“Do I need to call Cash out there?” She waits for a moment. “Okay. Yes, I’ll tell him.” Picking up her pen, the woman who’s got it bad for the chief twirls it between her fingers. “You too, Elizabeth.” With a shake of her head, she hangs up the phone.
“Well, this is a nice surprise. How are you, Tommy?” She’s in baby blue Converse, reminding me of my girl, when she comes around the desk to grab a file from the cabinet.
“Fine. Look, I was wondering, have y’all spoken to L?”
“I think Cash did a day or so ago. You know she’s so busy with school and whatever else that girl does.”
Yeah.” I rub the back of my neck. Whatever else.
“Everything okay with you two?” she asks with a knitted brow.
“Yeah.” I nod and stand up.
Cash walks in the door and we look over.
“Well, hey, son. What brings you here?” My girl’s dad removes his hat and hangs it by the door.
“Just wondering if you’ve spoken to Ellie. We usually don’t go a whole day without talking, and it’s been a couple now.”
He rubs his chin. “That makes two of us.” Narrowing his eyes, he peers over at his woman. “Piper, you’ve got one of her roommates’ numbers, don’t you?”
“Yes, we have Jenny’s number.”
“Think you could give her a ring?”
“I’m on it.” She lifts the phone and looks through a notebook, flipping to the page she has things written on. She dials the number and holds the phone between her neck and chin, picking up her pen again and rolling it between her thumb and middle finger.
“Hey, Jenny?” Piper asks, waiting a beat. The chief messes with the gold band on his finger and I see Piper staring.
“Yes, this is Piper… Ellie’s…” She turns her attention away from the wedding band. “Friend. I was just wondering if everything is okay with her. She hasn’t called her father in a couple of days.” Her eyes look to Cash and she nods.
“Oh, I see.” She gets a wrinkle between her brows and peers down at the desk. “Will you please have her call home when she gets in?” Cash and I stand there waiting. “Thank you, Jenny.” Piper hangs the phone up and looks at us.
“Well?” the chief asks.
Piper links her fingers. “Seems that Ellie broke her phone. Completely shattered it from what Jenny says.”
“How did she do that?”
“She was at a small get-together and someone ran over it after she dropped it. She didn’t know she dropped it until she saw it lying on the ground in a million pieces on her way out of the ‘small get-together,’” Piper says, doing air quotes and giving a doubtful look.
The chief peers over at me. “Ellie been going to a lot of parties?”
I shrug. “She couldn’t pick up someone else’s phone to call us and let us know what was going on?” I try to divert him away from the partying. I don’t want Ellie to get a lecture from her dad, but just wait until I talk to her ass.
“You’re right, Tommy. She shouldn’t make us worry,” the chief agrees.
“Jenny says she is going to get Ellie to call as soon as she comes in from class this afternoon.”
I nod. “Well, thanks for the coffee. Keep me posted, will ya?” I ask the chief.
“Will do.”
I head out the door, hearing Piper tell Cash that Elizabeth sucker-punched Joe and broke his nose. “She said he’s at the med stop and wanted to know if you’d go check on him.” I shut the door, not hearing Cash’s response. My family’s crazy.
*
I’m lying on the couch when my phone rings. I see it’s Ellie and scoop it up.
“Tommy?” she says into the phone.
“Now she calls,” I reply dryly.
“I’m sorry, baby. I just got a new phone. Jenny said Piper called.”
“Yeah. Your phone got ran over?” I ask, sitting up.
I hear her groan and huff as the mattress on her bed gives when she sits down.
“Yes.”
“How did that happen?”
“I was walking into the dorm, and I thought I slipped it into my pocket. I guess I didn’t.”
“Been going to a lot of parties lately?” I stand up and put the phone on speaker. Sliding my hoodie off, I toss it onto the back of the couch. The floor creaks when I walk to the kitchen to grab a beer.
“Yeah, so?”
