Following Me (32 page)

“Hey,” Garrett said, walking out of
the bedroom.

“Oh.  Is Hadley here?” she
asked.  Since the incident, she didn’t like being alone with him.  It didn’t
sit well with her.

“No.  She went to get lunch with
her mother, who is in the city for the afternoon,” Garrett told her.

“Her mom is here?” Devon asked.

Hadley’s mom was the nicest woman
Devon had ever met.  She was a mirror image of her daughter—all smart, pretty,
and bubbly.  But she didn’t like big cities; they made her feel
claustrophobic.  So, there must have been a good reason for her visit.

“Yeah.  Drove up this morning.”

“Why?” Devon asked, narrowing her
eyes.

“Hadley didn’t say.”

“That’s…weird,” she said.  “Does
her mother know about the overdose?”

“I don’t know.  Only if Hadley
told her,” Garrett said.

“Okay.  Well, I guess I’ll see
her later then.  I have to get ready for work,” Devon said, turning toward her
bedroom.

She shut the door and pulled out
her phone from her back pocket.  She glanced down at the screen, and her
stomach dropped to the floor.  Her phone nearly slipped out of her fingers, but
she gripped it tighter even though her hands were shaking.  There were five
texts and a few missed calls from Reid, all from the last hour.

She swallowed hard, wondering
what this could be about.  Her brain told her not to read them. 
What good
could come from reading them?
  But she couldn’t stop herself.  It couldn’t
be a coincidence that all the messages were so close together.

I saw your parents on TV this
morning for some award ceremony in New York.  Are you in the States?

FUCK!
  She couldn’t
believe he had seen the ceremony.

Devon?  I’ve missed you since
you’ve been gone.  If you are in the States, hurry home.  I have a bed waiting
for you.

Devon shook her head. 
This
could not be happening.

Why aren’t you answering me? 
Are you avoiding me?  Answer your phone.  Let me know if you’re here.  I’ll fly
out to get you.

To. Get. Her. 
She knew
what that meant.

Answer your goddamn phone. 
Since when do you not answer my texts right away?  Are you in New York with
someone else?  Is that what this is about?  You better text me back right
away.  Better yet, call me.  I need to talk to you.

No.  No.  No.  No.  No.

I don’t know what the fuck you
are doing, but if you don’t call me, this isn’t going to be good.  I’m giving
you fair warning.  Don’t be a bitch.  Call. Me. Back.

Devon’s palms were sweating by
the time she finished reading the last text message. 
Not good.
 
This
was so not good.  How the fuck had she not thought of this?
  Of course, he
would happen across her parents’ award ceremony, the one she had skipped with
good reason.

Her hands were trembling, and she
was barely keeping it together. 
What would he do now that he knew she
hadn’t been in France?  Okay, she was getting ahead of herself.
  He didn’t
know that.  He just knew that her parents were in New York.  They could have
come back from Paris for it unexpectedly. 
She could have stayed in
Paris…right?

She shook her head.  He was too
smart.  She couldn’t fool him into believing her.  Not that she could text him
back if he was flipping out anyway, not that she had responded to anything he
had sent her in weeks.

How did he do this to her? 
How did he make her feel so guilty for what she had done when he was the one
who had hit her?
  She needed to keep repeating that to herself or else she
would end up texting him back.  She already felt bad for lying to him.  They
had been together for so long.  Not letting him know that she was alright felt
weird.  But if he found out, he would make sure that she wasn’t.

A knock at her door pulled her out
of her thoughts, and then the phone started ringing again. 
Reid.  Fuck
.

“Hey, Devon?  Can I come in?”

Devon silenced the phone and
tried to stay calm.  “What’s up?” she called out to Garrett.

All she wanted to do was lie down
and pretend she was back on the boat with Brennan.

The door cracked open, and
Garrett cautiously walked into the room.  “Do you think we could talk?” he
asked.

“I’d really rather not,” she
said, not wanting to deal with this and Reid.

“Don’t you think we should
discuss what happened?”

“I prefer to just forget about
it,” she said.  She really wanted to forget everything at the moment.

“Right,” he said, shaking his
head.  “You would rather run off with Brennan and avoid everything that’s
happening in your life.  Does he even know about the things that went on with
you and your boyfriend?”

Devon glared.  “It’s none of your
business what I’m doing and who I’m with.”

“I’m just trying to look out for
you,” he said, taking a step toward her.

“I really don’t want to talk
about all of this right now, Garrett,” Devon said, crossing her arms.

“I’m trying to apologize,” he
insisted.

“I know.  I get it.  I just can’t
even think about it.  Reid has been calling and texting me nonstop all
morning.  He won’t leave me alone.  I don’t know what he’s thinking or what
he’s doing, but I’m just sick and tired of it.  So, please just drop it for
now!” She turned away from him.

“He’s been contacting you?”
Garrett asked.

“Yes!  All morning.  I have to go
to work, and I’m going to be late.  So, please just drop it Garrett.”

