“I mean, I hate to say it, but it has only been two weeks,” he looked sympathetic.
“I know,” Devon relented. “I just have to pay you rent soon, and I don’t have the money.” She sheepishly looked down.
“Hey,” he said, his hand landing on her knee, “don’t worry about that. I’m sure we can arrange something.”
Devon didn’t know if she should hear the hidden meaning in that or not, but she chose not to. This was Garrett, and he was madly in love with her best friend. There was no way he was insinuating what she thought he was insinuating. To avoid accidentally spilling her thoughts, she didn’t dare open her mouth.
“I’m sure you’ll find a job soon, and in the meantime, feel free to stay as long as you like. I’ve made do without the rent this long, so I think I can manage otherwise. I trust you to pay it back when you actually do get a job. Don’t stress yourself into the ground over it,” he told her, pulling back his hand.
Devon felt like a shitty person. Was she a completely wrong judge of character? Or was she just so used to people being horrible and taking advantage of any situation that she had assumed someone like Garrett could be like that, too?
“Thanks, Garrett,” Devon said. “I appreciate it, but I’m still going to look for work as hard as I can.”
“I’ll see if I know anyone that’s hiring.”
“That would be really helpful,” she told him, breathing a sigh of relief.
They sat back then and enjoyed the next two episodes of Heroes before Garrett had to get ready for work. Devon wanted to be out of the house before Hadley got back anyway. It had been easier like that lately.
ALMOST ANOTHER WEEK with no luck was sending Devon’s already spiraling depression farther down the rabbit hole. Garrett’s search had come back with grim results. No one was hiring. She couldn’t believe it.
How hard was it to find a job in this town? Seriously, it shouldn’t be this difficult, she thought, crossing the street.
May had disappeared so quickly. How had she already been here a month without finding a job? It felt like it was just yesterday when she had pulled up to Union Station with Dustin’s music blasting in her ears. She was amazed she had made it this long. She had never thought she would be strong enough, but here she was. She was still searching for a job, so she could find a way to stay two more months.
The route Devon normally had taken walked past Jenn’s Restaurant, but kept her out of sight. She had been in the city long enough that it would be really strange if she just suddenly showed up there. She and Hadley weren’t all buddy-buddy anymore, so they hadn’t spent their afternoons together in Jenn’s, but Devon knew Hadley still frequented the locale. Devon wasn’t about to force an encounter with Hadley. Devon’s anger hadn’t fizzled, and she didn’t know if she was just that irritated with Hadley’s presence or if it was because of her drug use. She wanted to help, but Hadley wasn’t going to allow her in anytime soon. How could she help if Hadley was avoiding her at every turn?
Devon crossed to the other side of the street, and as she did, she glanced into the windows as she passed Jenn’s. She tried to tell herself she did it to see if Hadley was inside. Devon was pretty good at fooling herself. Sometimes, she had even searched out for the familiar blonde hair, but Hadley had never been there when Devon walked by.
In truth, Devon was generally hoping to see someone else. It was silly. Brennan didn’t know she was in the city. She had turned him down. She had a boyfriend. But she still walked this stretch to see if he was working the bar, so she could catch a glimpse of him.
No Hadley. No Brennan. Devon kept walking. Reminiscing about her first week in Chicago wouldn’t help her find a job.
Turning the corner, Devon immediately jumped out of the way as someone came barreling directly toward her. She got off a few choice words for the person as he passed her. People in Chicago are so rude! People just didn’t act like that in Nashville.
When the person abruptly skidded to a stop, Devon retreated a few steps. She hadn’t thought her cussing at the person would cause him to stop. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself. She certainly didn’t want to set off some street thug, or worse, tilt the emotional imbalance of some crazed serial killer.
When the person turned around, Devon’s fear dried up. It was immediately replaced with what she could only describe as an oh-fuck face.
“Devon?” Brennan said tentatively, facing her.
Breathing heavily from his run with a sheen of sweat on his forehead, he looked astonished by her presence. She couldn’t blame him.
“Uh…hey, Brennan,” she whispered. She was ashamed that they had to meet like this after what had happened between them. “You looked like you were in a hurry—”
“What are you doing here?” he asked, ignoring her statement.
“I, uh…didn’t leave,” she murmured softly.
“What?” he asked, looking confused. “You were supposed to be gone like three weeks ago. Why would you stay?”
She had clearly shocked him enough for him to speak plainly. Normally, she thought he was so reserved, but his face was giving him away as clear as day. He hadn’t wanted her to leave, and now, he was glad to see her. Could she possibly be reading him correctly?
“I decided to stay and…help Hadley,” she told him. It was the truth…mostly.
Brennan’s eyes narrowed in response. “I’ve seen Hadley almost every day for the past three weeks, and she never mentioned that you’re still in the city.”
Devon shrugged. Well, that looked seriously implicating. It wasn’t that she had told Hadley not to tell Brennan. It was just that Hadley wasn’t talking about Devon at all. Now, it looked like she had been avoiding him. Well, she had.
“I haven’t been succeeding…” she said. That much was also true.
“So, she’s avoiding you like the plague because she wants to keep using,” he said intuitively. “I’ve seen that before. You’re going to have to try harder.” He paused, glancing down and then up, like he wasn’t sure what to say. “Maybe you should swing by Jenn’s. It might help.”
“Oh,” she whispered, looking away from him. Why did he insist on complicating things?
“To see Hadley,” he added.
“Maybe,” she said. “I’m kind of busy looking for a job, so I don’t know when I’ll have a lot of time.”
“You’re looking for a job? You’re staying?” he asked.
She clearly continued to shock him every time she opened her mouth.
“Oh, yeah, I’m staying through the summer.”
She could see the question on his face. He wasn’t on guard like he normally was. He seemed to want to know why she hadn’t come to see him since their last encounter. Still, he should know why. She had given him reason enough when she had broken the kiss in his apartment.
Instead, he said, “Come with me.” Then, he turned on his heel and walked away from her.
Devon stared after his retreating back. What the fuck is he thinking? But he wasn’t waiting for her, and she had to jog to keep up with him. She didn’t even know why she was following him. She knew it wasn’t a good idea to be around him. That had become blatantly obvious after he had kissed her.
She was too messed up. She had too many of her own issues to deal with, and she couldn’t drag anyone else into it.
Brennan walked right into Jenn’s, the place she hadn’t walked into for three weeks straight. She followed on his heels to the back of the mostly deserted restaurant. Some regular customer called out a snide remark to him as he passed, and Brennan flipped the guy off. The guy laughed through his smoker’s cough.