Three Days of Rain (3 page)

CHAPTER 3

Sun streaming through his bedroom window stirred Jake from his restless sleep. He shaded his eyes from the unwelcome intrusion and rolled his neck, trying to stop the throbbing that had begun creeping up from his shoulders. Tangled in his sheets, he pulled a pillow over his head and closed his eyes, not quite ready to face the day. He had almost forgotten what he’d done the night before. It wasn’t until he finally decided to pull himself out of his bed and walk over to the dresser that he stepped on a piece of glass and remembered.

“Son of a bitch.” He yanked a piece of mirror from his heel. Realization dawned as he looked around—he had, once again, let memories control him. For once he’d just like to be able to think about the past without feeling like he was going mad.

He surveyed the damage. The shattered mirror could be replaced, but the destroyed guitar kicked him in the gut. He fought the pain that threatened to overtake him again and refused to allow it to weaken him as it had last night. Instead, he carefully walked across his bedroom to the bathroom and took a shower. He needed habit to dictate his days or he knew he would lose it. It was important to keep busy and, regardless of his inner demons, he had to get to work. He was already running late.

Stepping outside, he felt the sun wash over him with teasing irony. He’d long since given up trying to understand why, if the day was so bright and the sun was so warm, he felt dark and cold inside.

As he backed out of his driveway, he thumbed his cell and it blinked to life. Chirps from missed calls and text messages filled the cab.
Danny
. His brother was probably calling to apologize or explain—or whatever. Danny was good at all that. He was the politician in the family. He could get out of anything with a few smooth words. Jake? Not so much. He was more of a fist guy. Or at least he used to be. Now, he just didn’t care. Again memories haunted him...

***

“Jakey, you want a drink?”

“Sure. A Jack and Coke would be great.”

He watched Maddie walk back towards the bar. They’d only been dating a few months but he was sure she was the one. His brother had given him a few not-so-subtle “be careful” talks. Apparently, Jake was the only one convinced that she had changed. Why couldn’t anyone else see it? Even her parents and sister were skeptical. Billy was skeptical but he’d kept her on her because she was one hell of a waitress. And Billy wasn’t known for giving second chances. At least that was something.

As Jake watched her make her way through the labyrinth of the normal Friday night crowd, he noticed a few guys walk in that he didn’t recognize. They couldn’t be more than twenty-one, twenty-two, and by their rowdy entrance, they’d been partying awhile.

Maddie appeared in front of him with his drink and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before walking over to the table where the new guys sat. As she was taking their order, one of them looked at her with a bit more than fleeting interest before leaning over to whisper to his friend. After a big laugh from the two of them, the man who had whispered caught Maddie’s attention. As he talked to her, a red flush crept to her cheeks and her lips pulled tight. Before Jake could decide what to do she walked away from the table. Shaking his head, he convinced himself it was probably nothing and started his second set.

In the middle of his second song, Maddie dropped off the order at the table and flinched when one of the guys grabbed her wrist as she began to walk away. He pulled her into his lap. She struggled to stand back up. The look on her face was indecipherable, but it was all the prodding Jake needed. He stopped playing, mid-song, carefully placed his guitar down on the stage, and strode over to Maddie and the group of guys. A dangerous calm kept him focused.

Flexing his hands, he struggled to hold his anger in. “Is there a problem here?”

His sudden exit from the stage had caught the attention of the bar patrons and it was deathly quiet as he spoke.

The man who had grabbed Maddie laughed. “Nope. No problem, dude. Why don’t you go play your guitar? I’ve got it covered here.”

Looking at the man through narrowed eyes, Jake smirked. “I think there is a problem,
dude
. I think you need to let her go.”

“She’s fine. Aren’t you Maddie? At least you were the last time we hung out.”

He knows her name
?
Do they know each other
? No, Jake thought, she probably just introduced herself when she first went to the table. But the innuendo was as pointed as a knife.

Resting his hands on the table, Jake leaned in and did what he could to control himself. “I told you. Let her go. Now.”

“I don’t think so, man. We were just catching up. Isn’t that right, Maddie?”

Jake grabbed her and pulled her away from the guy. “Go, Maddie. Back to the bar. I’ll take care of this.”

