“Seriously, why are you even with him, Tatum? You never seem happy when you are.”
Well, that sure turned
her smile upside down. It also caused
her to glare back at me.
“Like you have room to
talk, Noah. Why are you with Piper? You
sure as hell never look happy when you’re with her, either. You usually look irritated, actually.”
Touché.
“Touché. You’re right,” I shrug as I lean back against
my chair, “We kind of have an agreement. So, it is what it is. But, it’s nice
to know you’ve been watching.” I give her a quick wink.
She narrows her eyes as
she sits back in her seat and crosses her arms over her chest. “Well, you might want to explain that to her,
because I’m pretty sure she thinks otherwise.
Like, she probably has the church booked and wedding magazines all over
her apartment.”
It seems that even the
mention of marriage also has an adverse effect on my cardiac system. Or maybe
it’s just any reference to Piper?
We are getting way off
track here, so I scoot my seat underneath the table, getting closer to Tatum
and shift toward her, crooking my finger for her to lean in as well. After a
slight hesitation, surprisingly she does.
I shield the side of my mouth with the back of my hand and lower my
voice to a whisper. “Let’s drop the Piper topic for a second, it’s giving me heartburn,
and concentrate on you for a second.” Her hardened mask breaks and she laughs
even though I couldn’t be more serious.
“I’m going to give you
a loser lesson. Let’s call it, ‘Loser 101: Introduction to All Things
Loser.’” Another small smile breaks across her lips and I’m once again
momentarily distracted by her mouth.
Glancing back up, I
look into her eyes and grin. “Okay, so
number one. His name isn’t really Cash,
you know this right? His name is Herman.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but if he’s not man enough to even
stand behind the name his mother gave him, well?”
Tatum’s eyes widen and
she covers her mouth. “How did you know that?” she whispers back from behind
her fingers. She looks like an adorable little girl with her huge blue eyes
gaping back at me. It’s captivating. I
burn the image into my brain before letting her in on my secret.
“I’m a bartender. I’ve seen his I.D. In fact, I make him show it to me every time
he comes into the bar because it makes me laugh.”
She drops her hand,
huge smile displayed. “You’re evil.”
“Yes, yes I am.” I hold
up my pointer finger. “That’s number
one. Number two…” I draw out, “He’s
what? Twenty-four? You know what I see every time he hands me that I.D. other
than his name and age? His goddamn huge-ass senior ring … from high school. He
really needs to learn to let go of what were probably the best years of his
life and just move on. So, if they still feel that their high school years are
relevant – loser. Lesson number two.”
I count it on my
fingers as I lean in even closer and whisper my final lesson in her ear. “The
third one is the most important, so listen closely.” I take a discreet whiff of
her hair before continuing. “You may not believe this but it’s the truth. You deserve to be treasured. You should be with someone who respects you,
who makes you a better person, and most of all who makes you happy. He, however, treats you poorly. I see it
every single time I’m around the two of you, and I have to say it takes a lot
of restraint on my part not to beat the shit out of him when I see him do it.”
I lean away from her and hold up three fingers in front of her shocked-as-shit
facial expression. “So, they don’t
respect you and treat you how you should be treated – loser. Lesson three.”
I clear my face of its
smartass smirk so she understands that I’m completely serious. “Never settle for less than you’re
worth. You don’t give yourself enough
credit. Hopefully, one day, you’ll see
what everyone else sees.”
She graciously accepts
my compliment with a half-smile and after sliding herself back into her chair,
she studies me intently.
“Interesting lesson
there, Noah. Thank you for the wise
words. But, as I clearly displayed last night, I have issues. Not everyone would take me back after what I
did last night. But he did. Because, he loves me. We all have our faults,
not everyone can be perfect, like you. I
hope you know that’s not meant to be an insult, so please don’t take it that
way. I just mean that some of us are
flawed and have to deal with what we’re given.” She breaks from my eyes to
watch the waitress pick up the empty plates from our table. Once they’re cleared, she begins again, still
gazing off in the distance.
“Broken hopes and
expectations can leave very, very broken people. So, after a while, you learn
not to aim so high, because when people fail you, you land hard and there’s
only so many times a person can be shattered before they’re beyond repair.”
She brings her eyes back
to mine. “What you’re so quick to label
as settling, I simply call survival,”
she finishes with a defeated shrug of her shoulders.
After her statement,
she casts her glance away from mine to smile at the person passing by. Although as usual, it’s not genuine. It’s the
same one she plasters on her face to appease everyone around her.
What the hell happened to her?
The waitress
conveniently drops the check off at our table, providing Tatum the perfect way
out of this conversation and therefore any further interrogation. She stands and pushes the chair out from
underneath her with the backs of her knees. “Ready?” she asks, purse already in
hand and stepping towards the direction of the register.
Well, I guess that’s
all I’m getting from her for now. I know it’s not much, but I’ll take it.
It’s not like I can
actually concentrate on asking her any more questions, because there’s one
gigantic conclusion I’ve just drawn and it’s currently blocking any other
thoughts from entering my mind.
A person who judges
someone without really knowing them, without walking in their shoes, or without
at least attempting to understand what they’ve gone through or experienced
during their lifetime – loser.
Lesson number four.
“Two fleeting souls,
Unknowingly tethered.
Too slowly drawn,
Impatient fate calls.
The jolting collide intertwines their lives
And splinters their walls.”
“Catalyst” – Noah Reese
THE AUTHOR:
L.B. Simmons is a graduate of Texas A&M University
and holds a degree in Biomedical Science. She has been a practicing Chemist for
the last 11 years. She lives with her husband and three daughters in Texas and
writes every chance she gets.
Connect with L.B.:
THE GIVEAWAY:
To celebrate the cover of her
newest novel, Running in Place, L.B.
is offering her readers an awesome Giveaway!
·
Winner 1: $100
Amazon gift card
·
Winner 2: A set
of signed paperbacks of Running on Empty
and Recovery.
·
Winner 3: ARC of
Running in Place, to be sent to the
winner in mid October.
