I knew the truth of everything.
The way my stomach turned, my heart raced, my mind squeezed. The way my eyes filled with tears and I felt the insatiable urge to flee.
These were all the reasons why I took a vacation on this day each year.
The first tear fell down my cheek as the car started to creep forward.
I yelled at myself to stop.
But it was too late.
I was leaving. Again.
Hello to another ten years of waiting.
River
PRESENT DAY
I walked into the bedroom and it was a fucking nightmare. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Then I saw the ring on the bed.
Lacey had gone through my jeans and found the ring?
"Shit," I said.
I walked to the bed and grabbed the ring. I held it up. This was the ring she always wanted. No matter how many times I got hit in the head in those stupid fights or how hard time tried to squeeze away memories, anything with Lacey was still fresh.
I dropped the ring and turned, running out of the room.
"Lacey?" I called out.
There was no response.
I went to the window and saw the car was gone.
Gone?
Gone.
I tore open the door and stood there in nothing but a towel. I could see the fresh tire tracks in the dirt, leading out of the driveway and to the left.
Lacey was gone.
She had seen the ring and left.
So, after ten years of waiting, that's how it went down. She showed up, got stuck, made out with me for a little bit, and then left.
Regret settled in on me pretty quickly. The second she showed up I should have given it all to her. The ring. The words. My love. Everything.
I crossed my arms and leaned against the doorway.
I was right back where I started.
Alone at this goddamn cabin.
A little sliver of my dream blanketed in my fucking nightmare.
Maybe this time if I was going to lose Lacey, maybe it would be for good.
Prick poked his head into the room. "Hey, man, want to help me with something?"
"Yeah, sure," I said.
I had kept myself busy with sketches for most of the day. I had an appointment coming in later.
The shop was bustling with people. It felt like St. Skin would never calm down with business. People walking in hoping to be lucky enough to get one of us free. People who had scheduled appointments weeks and even months in advance. Whatever Tate was doing with the business, it was working.
Max passed by, shaking his head.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"If I have to do one more baby portrait," he said with a grin. "This is crazy. Three booked back to back to back."
"Hey, we're really busy here," Prick said. He put a hand to my shoulder. "Come on, River."
"Sorry," I said, shrugging my shoulders at Max.
He went toward the back door, probably going to catch his breath.
Tattooing was a hard job, but what Max did was true artistry. He did nothing but portraits for the shop and was the best I'd ever seen. Getting a picture of someone tattooed on your body was a big deal and it didn't take much to make it look terrible. But Max knew all the intricacies of the body and skin, muscle, whatever, to find the right spot and how to use that spot to create tattoos that were as good as pictures.
With what I did with my tattooing, I took a little more liberty in the creation of the art. Sometimes the smallest imperfections or on-the-fly changes made the tattoo all that more unique and special. Max didn't have that freedom, though.
As for Prick …
He stopped at his door and grinned.
"What?" I asked.
"You're going to thank me for this," he said.
He opened the door and there sat a woman.
A topless woman.
"Whoa," I said under my breath.
The woman was young and beautiful. She had amber eyes and hair to match. She looked nervous as anything. I wondered just what the hell Prick had decided to drag me here for.
"This is my helper," Prick said. "This is River. He's the best."
"Hi," the woman said to me.
"River, this is Ana," he said. "She's gotten her ears pierced several times but decided she wanted to get her left nipple pierced. That's where you come in."
I looked right at Prick. I was not trained in piercing anyone. The only needles I dealt with dumped ink into skin.
Sensing my pissed off attitude, Prick winked. "You're going to have Ana look at you. Hold her hand. Talk to her. I'm going to take care of the piercing part. It'll be over before you know it."
I slowly approached Ana.
I had seen plenty of topless and naked women in my life. Sometimes it was for pleasure and sometimes it was for work. I knew how to approach the situation with respect for the woman sitting there exposed.