Because of You

  Because of You

  Megan Nugen Isbell

  ©2017

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in the 1976 Copyright Act or by the publisher.

  Cover design: SK Designs

  Isbell, Megan, 1979

  ISBN 978-1548720278

  First Edition

  For my mother,

  who never let her past define her.

  For my father and husband for showing

  me what good men are.

  And for my daughter who I hope always

  remembers how priceless she is.

  One

  I could feel the barista staring at me. She’d been eyeing me off and on for the past half an hour. I’d ordered a coffee when I first parked myself at the table in front of the window with my laptop, but nothing since. It’d been two hours and I knew my loitering wasn’t going unnoticed. I didn’t need another coffee though, nor did I want to spend the five dollars it would cost. All another cup would do would make me pee and that would take time that I didn’t have. This paper was due tomorrow at nine a.m. and I had to work until nearly midnight. This was basically my last chance to get it done and with the Wi-Fi on the fritz at home, I had to bum a ride off of Café Java’s. I was nearly done though and I could do my last-minute edits before going to bed. I would get this done. I always did.

  I poured myself back into the paper, typing furiously as I checked my sources, ignoring the glares of the girl behind the counter. I looked down at the clock. It was nearly four. I had to be to work at five. I typed the last word and then shut my laptop, stuffing it into my bag. I reached into my pocket and left a couple of dollars on the table. It wasn’t nearly enough for the amount of time I’d spent using the internet, but it was what I could afford and I hoped the barista would understand. She had to. I knew she wasn’t rolling in dough if she was working in a place like this. She was probably a struggling college student just as I was, which was why she was annoyed I wasn’t ordering more and taking up a seat.

  “Thank you,” I said to her as I walked towards the door, giving her a smile, our eyes meeting for a second and her mouth remained a straight line until the corners turned up into a hesitant grin. Maybe she understood my situation after all.

  I stepped outside, the crisp fall air hitting me. I started towards my car, which was parked just down the street, but when I saw it, I felt my stomach drop. A cop was standing next to it, scrawling something down on a pad of paper and tucking it onto my windshield.

  “Dammit! The meter!” I exclaimed to myself as I started running towards the cop, praying I could talk him out of it.

  My bank account could not handle a parking ticket. I didn’t know why I even bothered trying to drive a car in the city. It was nothing but a nuisance, but I hadn’t wanted to walk or ride the T with my laptop and textbooks.

  “Officer! Wait! Please!” I called out.

  I was almost to the car and he turned around, obviously surprised to see me coming at him. I’d noticed he’d put his hand on his gun when he first heard my voice, but I guessed I didn’t appear threatening because he eased off it and folded his arms as I approached. I was out of breath when I reached him. I knew I shouldn’t have parked on a hill.

  “Can I help you, miss?” he asked and I glanced down at his badge. TORRES.

  “Yes, Officer Torres,” I said, doing my best to get myself together. If I had any hope of getting out of this ticket, I had to appear rational. “Did you just give me a ticket?”

  “I did. The meter’s expired.” He pointed to it and I looked down. Sure enough, it was glowing red. It’d expired ten minutes before.

  “I’m so sorry. I was working on a paper and I guess I lost track of time,” I said, walking over and pulling the piece of paper out from under the windshield wiper and looking down at it, an obvious sigh of frustration escaping when I saw the $150 fine.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Everly,” he said and I looked up in surprise that he knew my last name. “It was on the registration when I looked up the license plate while issuing the ticket.”

  “Yeah,” I said quietly, my body leaning against the car as I sighed again, staring down at the ticket, wondering how I was going to spare the money for the fine. “It’s not your fault. You’re just doing your job. I should’ve been more careful with the time.”

  “Listen, Miss Everly,” he began.

  “Sam,” I interrupted and I looked up from the ticket. He couldn’t have been much older than me, which probably explained why he was on traffic patrol.

  “Listen, Sam,” he corrected himself. “I don’t give tickets to ruin people’s days.”

  “Could’ve fooled me,” I said with a laugh as I held up the ticket and I immediately regretted my sarcasm. “I’m sorry, Officer Torres,” I said in immediate apology. “That was unnecessary and inappropriate and I’m sorry. My frustration got the best of me. I’ve got to be to work in an hour and I was trying to get as much work done on my paper before I have to turn it in tomorrow. It’s my own fault though. I should’ve been more mindful of the time when I paid the meter. Have a good day.” My voice did not share the cordial words that left my mouth. I reached into my bag for my keys, unlocking the door and setting my bag on the passenger seat.

  “We all have bad days,” the officer said. His voice was kind and it caused me to turn around, looking into his eyes which were nearly as dark as the black uniform he was wearing. He walked closer to me, pulling the ticket from my hand and crumpling it up before putting it in his pocket.

  “What…what’re you doing?”

  “Cutting you a break.”

  “But why?” I asked. I wasn’t used to people doing nice things like this for me.

  “Because everyone needs one once in a while and something tells me today’s your day.”

