“What is this about, Connor? You’re scaring me, and I only want you to talk to me.” Tears were streaming down her face. The pain inside her grew to unbearable proportions. The destruction of his room told her more than he realised. Something had happened when he was younger with his parents. Did they beat him? Hurt him in some way? She didn’t know.
“You should be fucking scared, Zoe. I’m not ready for this shit. You should learn to keep your nose out of places it doesn’t belong.” He kicked the door closed. She heard him running down the stairs. His anger scared her. She didn’t know why his mood had changed so strongly.
Seconds later she heard the front door slam closed. Zoe’s whole body shook. The bedroom looked a mess. She picked up the one picture that hadn’t been destroyed. It was a picture of Brent, Jake, and Connor, the same picture Jake had showed her the first morning she’d woken up.
Not knowing why she did, she turned the picture frame over and opened it, pulling the photo out.
On the back, in Connor’s writing there was a note. “The summer Connor died.”
Jake had been right.
She’d ruined everything. Opening his bedroom door she made her way down the stairs to the hall where the phone lay. She picked it up and dialled Vicki’s number. Vicki answered on the third ring.
“Will you come and pick me up?”
“Sure.”
Zoe let her friend know where she was then ran back up the stairs. She opened the main bedroom’s closet and took out all of the clothes she’d brought with her. No way was she returning after that.
They could see her when he was ready.
Vicki came twenty minutes later. It looked like the younger woman had been crying.
“Are you all right?” Zoe asked, getting into the car.
“It has been a really shitty day. You look like crap.”
“Thanks. Will you drop me off at my apartment and tell Steve I can’t make it to work tonight?”
“Are you leaving town?”
“No, I just need some time to think. If I go to The Dugout, they can find me, and I don’t want to be found at the moment.”
“You know they can just come to your apartment?”
“It’s in a shitty neighbourhood. They’ll give me my space.”
“If you think so.”
Zoe didn’t say anything else. When they got to her apartment she invited Vicki upstairs for a drink. She liked the younger woman. Vicki was a wonderful, loving, endearing friend, and Zoe was pleased to say that after twenty-six years without one, she’d finally found a friend in Vicki.
****
Connor entered his house several hours later. The sun was setting, and he hadn’t been to work. He’d spent the whole day riding around in his truck trying to clear his head. His mood was gone, and he felt like a jerk for scaring Zoe and taking off. She deserved better than to hear him ranting and raving over crap. The mess he’d made of his room was embarrassing. It would take him all fucking week to get it neat and tidy.
“You didn’t come to work today. Noah and Drew are docking your pay,” Jake said.
He walked into the sitting room to see Jake and Brent sat on the couch. “How come you’re here?”
“We’ve been here since we finished work.”
“Where’s Zoe? Did one of you drop her off?” he asked, removing his jacket.
“We haven’t seen her. Her clothes are gone from the closet, and when we phoned her apartment she asked for us to give her some space. Your bedroom looks like someone trashed it. What happened?” Brent asked.
“She’s gone?”
“Yep. She says she’s not leaving Law Castle, but she needs space.”
“Shit.” Connor ran his fingers through his hair regretting everything he did.
“I don’t give a crap about what you did, Connor. Fix it, or I swear to God, I will go looking for your parents and find out exactly what happened to you when you were younger,” Jake said.
He looked toward Jake and saw the determination on his face. “I’ll go and talk to her,” Connor said.
“If you drive her away, I’ll fucking kill you.” Jake stormed out of the room. Brent followed after him. Their disapproval hurt.
They’d tried to talk to him about his past, but he couldn’t do it.
“It looks like I’m on make-up duty.” Connor put his jacket back on, grabbed his keys, and off he went to Zoe’s apartment.
He parked his truck in the parking lot. There were several people dotted around the parking lot. He ignored them as they ignored him. They knew who he was. It was the plus side to being part of the Bad Boys group or circus act, whichever one he felt at the time. The stairwell was bare. He made it to her floor and stopped dead.