear that now. So Macy kept her mouth shut and murmured soothing nonsense while Candace cried all over her.

A knock at the door sounded a minute later—probably Sam. “Come in!” Macy called. Candace didn’t even bother raising her head.

The door opened and Sam breezed in, her expression dangerously full of purpose as she tossed her purse aside and took Macy’s burden away from her, grabbing Candace in a hug.

“I’m so sorry,” Samantha crooned, stroking Candace’s blond hair like a mom soothing a toddler with a boo-boo. “It’s going to be okay.”

“No it isn’t!” Candace wailed.

“Honey, talk to him. You can work this out.”

Macy wanted to throttle Sam, but she chewed her bottom lip to keep from screaming.

Candace sat up and swiped her palms hard over her cheeks, really only succeeding in smearing her mascara almost to her ears. “It’s no use. They won’t leave us alone. At least not now. Maybe after some time passes…but oh my God, I already miss him so much. And the thought of him finding someone else… It’s killing me.”

“Then fight for him, sweetie.”

“No,” Macy blurted. Both girls looked at her in surprise, then dawning anger. “Candace, you’re right,” she explained quickly. “They will never leave you alone. You’d end up having to run away with the guy, and I know you don’t want it to come to that. You don’t want to turn your back on the people who’ve been there your entire life. You don’t want to have to leave us.”

“It’s not fair!” Candace cried. “That’s almost exactly what Michelle said. But why is it that I have to turn my back on him just to make all of you happy?”

It felt like talking to a damn teenager. “Did you think he was going to marry you? Come on, Candace. This was a fling for him. Don’t let your emotions get so tied up in it. Better for it to end now and be done with.”

“Macy, I slept with him,” Candace said. Sam didn’t comment, but she hadn’t stopped glowering at Macy.

“I know, but—” Damn, no, I only know that because Ghost insinuated it. “I mean, I know you’ve built that up into a big deal in your head, but—”

“He made a bigger deal of it than I did. I wanted him the first night we hung out together, but he stopped, Macy. He wanted it to be right for me. You don’t know what he says to me. You don’t know how he looks at me. I might be new at all this, but I know how he makes me feel. You don’t. You don’t know shit about it, so shut up.”

“I’m just trying to—”

“You can think whatever you want, but I’m not going to listen to you cheapen what we have. What are you, jealous or something? I don’t get it. You’ve been on their side from the start, and I’m f**king sick of it, Macy.”

Macy could only stare. Candace had never, ever, ever spoken to her that way before…had never looked at her that way before. Right before her eyes, her friend appeared years older. Not a girl fostering a painful crush. A woman suffering dire heartbreak.

With her own eyes stinging, Macy stood and went to do something…what, she didn’t know. After a moment of staring aimlessly around her kitchen, she put on a pot of coffee.

Maybe she was jealous. Maybe she did want what Candace had. Ghost’s smile drifted through her mind, and she almost smiled in response to it as she watched dark, fragrant liquid fill the carafe. But heartbreak unfolding in her own living room should be throwing up red flags all over the place. That certainly wasn’t what she wanted.

At least if she decided to see Ghost again, she would know from the start what it was all about. She wouldn’t be stupid enough to fall in love.

And she was trying to be a friend. She was trying to treat Candace like an adult—unlike Sam, who’d taken to rocking her now while she cried. This was life. Life was pain. It was heartache. She could attest to that. The ex she’d loved the most, her own first love, Jared…she’d pushed him away in her own anger and fear, and he was married with twin girls now. Did Candace think it hadn’t hurt her to do that? But it had been necessary. She hadn’t wanted to do it; she hadn’t wanted to watch him walk out of her hospital room without a backward glance any more than Candace had wanted to let Brian go, but it had been the best thing for everyone involved at the time.

But she didn’t know shit about it, right.

How dare she?

Deep breath. In, out. In. Out. It was the only way she could keep from slamming the coffee mugs she’d retrieved from the cabinet down on the counter hard enough to shatter them. Let Candace believe she was the only person in the world who’d ever been in love, who’d ever had to make the shitty decision, who’d ever been in pain. That was fine; she’d find out differently one day. Maybe.

She took the two cups into the living room; she’d made the coffee, but didn’t want any for herself. “Don’t think I’ve never been hurt before, Candace,” she said softly, settling back into her original position on the couch and folding her legs under her.