  He smiled and I sighed again, this time in relief. I smiled back immediately, fighting the urge to give this man a hug of thanks.

  “Won’t you get in trouble though?” I asked, suddenly worried about him, but he shook his head.

  “I’ll be fine. You have a nice evening at work and good luck on your paper.”

  “Thank you,” I said, pushing a piece of my wavy brown hair behind my ear. “Truly, thank you so much.”

  “Don’t mention it,” he said and then he glanced towards the bags on the seat of my car. “What’s the paper for anyway? It must’ve been thrilling if it cost you to lose all sense of time.”

  “It’s for my American History class.”

  “History?”

  “Yeah. It’s my major.”

  “Where do you go?” he asked because it felt like there were a million colleges in Boston.

  “Immanuel,” I told him and he nodded.

  “Good school and right by Fenway. Can’t beat that.”

  “No. You can’t,” I said and I smiled again at him.

  “Well, good luck with the paper, Miss Everly.”

  “Thank you,” I said and then it was quiet for a few seconds. “And thank you again for being so understanding. I owe you one.”

  “Just set a timer the next time you use a meter.” He tipped his hat to me and smiled before turning and walking to the next meter. I stood at my car for another moment, thankful for the kindness Officer Torres had shown to me and then I reached into my bag for my credit card, swiping the meter and giving the next person a free hour of parking.

  I glanced once more at the policeman and I knew he must’ve seen me put money on the meter because he grinned and nodded at me before I got in the car and drove back to my apartment.r />
  I’d caught a break today and I hoped it was a sign that my night at work would be just as lucky.

  “I was beginning to think you were never coming home.”

  My sister Rachel was sitting on the couch watching TV and eating a bowl of cereal. I could tell she’d only woken up recently by the mats in her hair. While most people were winding down for the day at this time, she was just getting started with hers, having to work third shift in the labor and delivery department at Mass General. She amazed me sometimes. Despite everything we’d been through, she’d overcome it all and was in her second year as a registered nurse. I’d never seen anyone work as hard as her and I wished someday to be half the woman she was.

  Even though we were sisters, we didn’t look anything alike, probably because we had different fathers. While my hair was brown, hers was blonde. While hers was pencil straight, mine was wavy. And while my eyes were blue, hers were brown. She was taller too and out of the two of us, she was the one with her head on her shoulders and she was doing her best to keep me on track. I attributed that to our three-year age difference. She’d had to grow up fast and she was the one I always looked to because she’d always been the one to keep us safe and I didn’t know what I’d do without her.

  “I got caught up working on my paper,” I said, setting my stuff down and hurrying down the hall to my bedroom, stripping off my sweat shirt and yoga pants I’d been wearing and replacing it with a pair of jeans and the required green polo shirt that had O’Leary’s stitched across the right breast pocket in yellow thread. Working at an Irish pub wasn’t my dream job, but the tips could be decent and it worked with my school schedule.

  “Did you at least get it finished?” I looked towards my door and saw my sister standing in the doorway, her arms folded seriously.

  “Yes, Mother. I just have a few edits to do when I get home.”

  “You shoudn’t wait till the last minute, Sam.”

  “I didn’t. For your information, I’ve been working on that paper for weeks.”

  I saw her roll her eyes.

  “How could you have when you were spending all your time with Tyler?”

  It was my turn to roll my eyes.

  “Don’t start with this, Rache.”

  “I don’t like him,” she said, her mouth forming into the same stern line she always had when talking about my boyfriend of the past six months.

  “Why not?”

  “You know why.” She was glaring at me now and I just brushed past her, walking into the bathroom, where I pulled my hair up into a ponytail.

  “You barely even know Tyler.”

  “I know enough. I’ve seen enough.”

  Our eyes locked and I just shook my head before kissing her quickly on the cheek and going back to the living room to grab my purse.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Rache. Have a good night at work,” I called to her.

  “Please text me when you get home tonight so I know you’re safe,” she called back, but I could tell she was still annoyed at me. She’d get over it though. She always did.

  “Yes, Mother,” I said before I closed the door and it was all too easy to see the image of my sister’s eyes rolling in my mind as I headed out to work.

  Two

  O’Leary’s wasn’t a bad place to work. We had our regulars come in and sit at the bar for their after-work drink and to watch the Pats, Sox, Celtics or Bruins play, depending on the season. Mostly they were old or middle aged men and I was used to their flirting, inappropriate comments and occasional slaps on the backside as I walked by. Sometimes it bothered me, but I’d learned to ignore it. It came with the territory; the other servers had told me when I first started a year ago and now I’d just give it right back to them.

  The pub was popular with college kids too and people around the neighborhood. It was busy most of the time, which was good for me since that meant decent tips, all of which went to my college expenses and helping Rachel with the rent.

  Living in Boston wasn’t cheap and she’d been determined to find us a decent place in a safe part of the city. We could’ve had an apartment for half the rent down in Dorchester or Southie, but Rachel felt it was worth the extra money to be out of those places. We’d spent enough of our lives in less than savory dwellings. She made a good wage as an RN, but she had student loans to pay off, which is why we made sacrifices, including shotty Wi-Fi and only the most basic cable package we could find.

