Smash_ A Stepbrother MMA Romance(90)

Instead, I was on the hook for more runs.

I sighed, catching sight of the smoke rolling lazily from the house’s chimney. My parents believed all the money was coming from climbing competitions, or at least that’s what I had said. Part of them had to know that I was doing something else.

But they didn’t ask questions. They didn’t want to know.

It was better that way. It was better they didn’t know the truth, that I was risking my life and my freedom. That I was smuggling prescription pain drugs for asshole thugs just to pay off my mom’s crushing medical bills.

As I moved over the fence and walked back toward the house, I hoped they never found out. I didn’t want to see the disappointed look on my mom’s face.

I had to get out. Five more runs.

Five more weeks.





Chapter Five: Rebecca


The back of my jeans was wet from the kicked-up water as I rode my bike down Main Street. It felt good riding my bike again, the crisp air filling my lungs.

Luckily, the rain had let up. It was comfortable outside, warm but not hot, and the clouds looked like they were going to hold off on more rain.

I pedaled past the old church we used to go to back in the day, heading into the center of town. I spotted my destination up ahead: the Blue Light Diner, or just the Blue.

As I wove my way through traffic, I realized that I was a little out of breath. Not too bad, but enough to notice. I really needed to start hiking and running more. But I’d been way too busy at school to bother with that, so I’d let it slide.

I pulled into the parking lot and locked my bike against a street sign. I could have probably left it unlocked, considering there was basically no crime in Ridgewood, but better safe than sorry.

I pushed open Blue’s front door and immediately was hit with a wave of nostalgia. It had been forever since I was last in the Blue, but I used to go there all the time back in high school.

I remembered many late nights spent ordering greasy food and laughing with friends. My friend Lindsey and I used to talk about which guys we wanted to lose our virginity to, as if either of us was actually going to do anything about it. We were both way too chicken at the time.

Not anymore, I mused. I had heard some rumors about Lindsey. True or not, we had drifted out of touch over the years, but I wanted to do something about that. Regardless of what people said about her.

I looked around and couldn’t spot anyone I recognized. That wasn’t unusual. The hostess nodded as I took a seat at the counter, not bothering to try and get a table. It wasn’t crowded, since it was an odd hour between the morning and afternoon rushes.

“Hey, hun, what can I get you?” the waitress asked me.

“Coffee and a plate of fries, please,” I said.

She smiled and nodded and then walked away.

I sighed and looked around the place, still flooded with memories. I came to Blue with my dad after soccer games when I was a little kid. I even had a vague memory of my mom, before she died of cancer, drinking a soda and smiling.

I frowned. I hadn’t thought about my mom in a long time. She passed before I was old enough to really form strong memories of her, although the image of her in Blue seemed pretty real.

“Here you go,” the waitress said, placing a mug of coffee in front of me. “Fries will be out in a minute.”

“Thanks.” I picked up my mug and sipped it.

Warm and bitter. Just how I liked it.

As I put the mug down, I looked up and suddenly she was there. It took me a second to recognize her. Leaning against the hostess station was Lindsey, wearing the uniform and holding an order pad. I stared at her for a second, surprised. It looked like she had aged way more than I would have guessed. She had black bags under her eyes and she was thin, super thin. She was never heavy to begin with, but still.

As soon as she looked in my direction, I waved. She looked confused for a second but then recognition bloomed across her face.

“Rebecca?” she asked, walking over.

“Hey, Lindsey.”

“Oh my god! I didn’t know you were home!”

I stood up and we hugged. She laughed and seemed genuinely excited to see me. I hadn’t spoken to her in over a year, and hadn’t seen her in longer. But suddenly it felt like high school all over again.

“I just got back. Thought I’d come visit you.”

“How’d you know I work here?”

“Reid told me.”

She smiled knowingly. “Climber comes in here a lot.”

“How are you?”

“I’m great. Listen, I gotta get back to work. I have a break in a half hour if you’ll be around?”

“Yeah, definitely.”

“Okay, great.” She walked off, back to her tables.

I sat back down in my seat as the other waitress placed the fries in front of me. I nodded my thanks as I picked one up and chewed on it: crispy, salty, and delicious.