Following Me(34)

“Come on, Hadley,” Brennan said, dropping his arm.

“Why are you sticking your nose in this?” Hadley asked.

“Why aren’t you giving her a chance? Didn’t you say she was your best friend? Haven’t you known each other for years? What could possibly be keeping you from making up with her?” he asked pointedly.

“Oh god, not you, too,” she said. “Don’t become a hypocrite. I don’t need to hear it from you as well.”

“Hadley, I don’t give two shits about what you’re doing in your free time. I only care about who you’re hurting—yourself and Devon. This goes beyond you. Just give her a chance.”

Devon could see the hard look in his eyes even from where she stood. She marveled at his smooth words. He wasn’t one for conversation when they worked together.

“I can’t deal with this right now,” Hadley said, pushing him away.

He reached out and took her arm again. “It doesn’t all have to be better today. But don’t you think she’s hurting, too?”

When he lowered his voice, Devon strained to hear.

“Don’t you see that she’s here for a reason?” he whispered.

Devon lost the rest as her stomach dropped. How could Brennan know that? Was she that obvious? Or was he a good guesser? Either way, it terrified her that he was that perceptive when they didn’t even talk all that often. She had let her guard down without even knowing it.

Retreating a couple more feet until she was entirely out of earshot, she contemplated how she had let this happen. When had she allowed herself to be this secure? When had she forgotten how tenuous the thread was, and how easily it could snap, bringing down all her nightmares around her?

This wasn’t just about Brennan because she hadn’t even known she was weakening around him. This was about Garrett, too. He was just so incredibly nice, and she hadn’t met anyone quite like him. They had spent more and more time together, staying up to watch Netflix late at night after they had gotten off work, laughing about the absurd hours of their jobs, and marveling in their shared love of dessert. How many times in the past week had she wanted to tell Garrett? She had held her tongue, but the more comfortable she got, the more she wanted someone to know.

Devon bit her lip and tried to hold in all her emotions. She had to deal with Hadley first.

After her conversation with Brennan, who had immediately made himself scarce, Hadley approached her.

“Can we talk…in private?” Hadley asked, obviously still unsure about it all.

“Yeah,” Devon said. “Let me just tell Amy that I’m taking a break.”

HADLEY AND DEVON sat in the break room in the back of Jenn’s. Devon missed her friend, and it was in that moment that she fully realized it. She wished she could unload all her problems on Hadley and have her put them all together in the right order, but Hadley already had too much to deal with. She couldn’t also suffer from Devon’s issues.

“So…” Hadley said.

Devon nodded. “So…”

“I see you have a job at Jenn’s.”

“Yep,” Devon said. She didn’t know what Hadley wanted to say, and she thought it was best to allow her to direct the conversation.

“How did that happen?”

“Brennan helped me out when I couldn’t find anything else.”

“He’s a nice guy, that one,” Hadley said absentmindedly.

“So it seems.” Devon said.

“I guess I’ll just go ahead and say it. I’m pretty pissed at you, and it’s not going to get better right away,” Hadley said. “You violated my trust, not to mention my hospitality. It’s going to take a while before I start to trust you again.”

Devon nodded slowly, not sure what to say. That much was true.

“But…I know that I violated your trust, too. I’m not going to talk to you about my problems. They’re mine. When I’m ready, we’ll figure it out, but until then, I don’t want you to interfere.”

“Hadley,” Devon interrupted. Hadley had to be reasonable.

“No,” she said, holding up her hand as she stood. “They’re my issues. I’m not begging you to tell me yours, and I know you have some. I’ve always known, but it’s your business.”

“I think you need help, Hadley,” Devon said softly, feeling like a hypocrite.

“I think you don’t know everything about what I’m going through. All I’m saying now,” Hadley said, taking a step toward the door, “is that I’m tired of tiptoeing through my life. I’ll come and go as I please. I’ll be at the apartment and Jenn’s. Brennan has a gig coming up soon, and I’ll be at that, too. I’m sure you’ll be there, and I’m tired of it being awkward. Let’s just go from there. We’ll let the trust rebuild naturally.”

“Hadley, please,” Devon said, desperate to reach her friend. “I am sorry about what happened.” She choked on her words, wishing that it could all go back to the way it was.

“It’s too late,” Hadley said, reaching for the door. “The damage is already done,” she muttered before exiting.

Devon stared at the closed door. She was beyond frustrated. Was this what it was like for people to deal with her? No. Nobody knew what her problem was. Maybe that made it even more frustrating. She didn’t know. She just didn’t know.