“Dev,” he said consolingly.

“Please, Garrett,” she pleaded,
hoping he would actually listen.

“Fine.  I just wanted to tell you
that I’m sorry.  I made a mistake.  I don’t want you.  I want Hadley.  And I
should have never let any of this happen.”  He threw his hands out wide and
walked back toward the door.

“No, you probably shouldn’t
have,” she said.  Her emotions were too high right now for her to have this
conversation.  She just wanted him to leave, so she could wallow in peace.

“But it was just a drunken
mistake.”

“Garrett, please just leave.  I
can’t handle anything more right now,” she pleaded.

Garrett shook his head and walked
through the doorway.  Turning around to face her, he said, “I’m trying to do
the right thing here, Devon.”  Then, he walked out of her bedroom, shutting the
door behind him.

Devon gritted her teeth upon his
exit.  It wasn’t that she intentionally wanted to be angry with Garrett, but
she was just too mentally exhausted.  Between her growing feelings for Brennan,
Reid’s persistence, and Garrett’s continual reminder of that night, she was too
drained to deal with anything.

Devon quickly changed into her
uniform and pulled out her phone to let Brennan know she would be a few minutes
late.  She clicked out of the new missed call from Reid and sighed, knowing
that he wouldn’t likely stop anytime soon.

Another message flashed on the
screen as she was deleting Reid’s call.

I’m going to be a few minutes
late to work.  Can’t wait to see you.

Brennan.
  Devon smiled.

She exited the screen and
sighed.  She missed him.

Staring down at her phone, she
was full of frustration, doubt, and regret, and then she remembered that Reid
didn’t know she was in Chicago.  As long as he didn’t know, then she was safe
from him.  And she sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him.  She would deal with
him in August when she was on more solid ground.

DEVON SHUFFLED INTO Jenn’s
Restaurant a full fifteen minutes late.  After her conversation with Garrett
and those texts from Reid, she hadn’t been able to get herself together.  The
only way she had guaranteed she wouldn’t respond to Reid’s messages was to
leave her phone at home.  She had backtracked her steps and picked up her phone
at least three times before tossing it back on her bed and leaving it there. 
The last thing she wanted to do was thumb through her messages at work while
Brennan was around.  They had too much to talk about tonight after work, and
she didn’t want him to find out about Reid early.

She stood there as Jenn laid into
her for being late.  Devon wasn’t sure how many more times she could apologize
before Jenn would give up and send her out on the floor.

“Alright, I will be more aware of
the time from now on,” Devon said.

“That’s right, you will,” Jenn
grumbled.  “I need a drink.”

You’re not the only one,
Devon thought.

“Brennan,” Jenn called, finally
turning away from Devon, “I’m heading out and leaving you in charge.  The
morning rush has died down, so I think it should be smooth sailing for the rest
of the day.  If you need anything, call me.”

“Thanks, Jenn,” he said as she
stormed out of the restaurant.

Brennan turned to Devon with a
serious look on his face.  “You were late.”

“So were you,” she said.

“But I didn’t get caught.  So,
don’t get caught next time,” he said, reaching out for her hand.

“Alright, boss.  Is that all?” 
Her response was cheeky, but she couldn’t help it.

“I think Amy has the front
covered for a bit.”  He tilted his head toward the break room.

Devon smiled, feeling the weight
of the morning drama lift off her shoulders.  “I think she definitely has it
taken care of,” she said, walking through the door.

Brennan looked around to make
sure no one else was inside the room, not that it was a big restaurant with
many employees or anything, and then he closed the door behind her.

His hands pushed up into her
hair.  Tilting her face up to his, he planted his lips down on hers.  She
gripped his shirt between her hands and pulled him closer to her.  He tasted
slightly of alcohol, and she became dizzy with his touch as if she had been the
one drinking.  He smelled good, fresh from a shower and she was glad that his
scent wasn’t tainted with the smell of pot.  Actually, she couldn’t remember
the last time that smell had been on him.

Never breaking contact, Brennan
walked her backward into one of the lockers, and their bodies melded together. 
It was all Devon could do to keep her mind focused on what they were doing
instead of jumping a million steps ahead of where they were.  She wasn’t
succeeding.

Devon clawed at his shirt,
untucking it, as she pressed her hands against his flat, toned stomach.  The
heat from his skin sent electricity coursing through her body, and the room
suddenly felt stifling.  Her mind couldn’t register a time she had ever wanted
something this much.  Maybe it was the knowledge that they were in a public
place and could easily get caught, but mostly, she thought it was just Brennan.

He located the bottom of her
skirt and hiked it up.  Grasping her thigh in his hand, he pulled it up to wrap
around his hip.  Between kisses, her breath came out in short spurts as her
hands roamed down to the hem of his jeans.  Devon felt so rushed, so clumsy
that she snapped the waistline of his boxers.  Brennan grunted and pressed more
firmly against her, like he had enjoyed it.  She continued running her fingers
lightly along the inside of his boxers, just enough to tease him.