“Just saying, aren’t you there to learn and get out so you can come back home?” Damn, I sound like her dad now.
“Tommy, I’m in my last year here. Sue me if I wanted to have a little fun before grad school.”
“You having that fun with Caleb?” I ask, twisting the top off my beer and tossing it into the trash.
“Is this what this is all about? You think I’m fooling around with Caleb?”
“I didn’t say that, but since you mentioned it.” I chug half my beer and rest it against my leg, looking down at the stained tile floor.
“Are you kidding me? You know I’d never cheat on you.”
“Wow, you sure are putting some words in my mouth. I never said anything about cheating or fooling around. I asked if you were partying with the guy who wants to fuck you.”
“I can’t deal with you right now. I’ve got to go. I’ll call you another time. Maybe then you’ll chill the hell out.” She hangs up, and I throw my phone across the room, this time shattering it.
“Fuck!”
*
It’s been three days since I’ve spoken to Ellie. I’ve called several times after I got a new phone, but she hasn’t returned any of them. I’m going crazy here. It’s late in the evening, and I’m seated in Banner’s when Cash comes walking through the door.
“Son.” He nods as he sits down beside me.
“Chief.”
“What’ll you have, Cash?” Banner asks.
“Jack, straight up.”
“One of those days?” Banner, looking concerned, asks his long-time pal.
“Seems so,” he mumbles.
Reaching up, Banner grabs a glass and sets it on top of a napkin.
I look over at the chief with a lifted brow. “You all right?”
“Just thinking about old memories,” he murmurs, twirling the ring on his finger.
“I didn’t think you drank liquor.”
He chuckles, but it’s bleak. “On this day, I do.”
After Banner pours the dark liquid, Ellie’s pops takes a sip. Making a sound with his lips, he looks over at me and asks, “So, how are things with you and my girl?”
I shrug. “Could be better.”
“Yeah, this long-distance thing is taking a toll, huh?”
“Did she say something to you?” I ask, picking up my beer.
“No, but I can tell something is wrong with both of you.”
I nod and mindlessly pop my knuckles. “She’s distant. I get it. She’s having some fun, but it sucks knowing she’s that far away from me.” And there are so many others that would love to take my place.
“Ellie loves you, Tommy. She’ll come around.”
“It’s funny you say that, chief.” I pick up my smokes and pull one out. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for her to come around since the day I met her.” I light it and look up at the ceiling as the smoke drifts upward. “Sometimes a person gets tired of waiting.” Downing the rest of my drink, I toss Banner some cash from my pocket.
“I’ll see ya around,” I say. I pat Cash’s shoulder and walk out.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Tommy
Missed phone calls and texts that go unanswered for longer than they should make me question what the hell Ellie and I are doing. It’s been weeks since we had a real conversation, and when we do speak, it’s short and strained. I love that girl more than she will ever understand, but it’s my love for her that’s making crazy thoughts flow in and out of my head. I accuse her of cheating, and she accuses me of being an asshole. She wins. I’m an asshole.
I hit the Lock butto
n on my key fob and climb the steps on the outside of the rehab building Ronnie is getting clean in. He’s been here for a while now and I’m coming to visit. I swing the door open and go to the front desk. A redheaded woman wearing green glasses looks up. Her lips are the color of strawberries and her cheeks match. I rest my hands on the counter and strum my fingers.
“Here to see Ronnie Kingsley.”
“Okay,” she says, rolling her chair over. She pulls out a drawer and grabs a tag that reads Visitor.
“Can I get your driver’s license?”
I nod and slide my wallet out, then hand her my license. She messes with her computer, and after a minute she prints out my picture and pulls it off like a sticker before placing it onto the visitor pass.
“Good to go.” She smiles and I see lipstick on her teeth.
I tap mine.
“Gotta little bit of color on your teeth there.” I grin.
She blushes and grabs a tissue from the box in front of her.
