“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 f**k 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.
When they reached the door to the kitchen, Brennan said, “Wait here.”
Devon stood around, twiddling her thumbs. She wished she knew why he had brought her here. She didn’t know what had compelled her to follow him, except that it had all been so sudden. She hadn’t expected to see him any more than he was expecting to see her.
Loud strong language from the back broke her out of her thoughts. All she could really grasp from the conversation was that he was late for work. That must have been why he had been running. She didn’t suspect he was the kind of person who was usually late, but she didn’t really know him all that well. Maybe it was a regular thing for him to show up late. Maybe that was why his hair had always been rumpled.
A couple minutes later, Brennan walked back out of the kitchen with a woman in tow. Devon had never seen her before when she had spent time in Jenn’s, but that didn’t surprise her. The woman wasn’t wearing the typical uniform. Instead, she was clad in a form-fitting dress. She looked well-kept, and Devon wondered what she was doing back in the kitchen.
“Devon,” Brennan said, facing her, “this is Jenn Yarrow.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Devon said, sticking out her hand.
“Brennan said you are looking for a job,” she said with a thick Northern accent. “You have any waitressing experience?”
“Yes, ma’am. I worked as a waitress in Nashville for a few summers,” Devon said, her hopes flaring.
“First off, don’t call me ma’am. That’s my mom or my mother-in-law, God strike her down,” Jenn said, tilting her head to the sky. “Second, we work with test-runs only. You make it through today, and I’ll hire you. Otherwise, you can keep your tips and have a nice day.”
Jenn threw a towel at her, and Devon caught it, feeling shocked.
“So…is this like an interview?”
“What does it look like?” Jenn rolled her eyes and looked at Brennan as if she were asking what kind of person he had brought into the place. “There’s a change of clothes in the back. I’ll check on you at closing time.” With that, she turned and walked away.
“What just happened?” Devon stood completely still, holding a hand towel.
“The owner just gave you a job as long as you make it through today,” Brennan told her. “So, make it through today.”
Chapter Ten - Rebellion
DEVON PEELED OFF her uniform in the women’s restroom at the back of Jenn’s Restaurant. As she changed back into her street clothes, her arms and feet ached, her mind was whirring, and she felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion coursing throughout her entire body. The whole thing made her wonder why she hadn’t gotten a job earlier. She was so busy that she had forgotten everything else, like her reason for being in Chicago, her best friend on drugs, and Brennan’s eyes always finding her in the room.
Okay, she wasn’t busy enough not to notice Brennan, but it felt different now. She couldn’t react or respond like she normally would have because there were simply too many customers who had kept her occupied.
Jenn had met her at the door when the bar closed. Apparently, she wasn’t one for long-winded conversations. She told Devon to keep the towel and the extra uniform if she didn’t have any other clothing that would work. That was lucky because Devon hadn’t brought anything like it with her. She would have to use some of her tips to buy new clothes and more comfortable shoes. Jenn had told her to come in every night for the rest of the week. She hadn’t bothered to ask if the closing shift was okay for Devon. Jenn had mentioned that she would give Devon an official schedule the following week, and Devon suspected she would remain on the night shift.