Falling For Disaster (13 page)

“He didn’t know?” She whispered in disbelief and Saint shook his head before he drank his shot. Rose clicked her teeth and her head tilted to the side. “Oh, Saint. That poor guy! You should have told him,” she scolded and he glared across the table at her.

“You know how much I love hindsight,” he grumbled and she offered him a weak smile.

“Can you salvage it?” Rose asked and Saint was a little confused as the entire situation came into focus. He was getting drunk with his soon to be ex girlfriend discussing his affair with his never quite a boyfriend and the odds of them getting back together. “He might take you back,” she suggested and Saint laughed softly.

“I doubt it. He moved to this shitty little town because his last boyfriend cheated on him and broke his heart,” he explained and a there was a soft gasp from Rose.

“Oh, no!” She whispered and Saint nodded.

“It was never supposed to be serious between us. I knew that one day he’d find out that I was hiding things and he’d never forgive me. I just thought it would all play out differently,” Saint said softly and Rose nodded in understanding.

“That’s too bad. You two looked good together and you looked much happier with him than you ever did with me,” she said as she leaned forward and propped her head up with her elbows on the table. Saint clenched his jaw as her words cut through him. She was right and there was nothing he could do. Her cheeks puffed as she exhaled. “I guess you can stay in the spare bedroom until we sort this out,” she offered and for a moment, Saint thought he might cry. He was truly touched.

“Thanks, Rose. You’re pretty amazing, you know?” He said as he reached across the table and rubbed her arm. Her eyes were heavy as she smiled.

“I do know. I think Hank Felton’s had his eye on me. He’s pretty damn easy on the eyes and seems like he knows how to treat a lady,” she said and Saint pulled his lips in as he considered. He nodded as he sat back.

“He’s a really good guy,” he said and Rose brightened. Saint nodded again, “He makes pretty good money and he’s not in the club. I know he’s not into drugs and I’ve never known him to hook up with any whores,” Saint said and Rose laughed.

“Well, that settles it, he must be my Prince Charming,” she declared.

“We’ll see,” Saint said.

The least he could do was make sure that Rose was in good hands before he destroyed everything else in her life.

Chapter 24

Finn wasn’t sure how he ended up in the bathtub. He tried to stretch and his body screamed in protest and glass bottles clinked against the porcelain. He was sick, tired, cold and sadder than he had ever felt in his life. Also, he had pissed on himself at some point and doused himself in beer. He raised his head and couldn’t count the empty bottles on his stomach and between his legs. The bottle of whiskey in his hand was still half full.
Or is it half empty?
He rolled his eyes and bright, shrieking pain flashed in his skull. His eyes went to the window and Finn groaned. He didn’t know what time it was but he was definitely late for school.

“Hey, it’s Finn. I’ve come down with something and I’m not going to be in for a few days.” He listened as Mrs. Carger, the assistant principal, clucked and moaned and fretted over him. “No, I’ll be fine. It might have been something I ate.”
Or someone I fucked,
Finn clenched his jaw as a sob tried to break free. “If I’m not better by Wednesday, I’ll make an appointment,” he promised and eventually she let him go.

Finn dropped his phone on the toilet seat before sliding back into the tub. He ignored the sour acid that burned his throat and the violent churning of his stomach and lifted the whiskey bottle to his lips. He drank until the burning was unbearable then coughed as his chest and stomach tried to reject the whiskey. Finn muscled through it and welcomed the warmth that spread through his limbs.

How about completely empty?
Finn wondered as he held up the bottle. He saw Saint spread out, asleep in his bed with the sheets tangled around his legs and Finn swore as he raised the bottle. He wasn’t sure who he hated more. He hated Saint as much as he’d ever hated a person. But he hated himself quite a bit for falling in love despite every bit of his common sense telling him that everything about Saint was wrong.

He won. He definitely hated himself the most. Saint warned him at every turn but Finn let his cock and his emptiness get him into trouble. And this was so much worse than when Taylor dumped him. He’d been caught off guard with Taylor. With Saint, he practically saw it coming and let it hit him in the face. Finn snorted as he took another sip. Everything blurred and his mouth watered with the need to expel the contents of his stomach but Finn gritted his teeth and breathed through his nose.

