Chasing Redemption (Book 2 of Chasing Series)

Three | Past resurfacing

I didn't think that nostalgia would be the overwhelming feeling as I work my first shift back at Cash's bar. The smell of beer and fried food barely touches my senses as I take in the same exact room I've known for so long now.

Beckett whips me across the back of the head with a tea towel as I turn to glare at him.

"You haven't changed," I mumble.

He offers me a lazy grin, cleaning out a glass. "When you...left, Cash hired a new girl for a while. Let's just say she didn't appreciate me as much as you do."

"You mean she didn't appreciate how annoying you are? I'm so surprised she found you intolerable," I muse.

"Ha-ha," he rolls his eyes, serving a customer.

We lapse into comfortable silence, working our way around each other. It's like it always used to be. I'm suddenly grateful that he's not treating me any differently.

Until he does.

It's not until halfway though my shift that I begin to notice the strange side glances he throws my way. It starts off slow, like he's not really meaning to do it.

"You can ask about it, you know," I sigh. "Its not exactly a secret. I admitted myself into a health facility. Case closed."

A few customers send me curious glances from the bar but I ignore them, tired of the judgement. My time to care has long surpassed.

"What do you mean?" he clears his throat.

"You were acting fine, but now it's like you've remembered where I've been," I shrug.

He shakes his head, raking a hand through his hair. "It's not like that at all."

I raise an eyebrow as he serves a customer. The relief is evident on his face. He's been spared of telling me the truth momentarily.

"You're gonna have to spill it eventually," I say. "May as well get it out in the open now. Whatever it is."

"It's nothing. Really," he says quickly. Too quickly.

My worst fear when I came home was that people would begin tip-toeing around me like I was still breakable. The facility was supposed to stop that from occurring, but it's like it amplified the fact I'm mentally unstable.

"Beckett," I sigh. "I've known you long enough now to tell that you're lying."

He sighs, shaking his head as he moves around me, grabbing different spirits as he serves new customers.

I don't remember the music being so loud. It's nearly overbearing as I try to focus on pouring drinks and lip reading customer orders.

Beckett has thrown me. I can't seem to concentrate on anything but his discomfort.

"Beckett," I shout. "You've gotta tell me, alright? Don't keep secrets from me."

He must hear the plea in my voice. He turns to face me, pausing as he hands over shots of tequila to a group of young guys.

He's watching me solemnly and I almost wish I'd kept my mouth shut now.

It's happening. The pity is setting in.

When I'd first admitted myself, my psychologist at the facility had picked up on something I hadn't even noticed about myself.

After...Brax, I'd accumulated a deep fear of the unknown. Of being kept in the dark.

Subconsciously, it was a though my fear was seeping through now, strangling me from the inside. I want so badly for everything to be normal between Beckett and me again.

"Okay," he nods. "Alright, just— give me a second."

When the rush finally calms down, Beckett has no alternative but to talk to me. I can tell he's been glad for the delay, pretending to keep busy with glasses that are already clean.

"Beckett," I sigh.

"I just— I'm genuinely not sure how you might react to this."

"You're scaring me. Is it bad? Are you alright?"

He waves my worries away. "I'm fine. Everyone is fine."

"Then what is it?" I grit my teeth. "Just spit it out already—"

"I've been seeing someone," he blurts.

"Oh," I laugh, relieved. "That's great. Not sure why you made it so secretive, but okay."

"That's not all," he says, watching me closely. "You know how I said Cash hired someone else for a while? Well, we had our differences at first, even though I'd met her before—"

"Met her before?" I raise an eyebrow. "Please don't tell me it's Layla. It's weird enough that my brother is with Maia now. I don't think I could handle—"

"It's not Layla. But it is someone you know," I watch him gulp nervously and I know whatever he's about to say isn't going to be good.

"It's just, I know you wanted a fresh start after last year and that this won't help with your recovery. I promise I never had any intention of actually liking her. It just happened. I don't want that to change us, though, because you know how much I care about you—"

"Beckett," I sigh, placing a hand over his arm. "Just tell me and then we can work it out from there."

A few seconds pass before he goes to speak again. By the time his mouth parts and I believe he's actually going to tell me this time, the door opens.

I don't know why it gains my attention. I don't know why I choose to look over at the door when I'd been so engrossed in Beckett's story.

But when I do, my heart sinks in my chest. My words completely fail me.

The girl approaches the bar with caution when she notices me, losing the smile she'd produced for Beckett.

"Rhea," she says breathless. "It's so good to see you."

Sofía stands before me, smiling tightly. A smile that suddenly seems so similar to Brax's. A similarity I never noticed when he was alive.

Alive.

"I—"

Before I can even respond, bile rises up my throat and I'm vomiting all over the floor behind the bar.