Crazy Girl(83)

Two months had passed since Hannah left my house. I tried not to think about it. I refused to let myself think about it. Throwing her in the river was a mistake. I shouldn’t have done that. But I was done with the theatrics and her pull and push. One minute she shut me out, the next she was trying to pull me back in. I’d just wanted to meet her ridiculousness head-on and show her what it felt like. It was immature. The sadness in her eyes when she stared up at me from the water hit me in the gut. She was crazy as a bedbug, as my grandmother used to say, but I loved her. I couldn’t bend, though, not with her or for her, even after she tried to explain to me why she was the way she was. So I’d left her in the river and walked away. Once inside my house, I’d lain in my bed, and when I heard her car make a squealing sound as she pulled out, I tried not to grimace in frustration. I wasn’t throwing her away. I was setting her free. And it had hurt like hell.

Henry put me back on the schedule, and I threw myself back into my work. I stayed with work, the gym, and projects because if I was busy, I wouldn’t think about her. For the most part, things at work between Henry and I had been harmonious, mostly because we avoided one another. There were a few hiccups, heated moments, but I did my best to stay away from him knowing my temper and patience were limited when it came to him. But try as I did, it wasn’t enough.

Kegs and I were walking down the hall, arguing over which of Ryan Reynold’s wives was hotter, his ex, Scarlett Johansen, or his current wife, Blake Lively. I myself was for Scarlett because she had that whole Avengers thing going for her, but Kegs was a Blake fan because he loved that movie Savages.

It was a dumb conversation; one we were only having to laugh about. Because if you couldn’t piss away time with your friends, then with who? I saw Henry approaching us, but I continued listing off Scarlett’s many attributes, deciding to ignore him. Talking to him would only lead to trouble.

But Henry couldn’t just pass by and let things be. There was plenty of room for him to walk by us without touching me, but he decided to jam his shoulder into my arm just to be a dick, then kept walking.

“Didn’t see you there, Marner,” he mumbled. After the past few months, this was the last straw. This guy had disrespected me, taken me off the schedule in an attempt to hurt me financially, and now he thought I was going to continue to deal with this shit?

“Henry,” I yelled as I spun around. “Let’s meet out by the woodline. Right now.”

He turned to face me, a smirk on his face. Probably hoping to give me my second suspension. At that moment, Van, Duke, and one other instructor walked into the hallway from the chow hall and stopped when they saw us in what appeared to be a standoff.

“What’s going on?” Van asked, removing his glasses. I was sure the old man was tired of our shit, but so was I.

“I just challenged Henry to meet me out by the woodline.” There was no point in lying. Henry would tattle on me anyway. Van lifted his brows and sighed as he glanced between us. He knew the animosity between us, and I could tell even he wanted it to end.

“He needs to be written up for insubordination, Van,” Henry piped out. “I’m tired of his attitude and harassment. It’s not good for employee morale.”

Van nodded a few times, crossing his arms as he looked at us. Duke, Kegs, and the other instructor Brian, all waited patiently. There was a good possibility I was about to be off the schedule indefinitely, and momentarily I scolded myself internally. I shouldn’t have said that to Henry. I’d let my temper get the best of me, but the guy needed his ass beat. There was just nothing else to it.

“If you go outside the fence line, you’re no longer on company property.”

Everyone’s eyes widened to saucers, and Kegs and Duke started to grin. Van just basically gave us the okay to fight each other.

If our eyes were wide with excitement, Henry’s almost bulged out of his head. “You know this is against policy,” he sputtered to Van. “I could sue you for this.”

Van shrugged and looked around at us. “Did anyone here hear me say anything about encouraging two employees to fight?”

All of us unanimously shook our heads no. “No,” we all lied out loud. Henry had no backup. Van walked toward Henry and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Henry. When two men always butt heads, sometimes there’s only one way to sort it out. You can decline his challenge and wear the weight of that shame, or you can go out there and do your best to beat the shit out of him. Either way, I want this bullshit between you two done. He’s one of our best instructors, and I want him on the schedule. Figure it out once and for all. No one is being suspended today. So put up, or shut up.”

With that, he walked away and left us to figure it out. Kegs held a fist to his mouth, barely able to contain his excitement. I tried not to chuckle at his thrill at all this.

Henry flattened his mouth. What could he do? If he walked, everyone would know what a chickenshit he was. He’d lose respect.

“All right, Marner,” he grumbled. “I guess now’s as good a time as any.”

Adrenaline rushed through me. The tension between Henry and I and the lingering hurt I felt about Hannah was just the right concoction to get me amped for a fight. I knew I should not be this excited about fighting someone, but I felt like a kid about to ride the biggest and baddest new rollercoaster out there. I would enjoy every second of this way too much.