The Lost Night by Megan Winters

Author:Megan Winters [Winters, Megan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Miranda & Maxwell Books
Published: 2022-02-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

I don’t remember telling Autumn about Jake’s death, but apparently, I did. She knows he fell through the ice and was swept away by the current. Whatever else I said is a mystery. I could’ve told her about Heather and the suicide note. I could’ve brought up the fight at the party last year and mentioned the guy who had me on my knees at gunpoint. I could’ve told her about Jake tapping his hockey stick on the ice. And the guilt I’ve carried for a year.

I could’ve.

But she didn’t mention any of it.

“You guys were at a party next to the river. Jake went out on the ice to shoot a puck around while you were drinking. He fell through, and the current pulled him underneath, away from the hole. You couldn’t find him. You crawled out on your belly and reached in the water, but he wasn’t there.”

That’s not what I officially told people. I need to keep my story straight.

“Holy Mary-Mother…” Our bartender, Tim, frowns at the beet color across the bridge of my nose. “Dylan, what the heck happened to your face?”

“Just a fight,” I say, unlocking the bar to let him inside. I turn on the overhead lights and the neon signs in the front windows.

“Guess you lost.” He laughs.

“No, he did. Sorry I’m late.”

“No problem. I was just freezing my balls off for twenty minutes while you were out getting snacks to stuff your face.” He thumbs at the take-out box loaded with chicken wings that I’m carrying. “You look like shit. What was the fight over?”

“The usual.”

“Ah. Hope she was worth it.” He follows me behind the bar.

“This one is definitely worth it.” I fill a glass of water and head toward the back hallway. “I’ll be in the office for a few hours. I have to place some orders. Gina will be in at six to serve.”

I set the take-out box on my cluttered desk and put on my black baseball cap, lowering it over my eyes, settling in for the night. The warm swirl of Vicodin has taken away the pain from the fight. It’s an incredible high. I understand why people get hooked on it. My addictive urges are already pining for more.

Pining for Autumn, too.

I send her a text—one last contact before I lose myself in my work.

Can’t wait 2CU Friday.

I lock my ankles under the chair, jiggling my feet in anticipation. She texts me back immediately, a set of emoji lips and an eggplant, making me chuckle.

Cute, Autumn.

The nervous wave that always takes over my stomach when a girl has me whipped has returned. Months spent taking home one-night stands from the bar did nothing for me. Autumn is different. She silences my thoughts of Heather and Jake better than alcohol or having a quickie with some random girl. She’s the start of something good.

I look up when I see a large shadow in the hallway, and I’m not at all surprised when my smile for Autumn dies at the sight of Ed.

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