  The night went by quickly and when I finally clocked out close to midnight, my wallet was stuffed with tips. It’d been a good night and I was smiling as I walked out. It was October, which meant the days could be comfortable and the evenings could be chilly. Tonight was one of those nights and I could’ve kicked myself for not bringing a sweater. I’d been in such a hurry to get to work, I hadn’t realized I’d walked out without something to keep me warm afterwards. It wasn’t a huge deal. It was only a few blocks back to our apartment, so I crossed my arms closely to my chest to keep warm and walked briskly.

  “Hey, sexy lady. Need a ride?”

  I heard a voice and my heart started to pound with nerves. I turned quickly and breathed out a sigh of relief when I realized it was Tyler. He was sitting in his car, obviously having followed me out of the pub. The window was rolled down and he was looking at me with a sly grin.

  “What’re you doing here?” I asked, leaning into the window, the warm air from the heater feeling good against my skin.

  “I thought you could use a ride home. You shouldn’t be walking the streets alone at night. Plus, it looks as if you’ve forgotten your coat. It’s a little chilly out there. Hop in.”

  I didn’t think twice as I opened the door to the silver Audi, grateful to be out of the cold.

  “Thank you,” I said as he put the car in drive and eased back into the street. The streets of Boston were usually jam packed, but at midnight, the streets were nearly empty and he had no trouble navigating towards my apartment.

  “How was work?” he asked as he turned a corner.

  “Good. I made a lot in tips tonight,” I said, smiling over to him, but Tyler didn’t smile. His perfect jawline clenched and his mouth remained in a firm line. “What is it?” I asked, reaching over and placing my hand on his knee. He took my hand and laced our fingers together, holding it tightly.

  “I know why you get those tips and I don’t like knowing men are leering at you all night or what you have to do to get those tips.”

  “I don’t do anything,” I said, trying to reassure him. Ever since I’d known Tyler, he’d had a jealous streak. I’d seen it the first night I met him.

  He and his friends had taken over a booth in the back of O’Leary’s. Most of them were trashed, but not Tyler. I’d noticed him the moment they’d been seated in my section. I could tell he was tall, even though he was sitting down, and he was strong. That was apparent by the muscles on his arms that were folded on the table. He had a face like you’d see in those ridiculous cologne ads on TV. Almost too perfect. His hair was that shade somewhere blonde and brown and it was styled so perfectly, I knew he was wearing more product in it than I was. He was looking thoroughly annoyed, but then I approached.

  “Welcome to O’Leary’s,” I’d said, doing my best not to feel uncomfortable the way I often did when serving a table full of hormone ridden guys in my peer group. They typically had no manners and I suspected this crowd was no different, but then Tyler looked up at me and when he smiled, I immediately relaxed. “My name’s Sam and I’ll be taking care of you tonight.”

  “I wouldn’t mind if you took care of me all night. What time do you get off?” The lewd remark had come from the dark-haired guy next to him and Tyler whipped his head towards him, the smile instantly gone, replaced with the same clenched jaw I was looking at now as we drove. “Have some damn manners.”

  The guy next to him seemed to recoil like a scolded puppy. I could tell by the reaction, Tyler was the one who ruled this group. The dark-haired guy mumbled a half
-hearted apology and I took their drink orders, all of which were spirted except for Tyler’s.

  The evening had gone on. They’d ordered their meals and multiple rounds of drinks, their level of obnoxious raising as each glass emptied. Not Tyler though. He’d had nothing but water.

  I knew their time at O’Leary’s was winding down as they left their sloppy leftovers on the table. I went to start clearing plates and Tyler helped me to collect them. I was taken with how polite he was and I could feel my cheeks blush whenever he’d smile at me. He’d just handed me a glass and I turned to walk away when I felt a pinch on my ass. I turned around quickly, but before I could say anything to his friend, Tyler’s hand was on the guy’s, squeezing tightly.

  “Don’t touch her like that,” he said through gritted teeth. His voice was low, but threatening and after a few seconds, he finally eased his grip, but I could see the red marks left behind on the guy’s arm. “Grow the hell up.”

  I didn’t wait to see how this was going to pan out and so I walked away, depositing the dishes in the kitchen and when I turned to head back to the dining room, I was surprised to see Tyler standing there waiting for me.

  “Did you need something?” I asked, trying to act as if I wasn’t thinking about the groping earlier.

  “Yeah. I need to apologize for my friends.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” I told him, shrugging it off.

  “They’re a bunch of idiots and I apologize for the way they’ve treated you tonight,” he said and I was quiet for a second as I thought how to respond.

  “Thank you,” I said softly. “I appreciate that.”

  He smiled at me and it was the first time I noticed his eyes. They were an interesting shade of brown. There were golden specks sprinkled throughout, but they weren’t hazel. They were simply beautiful.

  “Can I make it up to you?”

  “That’s not necessary,” I said, unable to break our gaze.