Guess what you won!
He chuckled as he tilted the bottle back and choked down another mouthful.
Alcohol poisoning and maybe death, if you’re lucky!
Finn drained the bottle and stared at the window as it began to float in circles and he hoped for death as everything around him pitched, swayed and became dark.

Chapter 25

Finn looked terrible. Saint almost bumped into him in the convenience store, despite the heavy beer and whiskey fumes that created a wide warning radius around Finn. He was clutching Dramamine and ginger ale to his chest and Saint caught one of the bottles when they collided.

“I’m sorry,” Saint said softly as he searched Finn’s face. His eyes were hollow and bright red. Saint became lightheaded and his legs felt as if they’d turned to water. His chest felt like it had been ripped open and everything was being sucked out as Finn’s lips began to quiver. “Are you ok?” Saint whispered hoarsely and Finn shook his head.

“No,” he said loudly before he grabbed the bottle from Saint and hurried to the register.

Saint stumbled to the magazines and leaned against the shelf and pretended to read as he listened to Finn mumble to Harry and waited for his body to recover. Once Saint’s legs felt solid and the dizziness passed, he made his way out and to his bike. Finn’s truck was still parked on the street, so Saint waited. A few minutes later, Finn emerged from the diner carrying a styrofoam container. From the shape of it, Saint knew it was soup and he recalled that chicken noodle had been the Soup Of The Day.

Finn drove off and Saint wallowed in his guilt. He hoped it ate him alive. Part of his brain tried to rationalize a reason to follow Finn, to come up with some excuse to knock on his door. His eyes watered as he struggled and failed to come up with some way to explain everything to Finn so that he would take him back. There was nothing and Saint had never felt so helpless in his life.

Chapter 26

This day has to end eventually
, Finn thought as he looked at the clock. Several of the students were finished with their tests and were staring at him. He should have taken the whole week off, two days wasn’t enough. He stretched his neck and wished he was a little less hung over. He’d spent three days out of his mind, he wasn’t sure why he thought one day was enough to recover.

The sound of several motorcycles filled the afternoon and most of the boys leaned to look out the window or stood up for a better view. Brian Wade was one the few that stayed seated. His eyes remained on his paper and his lips pulled tight as he continued to draw a caricature of Obama on the back of his test. Finn clenched his jaw as he watched the other boys stare in admiration and elbow each other excitedly.
Oh, fuck this.

“Everyone, sit down,” he said loudly and all eyes swung to him. Several mouths dropped at his uncharacteristically forceful tone. “I’ve had enough of everyone acting like it isn’t a big deal that gang is operating just about out in the open. There’s nothing cool or respectable about being in a motorcycle club like that,” he insisted and half of the boys rolled their eyes while the rest looked uneasy. Finn got up and pointed out the window. “They’re all thugs and there’s nothing glamorous about the way they live. They
all
lie and you can’t trust them. Is that how you want people to see you?” Finn asked and he was met with a few shrugs. He made eye contact with a few of the more belligerent looking boys. “Do you think they’re going to take care of you if you join? They won’t. They’ll use you and you’ll end up in prison, taking the fall so that the more senior members can pull off a big payday,” he promised and Brian’s eyes were large as he watched Finn. “They won’t care about you and you’ll have thrown away any chance you had to do something with your life because once you’re a felon, it’s damn near impossible to catch a break. Maybe you do beat the odds and you last in the club. Maybe you get to become a senior member, or even president one day. So fucking what? You’re still just another criminal and this backwards little town is all you’ll ever know. People will fear you but respect is what brings you real success and gets you where you really want to go. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with Blytheville. If you love it here, wonderful. It’s growing on me too and there are lots of decent things a person could be here but don’t let this be your only choice because you hitched your horse to a shit wagon,” Finn said as he looked around. No one was blinking and just about everyone looked stunned. Kitty Gable looked horrified and for some reason, it made Finn uneasy. The bell rang and it took a few seconds for everyone to start moving. “If you didn’t finish your test, put it here, on the corner of my desk, and I’ll give you another ten minutes tomorrow,” Finn announced as the students stuffed books in their bags and placed their tests on Finn’s desk.