“No, Jakey. Really. It’s all right. I went to college with these guys. Mark was just saying hello.”

Jake never broke eye contact with Mark. “It’s not all right. Go. Now,” he said, through clenched teeth.

Maddie protested a bit but what she saw in Jake’s face must have convinced her it would do no good. He was angry and, more than likely, he was about to zone everything out but the man and his friends. There was no reasoning with him when he got like this.

“You guys need to leave,” he snarled.

The rest of people in the bar were staring, knowing what would happen if these guys decided to stay. Billy was already on the phone to the sheriff.

“Nah. I think we’re going to stay,
Jakey
.” Mark said as he turned to give Maddie a head to toe once over. “We like the view in here.”

That was all Jake needed to hear. He grabbed Mark, lifted him out of the chair, and tossed him to the ground. Mark’s three buddies sprang up, and, quickly processing his odds, Jake went for the biggest one first. He knocked him into the next table with two hits to the face. Another swung at Jake but wasn’t quick enough with his punch to do any damage. Jake hit him square in the jaw with an empty beer mug he’d grabbed from the table. The last guy was helping Mark up off the floor. Jake stepped over, grabbed Mark, and started punching him in the face. The splatter of blood did nothing to detract from his focus. He didn’t hear Maddie screaming or the sheriff pull up. He barely felt anything as Billy pulled him off and the deputy slapped cuffs on his wrists. When he looked down, he saw Mark was unconscious and bloodied, his friends backing away.

Sheriff Finlay said, “Time to go, Jake.”

The last thing Jake saw as he was walking out was the glare Maddie threw at him. The last thing he heard was the ambulance pulling up as he ducked into the police car.

***

Jake shook the memories from his head and looked back at his phone.

“Not ready to deal with you today, Danny. Let’s just keep the personal out of it,” he spoke to himself as he threw the phone on the passenger seat without checking any of the messages.

Despite his inner demons, Jake was happy the sun was starting to peek through the clouds this morning. It was going to be hot, according to the weatherman, but Jake loved the heat. It made him just tired enough to crash when he got home. He didn’t think when he slept and, for that, he was grateful. He was tired of being held prisoner by his memories.

Halfway to work, he passed a girl on the side of the road kicking the tires of a Jeep. Through his rearview he noticed one of the rear tires was flat. Checking his watch, he pulled a U-turn and parked behind her. The first thing he noticed was her hair. It was wild and curly and the color of chocolate. Amused by the fact that she was yelling at the jeep while trying to find a signal on her cell phone, Jake chuckled to himself as he turned off his truck and stepped onto the road. “You know, kicking the tire won’t fix it.”

She gave him the once over with her honey-colored eyes and her annoyance was quickly replaced by wariness. “I’ll be okay. Just have to make a call.”

“Well, since I’m here, I could take a look at it. You know, see if I can fix it.”

With one hand on her hip, she used the other to push stray curls behind her ear. “Do you actually know how to change a flat?”

Jake laughed out loud. “I think I can manage. You have a full size attached to the back. I’ll just replace it. All you’ll have to do is buy a new replacement tire.”

He had a nice laugh but she still wasn’t sure if she could trust him. “Sure. Go ahead. If you try anything, I’ll kick your ass.”

Jake’s eyebrows shot up. She was so tiny; she barely came up to his shoulders. And he wasn’t sure she could do much damage in a blue sundress and flip-flops. “I’ll do my best to control myself. You have a jack?”

She softened a bit. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been driving forever. This is the last thing I needed right now. And I have no idea if I have a jack.”

“That’s okay. I’ll grab one from my truck. Where’re you coming from?”

“Connecticut.”

Jake paused. “Connecticut is a far cry from South Carolina. You sure you’re in the right place?”

Her laugh was warm. “Of course, I’m sure. Are you gonna help me or not?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

After retrieving the jack from his truck, Jake went to work on changing the tire. It took all of fifteen minutes. When he was done, he walked around to the front and waited while she finished her phone call. He noticed a couple of suitcases in the back and a camera on the front seat.

“I’ll be there soon. Don’t worry about me. Some nice guy just changed it for me...Yeah...No. I don’t think he’s a psycho murderer. Hold on.” Covering the mouthpiece with her hand she asked Jake, “Are you a psycho murderer?”