“Thank you,” she says as she reaches for her purse and rumbles through it. She puts her hand under her desk at the same time, and I hear the door to my right click.
“He’s in the room all the way down on the right.”
“’Preciate it,” I say, pulling the door open.
*
“They steal your food around here.” Ronnie leans back in the iron chair outside after he steals one of my smokes. I roll my eyes because I wonder who steals what.
“I’ve had to draw black filled-in circles on the outside of my sandwich bags so they’ll think there’s mold on the bread.”
I give him a face.
“I swear, kid.”
“Well, you’ll be out in a few weeks, yeah?” I ask, lighting a smoke and tossing the lighter onto the table in front of us. The wind shifts the tree branches and acorns fall around us, landing hard and making loud noises that almost sound like gunshots against the metal roof of the building.
“Yeah, been itching to get out of here.”
I put my tongue to the roof of my mouth after I hit my cigarette.
“I don’t think you’ve ever done this before.”
“Did what?” he asks, thumping his ashes.
“This,” I say, waving my hand around. “Gotten clean.”
“Once before.” He scoffs.
I narrow my eyes in question. “Care to elaborate, old man?”
He sighs and picks up the lighter I threw down, twirling it between his fingers.
“When I found out I was gonna be a dad, I thought your mom and I would stop drinking, move back here. Live closer to my mom and brother.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, but your mom had other plans.” He strikes the lighter and watches the fire. “She left me after Hudson was born. I was broke, sober, and had a baby.”
“Yeah, so are lots of people.”
He gives me a sideways glance. “Yeah,” he agrees, lifting his brow and looking back down. “But I’m not lots of people. I left Hudson alone and went looking for your mom. Found her under a bridge near a truck stop. Promised her we could keep up the partying and begged her to come back.”
“Well, I’m assuming she did. After all, I’m here.” I tap the end of my smoke and knock the ashes off.
“Yeah, she did.” He nods and rubs his jaw. “When you came along, our neighbors called child services on us for all the fighting we were doing. Your mom didn’t stick around for that. I cleaned up the house and had to get a job to keep you kids.”
“You got a job?” I ask doubtfully.
“Yep, just long enough for them to get off my back.”
“What happened after that?”
“I saw your mom at that same truck stop. I begged her again to come back. Confessed my dying love to her.” He scoffs and drops the lighter. “She laughed at me and jumped into some guy’s truck. I picked up the bottle and got shit-faced.”
“So, that’s it? A woman tells you to fuck off and you give up on everything else?” I ask.
“That about sums it up.”
“Wow.” I can’t say any more than that to him. Sometimes we lose a part of ourselves in other people, and when they leave, they take that part with them. It’s called love, I guess, obsession or just plain shit luck. Lately, I’ve been wondering if Ellie and I are even meant to be together. That I’ve been holding on to this false hope that we are for so long, I can’t see things for what they clearly are.
We grew up together, and now we’ve grown apart. She has a whole new life, and I’m making one for myself right here in Green Ridge. She doesn’t want what I want, and sometimes love isn’t enough to make people want to change. Maybe people do take a piece of you, but just maybe you learn to live without it. Or maybe I’m just thinking out of my ass because I’m sitting here talking to Ronnie. Yeah, I’ll go with that.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ellie
I step down onto the sidewalk, leaving the building of my last class. The leaves whoosh past me and get tossed across the grass as I turn away from the falling sun and pull my hair to the side. Walking past people I don’t know and who don’t know a thing about me, I smile down at the cream-colored sidewalk because it’s nice to not have to speak sometimes. But then I hear my name being called and I twist toward the sound, adjusting my bag on my shoulder and gripping the strap.
“Wait up,” Caleb says. He jogs toward me from across the lawn, dodging a few people playing flag football. He catches up with every hair in place, nothing like my boy.
“Whew, that’s a long jog,” he says out of breath. I chuckle. “You laughing at me, Ellie Williams?”
