500 Days (17 page)

“
I wouldn’t be mad. I
forgot.”

She frowned. “How can you forget your own
birthday?” I shrugged. “Well, everything is going to change this
weekend. You’ll see. Things will be different from now on. Now go
get dressed.” She gave me a pat on the behind and jogged down the
hall.

“
Just get dressed for
what?”

“
Our run,” she called
back. I stifled an eye roll. “I didn’t even get to eat my
breakfast.”

“
We can stop and get
something on the way back.”

Just freakin’perfect.

The air was clear and the temperature was
perfect for early August. It made our run a little more bearable.
Declan decided she wanted to head back on one of the local trails
instead of keeping to the back roads. She spouted some crap about
wanting to get in touch with nature. I didn’t argue. I told her it
would give me the perfect opportunity to find a spot to hide her
body for the next time she pissed me off. She just rolled her
eyes.

We rounded a corner just a few feet from the
creek. To my right was a clearing followed by a lightly wooded
area. Just off the brush I saw a small speck of black. I slowed
down to get a better look. Declan noticed my jog turn into a walk
and turned back to join me. “What is it?”

I bent down and put my fingers out calling
to it. “I think it’s a kitten.” Declan squinted in the direction of
the little creature. “Here kitty, kitty.”

“
What’s wrong with
it?”

“
I don’t know.” One eye
was half closed and its fur was matted on its back. The closer it
got you could see its eye was pus-filled and how filthy it
was.

Declan flinched and grabbed my arm to pull
me back. “Don’t touch that thing. You have no idea what it has or
what’s wrong with it.”

“
Declan, it’s just a
baby.” It was black with spurts of brown throughout its
fur.

“
Alex, you cannot touch
that thing. It probably has fleas.” The kitten opened its mouth to
meow but no sound came out. My heart broke, shattering into a
million pieces. I wanted so badly to help this kitten, but Declan
was right. “Alex, I’m sorry, but there’s nothing you can do. Come
on. Let’s go.” I felt horrible for leaving it there. The kitten
started to follow us down the trail. Declan pushed me along even
though she knew it was killing me.

At the diner we stopped at for a late
breakfast, Declan made notice of my sour mood. “Please don’t tell
me you’re still upset about the kitten.”

I nodded. “It was just so small and innocent
and I wanted to help it so badly.” I rested my chin in my hands
while the waitress refilled my water.

“
If it will make you feel
better we can call the humane society and tell them where we found
him.”

“
No, because then they’ll
just put him to sleep.” I sighed, at a loss for what I could do. I
had nothing to capture it with nor did I have money to help it get
better.

Declan reached across the table with an open
hand. “Alex, you can’t help every wounded creature you come
across.”

“
I know.” I gave her hand
a light squeeze.

“
Okay good, because now I
have a surprise for you.”

My frown deepened and I tucked my hand back
in my lap. “I don’t like surprises.”

“
This one you will. In
honor of you turning twenty-one I’m taking you shopping for a new
outfit,” she cheered, her light blue eyes glistening with
excitement.

“
Declan, you know I’m not
a fan of shopping.”

“
I promise after today I
will change your mind.” Shopping was Declan’s thing and I knew she
was excited to do this for me so I put on a smile and agreed to let
her drag me to the mall.

Declan promised this
shopping trip wouldn’t be a torturous one. She said she just wanted
me to have a new outfit for my birthday and I couldn’t
argue
.
By the
third store I had found an outfit. Declan insisted I should keep
looking but I reminded her how much I loathed shopping and she let
me be.

I ended up finding a red
strapless dress. Red was my favorite color which is why I chose the
devil costume at work. The dress had an empire waist. It fit tight
across my curves and hit just at mid-thigh. Happy to have found the
perfect dress, I was ready to leave when Declan dragged me to the
lingerie shop
,
insisting I had to get a new bra and panties to go under my
dress. I hesitated, remembering the trauma of the day when Jack had
to take me bra shopping. All it took was one horrifying hour spent
in Victoria Secrets. Jack called Declan’s mom to come help me out.
The moment she arrived, he pointed in my direction and took off. I
was braless until I was thirteen. When all of a sudden they
appeared out of nowhere and I refused to wear only sports bras and
shirts two sizes too big to hide them, Jack had no choice but to
take me. To this day I didn’t know who was more embarrassed. I
swore to never step inside a Victoria Secrets again. I just
normally got my bras at Target, but Declan promised it would be
fine.

After getting over my initial fear, I
managed to enjoy looking around at all the frilly lingerie. I found
the perfect strapless, red lace bra with matching hipster undies. I
figured while I was there I would pick up a few other things and
update my undergarments. Declan was always teasing me and saying I
had more granny panties than her actual grandma. I explained while
that wasn’t true, cotton underwear was just more comfortable and
cost efficient.

A hundred dollars later, I was spent and
ready to go home, but Declan informed me we weren’t finished. I was
about to tell her this so-called early birthday surprise was
turning into my worst nightmare when she told me it would be our
last stop. I groaned all the way down the mall until we stopped in
front of the shoe store. My smile instantly returned. This was
where my girlie side kicked in. I loved shoes. I could drop a few
hundred dollars on a pair of shoes. Declan knew this too and I
think that was why she saved it for last. I found the perfect pair
of wedges – along with a few others – and charged them to my
account knowing I’d have to pick up a few extra shifts at work to
make up for my little shoe-extravaganza, but it would be worth
it.

I threw all my bags into the back of
Declan’s car and crashed into the passenger side with a contented
smile.

Chapter 9

Casper

Colton woke me up an hour before we had
practice. “Dude, you look like hell. What the hell did you do last
night?”

I sat up and rested my elbows on my knees.
“I drank, a lot.”

