Natural Consequences(231)
* * *
The text message tone roused him, but in truth he hadn’t yet fallen asleep. He crawled into bed after making it home, figuring he was in no shape to do much else, anyway. Screw classes. The hell with homework. Fuck going out.
Fuck everything right now. He’d deal with the world tomorrow.
Still, Jason reached out from his blankets and pillows to fumble for his phone. The message was exactly what he expected: “You hungry?” Drew had asked. Another text quickly followed: “Wade and I are up for whatever.”
Jason let out a sigh. He knew what brought this on. He had good friends. “No, I’m good. Just sleeping. TTYL,” he texted back, and then dropped the phone off the side of his bed. It thumped onto the carpet with a sound much like a doorbell.
Wait. Doorbell? I have a doorbell? It rang again, confirming its existence. Shit, he thought, might as well see who it is.
A hope teased at the edges of his mind, but he pushed that aside. He plainly didn’t have that kind of luck. Clad in gym shorts and an old t-shirt, Jason rolled out of bed and shuffled to the door.
“Hi,” said Amber.
Jason blinked at her and then looked out the door to check the hallway. She stood there alone, hands in her pockets and an unreadable expression on her face. He stepped on his urges to say anything mean. For all he knew, she’d walk away right then and there. “Hi. What’s up?” he asked.
“Can I come in?”
Again, he stopped himself from saying anything witty. He stepped aside to let her in and closed the door behind her.
“Did I wake you up?”
“No, not really,” he yawned. “Drew took care of that for you.”
“I couldn’t talk to you before,” she said. “After the fight, I mean. Or before it. Not after the arrest and everything.”
“Seemed like you didn’t want to talk.”
“No,” she shook her head, “I did. I just had a lot to do. I’ve still got a lot to do. I thought about just calling you, but the phone seemed… cowardly.”
Jason didn’t bother to hide his frown. “You kinda gave me the let-down spiel right before you put the cuffs on me.” He saw the pained look on her face and shrugged. “I’m just saying if that’s what you’re here for, you don’t need to be. I get it. Don’t repeat it. The first time was enough.”
“That’s not it,” Amber said. “At least that’s not why I wanted to come over. It’s not like I wanted this to play out the way it did, and…” She rubbed her eyes. “Look, I’m exhausted and good people I knew are dead and I got an official ‘for the record’ reaming for how things went down with you and I. If shit wasn’t so crazy, I’d probably have lost my job over how I handled things with you. Bridger’s in just as much trouble, too, actually. But with the task force so chewed up like this, I guess they just want to hang on to what they’ve got, and let us off with… sorry,” she sighed. “I’m babbling.”
He said nothing.
“I’m babbling, and you’re still listening to me. After everything.”
“Does that not happen to you much?”
“No. Actually. Not like you.”
Jason shrugged. “I’m listening. Kinda said all I had to say last night after I saved your life.”
“I saved your butt a couple times in the last week.”
“Sure. Not saying you didn’t.”
“I could’ve taken that freak last night, too,” she frowned.
“Yeah, I know, you’re not a damsel in distress, and I’m not the hero,” he shook his head. “I’m just the sidekick.”
“Jason,” she said, “who’s the real hero in Lord of the Rings?”
“Samwise. Duh. Why?”
“Don’t call yourself just the sidekick. Ever. Your friends wouldn’t, and neither would I.” She paused. “You know the answers to questions like that, and you listen to me when I talk. Jason… did you mean what you said last night?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “I thought you didn’t believe me. Or didn’t care.”
“No. No, I didn’t exactly hear it, because my ears were still ringing and everything was crazy, but it sounded like you said you weren’t mad and you’re still interested in me.”
He thought back. “I’m pretty sure it sounded smoother than that at the time.”
“Listen, I know I’m on this big secret task force thing, but it’s not like I want this to be my whole life, y’know? I plan to stay on, but it’s not because I want it to be like this all the time. I don’t envy your friends or anything. I want to come home to a normal guy and a normal relationship.”