“Yeah, I guess I am.”
He closes his lips, but continues to grin. His dirty blond hair has gel in it, and his smile reaches his blue eyes.
“How was class?”
I quirk my brows. “It was class.”
He laughs. “You sound like me.”
I glance sideways and smirk, like okay. “Why were you running across the lawn to see how my class was?”
He bites the side of his bottom lip. “I actually wanted to see if you were going to that party in a few weeks.” He looks down at the flyer I have on top of my books.
“They’re giving these out everywhere, aren’t they?” I say as I look down too.
“Yeah, I hear it’s going to be pretty big. So, are you going?” He lifts his brow and the corner of his lip.
“There’s nothing else going on.” I shrug. “I’ll probably show up.”
He nods. “Sweet. Well, I’ll see you there then. I’ve got to get back or Mr. Ed will have my ass,” he says, backing up.
“Bye.” I give him a wave as he turns to leave. My phone rings, and I slide it out of my back pocket. I see it’s Tommy, and I sigh before I lift it to my ear.
“Ellie?” he says.
“Hey,” I reply as I walk down the sidewalk.
“Why haven’t you answered any of my calls?” he asks me.
“Just didn’t feel like talking.” I pull the door open to my dorm building. Making my way through the hall, I nod at a few people as they pass by. I hear him sigh into the phone.
“Your dad was sitting at Banner’s last night having a glass of whiskey.”
“What?” I ask as concern builds in my chest. I turn the knob on my dorm door and walk inside, giving a small smile to my roommates who are planted in front of the TV. Jenny holds a game controller, and Binny has headphones on. They both hardly look up as I disappear into my room.
“Yeah, says he does on this day.”
“This day?” I question and look over at my calendar that’s hung on the wall. I see yesterday was the anniversary of my mother’s death.
“I didn’t realize he did that.” I look down at the floor and kick my shoes off.
“He seemed sad. You may want to call him.”
“Thanks, I will.”
Silence grows between us, and I’m about to let him go when he finally speaks. “I miss you,” he professes qu
ietly, but it’s as though he is scared to, and I wonder how we got to this point––distant and tiptoeing around each other. Tommy’s always been my best friend, now my lover, but something has changed. He’s more jealous than I ever remember him, and I don’t have the patience for it. Miles may separate us, but it’s the insecurities that’ll drive us apart.
“You coming home anytime?” he asks.
“Probably not.”
“Why? Don’t you get another break soon?”
“Yeah, but I have things going on here.”
“Like what, Ellie?” He sighs, clearly frustrated, and I hear his keys rattle in his hand.
“Things, Tommy. A job.” I pause. “Where are you going?”
“Just out. Do these other things have to do with Caleb?” he asks.
“Out where? What is your deal with Caleb?”
“With some friends. The guy wants to sleep with you, Ellie, and my girl doesn’t want to come home. There has to be a reason.”
I hear the beeping of his car when he puts his keys in the ignition. I groan, exasperated with this same conversation. I wish I’d never met Caleb, then Tommy wouldn’t constantly bring him up.
“What friends?”
He then says, “There’s always going to be something, isn’t there? First, I couldn’t get you to admit you loved me. Now, it’s another guy.”
“There is no other guy. What can I do to make you understand that? What friends?” I repeat.
“Just some friends, Ellie. Fuck!” I hear a loud bang and his horn blows. I pull the phone from my ear for a brief second.
“What do you think I do here? Just sit around and wait for you to come home?”
Biting my lip, I grow quiet and close my eyes. Sadness falls down my cheek, because this is as tough as I thought it would be.
He exhales. “I’m sorry. I just miss you. This is hard.”
“I told you it would be. I put some napkins in your glove box,” I say because I know his knuckles are probably busted.
“It doesn’t seem near as hard for you.” Hearing him rumble through it, I look up as someone taps on my door.
Chasing Ellie: A Chasing Fireflies Spin Off Page 20