He shook his head and she went back to her conversation. “He’s not...Yeah, I know. See you soon...Love you, too.”

She punched off the call and looked at him. His eyes were so sad, tired. “Done?”

“Done. I just fastened the other tire to the back. There’s an auto shop about fifteen minutes down the road. Chase Peterson owns the place. You can tell him Jake sent you.”

“Well, Jake, thanks but my uncle told me he’d take care of it.”

“All right. Well, have a nice trip and be careful. Get that spare replaced.”

He turned to walk back to his truck when she stopped him.

“Hey, Jake! We didn’t properly introduce ourselves. I’m Lily. Lily Burns.”

“Nice to meet you, Lily Burns,” Jake said as he reached over to shake her outstretched hand.

“Nice to meet you, too, Jake. And thanks again for changing my tire.”

“Anytime. You have a nice trip to wherever you are going.”

“I will, thanks.”

Hands in his pockets, Jake walked back to his truck and watched as she climbed into hers. She started it up, pulled into the road, and drove off. It wasn’t until she was quite a ways down the road that he started up own truck, U-turned in the other direction, and headed to work.

The momentary distraction wasn’t unwelcome. The brief encounter was actually quite amusing. Lily seemed like such a breath of fresh air that Jake had made sure he filled his lungs, in case the past came back later to drown him. He was only slightly aware of the tingle he still felt in the palm of the hand she had shaken.

At the speed he was going, he pulled into the parking lot in five minutes. Danny was outside smoking a cigarette, waiting for him. Danny threw his hands in the air as he flicked the butt to the ground. “Jesus, Jake! Where have you been?”

“I had to change a tire.”

“All night? I’ve been calling you, texting you.”

“My phone was off.”

“Right, and I’m the Dalai Lama. You don’t make it easy for someone to apologize.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Jake said as he reached into the bed of his truck to grab his bag. He slung it over his shoulder and began walking towards the docks.

“I do. Look, I’m sorry I mentioned her. It wasn’t my place. Jesus, Jake! Would you stop and look at me?”

Jake stopped and turned to face his brother. He was quiet for a minute, reminding himself that Danny wasn’t the enemy. “Look. I’m really trying here. What do you want from me, Danny? I told you to leave it alone. You’re sorry for mentioning her and yet, here you are again, mentioning her. When the hell are you just gonna leave it alone? Look, she’s gone, all right? I know that.

“I’ll get over it when I’m ready. None of this happened to you. One minute my life was making sense and the next it was shattered into oblivion. I know you keep trying but you’ll never understand. Not completely. You’re just a bystander, an audience. You get to watch my life crumble, feel sorry for me, then go back home to your wife and kids—your perfect life. I don’t need your pity, your apologies, or your thoughts on the matter. Look, I’m late for work. Just let it go, Danny. Please.”

Danny was left standing alone in the parking lot as he watched his brother disappear through the building.
Aw, Jake,
he thought,
when are you gonna wake up
? He lit another cigarette and called his wife.

“Hey, Meg. I tried to apologize to Jake. He won’t have it. I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“Sweetie, just let it be,” she said. “Jake’s a big boy. He’ll snap out of it.”

“It’s been two years! Two years! What the hell is he waiting for?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t know what to tell you.”

CHAPTER 4

Lily pulled into the parking lot of her uncle’s place, got out, stretched, stared, and took in her surroundings. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and rolled her shoulders before she walked through the door.

There were only a few customers and the bar was exactly how she’d pictured it. The well-worn booths and aged hardwood flooring welcomed her like an old friend. The walls, a pale shade of blue, were sprinkled with photographs she’d taken over the years and sent to her uncle. She walked across the room, taking it all in, pulling her hands slowly across each table she passed.

“This is my home for the next few months,” she whispered.

Billy came in from the back, grabbed a menu, and hurried over to the young girl in the dining room. “What can I get you?” It wasn’t until she turned around that he recognized her. “Lily! You made it! How was the drive? Your tire’s okay? Let me look at you!” He spun her around, noticing just how much she looked like her mother. Even her laugh was the same.