He sunk down on the end of my bed. “I heard.
Declan called me.” I scrubbed a hand down my face. I didn’t
remember much from last night, but the few things I did I wanted to
forget. “Is there anything I need to know?” he asked, hinting.

“
I fucked
up…bad.”

“
Care to
elaborate?”

“
What did Declan say?” I
was hoping maybe she didn’t say anything so I could dance around
the truth a bit.

“
I want to hear it from
you.” Colton pulled one leg up and wrapped his arm around, getting
comfortable.

“
I puked all down the side
of Alex’s car.” Colton’s head dropped down to his knee. “That’s not
the worst part.” He looked up slowly, not sure if he wanted to hear
the rest. “I asked Alex to spend the night with me and ended up
giving her a black eye when she tried to leave.”

His leg fell and he stood up. “You did what!
Of all the dickhead things you could have done.”

I stopped his angry rant. “It was an
accident. I swear. I didn’t mean it. Hell, I didn’t even remember I
did it until I stopped by her house and saw her eye.”

“
Jesus Cas.”

“
I know, but what am I
supposed to do?” I shrugged. It’s not like Alex and I were really
friends anyway.

“
You could start by saying
you’re sorry,” he suggested in a tone saying that should have been
the obvious answer.

“
Sorry won’t be good
enough for her.” Not for Alex. I hate to admit it but she deserved
more than a pathetic apology. The memory of last night came
crashing back in to my head like a tidal wave. I was such an
idiot.

“
What was she even doing
here?” Colton had calmed down and was sitting back on the
bed.

“
I got hammered last night
and Gus made her take me home.” I shook my head. Colton chuckled to
himself. “What’s so funny?”

“
I’m just picturing what
would have happened if you actually managed to sleep with
her.”

“
That would have been
monumental and disastrous at the same time. I should be lucky I
woke up with all my organs still intact.”

Colton chuckled. “She’s not that bad.” I
wrinkled my brow. “Come on. All that time you spend at the bar
slinging insults. She has to have at least grown on you, a little
bit.”

She had but I wasn’t going to admit that out
loud, let alone to Colton. He was right. I had been spending a lot
of time at the bar and every night I secretly hoped of bumping into
Alex. At first I went to just let off some steam and to get away
from Colton and Declan. New love was always annoying, especially
with those two. But after a while I started to enjoy my encounters
with Alex, pleasant or not, plus she wasn’t bad to look at.

“
Don’t stress it. I’m sure
she’ll get over it,” Colton said, getting up.

“
Really?” I asked, looking
up at him.

“
No,” he laughed. “You’re
fucking screwed. Have fun in hell,” he said, laughing all the way
down the hall.

F-U-C-K.

We just made it to the point where we could
tolerate each other and now I had to go do something stupid and
open my mouth. Did it really matter if Alex was pissed at me? Did I
really care? I put my head in my hands as the night’s memories came
flooding back to me. I hit on her and told her she was beautiful.
And I meant it. Then I tried to get her to stay and elbowed her in
the eye.

Shit.

I grabbed my keys and headed out.

When she opened the door my first reaction
was to cringe. Her eye looked pretty bad and the scowl on her face
told me she was still pissed. When she tried to slam the door in my
face, I stuck my foot out to block it from closing. “Alex, please
just give me a minute.” The door swung open and she stood there
with her hands on her hips. “I’m sorry. I was an idiot and I didn’t
mean what I said last night.” Her green eyes turned into fierce
slits.

“
If this is you trying to
apologize you suck at it.” She was about to shut the door on me
again but I quickly jumped through. “What the hell are you
doing?”

“
That’s not what I meant.
It came out wrong.”

“
Which part?” she glared,
crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

“
Last night is still a bit
hazy.”

“
Let me refresh your
memory. Your dumbass got so drunk I was forced to take you home.
You puked all over the side of my car and then I had to practically
carry you up the steps to your room because you kept falling over.”
That would explain all the bruises and why my body hurt so badly
this morning. “And to top it all off you hit on me and try to get
me to spend the night with you and when I tell you ‘no’ I get a
black eye. Is that refresher enough!?!” She threw my ass out the
door and slammed it in my face, locking it.

Fuck.

I leaned up against the door. “I’m sorry,” I
said again and then left knowing it was better not to push. Clearly
it was going to take a lot more than an apology for her to talk to
me again. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. When I walked back
outside I spotted the mess I had made of Alex’s car. Damn, this was
going to be a hard one. Nothing else to do, I went home and got
ready for our gig tonight.

When I arrived at the bar it was early
enough that there were only one or two other customers in the bar.
I found Declan in the corner restocking. I took a seat at the bar
and waited until she was done. “Hey,” I said. She gave me a dirty
look. “Don’t tell me you’re mad at me too?” I said, exhausted by
this whole situation. She stopped what she was doing and walked
around the bar. Standing in front of me, her eyes narrowed, she
flung her hand out and smacked me on the back of the head. “Ow,
seriously?” Why do all these damn chicks stick together and gang
up?

“
Do you even know what you
did?”

I sighed. “Unfortunately, Alex was kind
enough to remind me.” Declan looked at me funny. “I stopped by your
place to apologize, but I didn’t even know what I was apologizing
for.”

“
Are you kidding me?” she
said, eyes wide.

“
What’s the big deal? I’ll
make sure to have her car cleaned. No harm no foul.”

“
What about the black eye
you gave her while being a pervert?”

“
I’m not a
pervert.”

“
Oh yeah? Maybe you’re
just a jerk then.”

“
Stop being so
melodramatic. It’s not like Alex and I are friends. We don’t even
like each other. We made a truce to get along for your sake,” I
pointed at her, getting angry. Declan took a step back. “Yeah,
because we actually care about you guys, Alex and I made a truce to
get along so you and Colton wouldn’t have to worry.”