He waved at the students as they fled the room before he turned to the windows and rubbed the back of his neck. That definitely wasn’t one of his better moments as a teacher. Finn swore under his breath as he set his hands on the windowsill and leaned until his forehead was pressed against the glass. It was cool and for a moment, the headache Finn had lived with since Saint took off after Rose lifted.

Finn had no idea how things had gone between Saint and Rose. The first few days were a little tense as he waited for The Brothers to show up on his doorstep so they could drag him out and break every one of his ribs. He held his breath as he walked from his truck to the doors of the school, he half expected them to be waiting to lynch him. Finn had eyed the flag pole warily as he passed it. But as the day dragged on, Finn decided that no news was good news. He reasoned that if Saint had been attacked or run out of town, he would have heard someone talking about it.

No news is good news.

Chapter 27

“Hey, Saint. Wes wants to talk to you,” C.J. said as he leaned against the bar. Rose handed him a bottle of Bud and C.J. saluted her as he turned for the pool tables. Saint raised a brow and Rose shook her head slightly and he relaxed. He swiped his beer off the counter as he got up and made his way to Wes’ corner.

“You summoned me,” Saint said as he dropped into the seat across from Wes.

“Unfortunately,” Wes grinned as he put out his cigarette. “I’ve got two problems that I need your help with,” he said and Saint waved his hand, gesturing for Wes to continue. Wes rolled his eyes as he leaned back in his seat.

“We’ve got a run tonight and I’m down two men,” Wes explained and Saint offered his most bored expression. Wes gave him a pointed look as he tapped another cigarette out of the pack. “Since you’re as big as two men, I’m taking you. Korloff is sending two trucks and I need to get them unloaded in an hour so they can be back in Chicago by morning. I’m expecting you to do something for once,” he teased and Saint rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Fine. Where do I report for duty?” He asked and Wes leaned across the table and looked around.

“Be at Hatcher’s Farm, the grain silo on the east corner of the property at midnight,” Wes said and Saint cringed and pretended to be inconvenienced. Wes laughed as he sat back. “Be ready to work, old man,” he said and Saint glared.

“What else?” He asked as he reached for his beer. Wes took a long drag off his cigarette and Saint waited for him to exhale.

“That teacher shot his mouth off today,” Wes said loudly and a few brothers laughed and mumbled threats. Saint kept still and hoped that no one would notice the way the hair on his arms stood.

“Oh?” He said calmly before he took another drink and Wes nodded as he flicked ash on the floor.

“Yeah, the fag called us a bunch of thugs and losers. I can’t have him slandering us like that,” Wes said and Saint nodded in agreement.

“Nope.” Saint tipped his bottle back and drained it. He let his eyes drift around the room slowly before he looked at Wes. “You know for a fact that he’s a fag?” He asked and Wes grinned as he waved at Rose for another beer.

“Nah. But it won’t matter once we start telling everyone he is. Then, no one will care if we shove a 2x4 up his ass and drag him down Main Street,” Wes explained and Saint gripped the arms of his chair as acid burned the back of his throat. Wes nodded as Rose approached and Saint did his best to appear relaxed as he waited for her to return to the bar. Once she was out of range, Saint leaned forward.

“I assume you’re going to wait until after we do the run,” Saint said and Wes smiled as he flicked more ash from his cigarette.

“You know me, Saint,” he said. “Business before pleasure. Tonight, we handle the shipment from Korloff. Tomorrow, we deal with a pain in the ass school teacher,” Wes announced and Saint chuckled as he got to his feet.

“Sounds like a plan. I’m going to go get something to eat,” Saint said as he pushed his chair in and Wes waved dismissively as he turned his attention to the two young twenty-somethings that had recently become regulars at the bar.

“Eat. Take a nap. Whatever,” he mumbled as he got up. “Do whatever it is old people do before they break a sweat. I think I’m going to initiate a few new members,” Wes said loudly and Saint rolled his eyes as he turned away. “Ladies! I’ve got some damn fine blow in the office, would you like to join me?” Wes asked as he approached their table and Saint gave Rose a quick nod before he pushed the door to the bar open. As soon as it closed behind him Saint pulled his phone out of his pocket and swiped at the screen. He waited for it to dial out before lifting it to his ear. The line picked up but remained silent.

“It’s time for me to go,” Saint said then hung up as he walked toward the diner.