“Jenn won’t clear me even though I told her it wasn’t that bad.  She said I handle food, and she doesn’t want me to contaminate her customers.”

A faint smile touched his face when he finally looked up at her.  He really didn’t look good.  No wonder Jenn was sending him home.

“That sucks,” she said, not sure what else to say.

He felt so far away.  Through his music, she felt like they had connected on a different level, one that even she couldn’t figure out.  Yet, she had left, and now, it was like he was an empty vessel.

“Hey, how did your medical exams go?”  She hoped changing the subject would bring him out of his funk.  She had forgotten to ask him about it at his show.

He visibly flinched at the words.  “Fine.”

She wasn’t sure how she had managed to make him even less comfortable. “Do you think you’ll get into the schools you want?”

“We’ll just wait and see,” he responded dryly.

It was the same tone she had used with her mother.  That wasn’t good.

“Well…good luck,” she muttered.

“I’ve got to get out of here.  Not feeling as well as I thought, I guess.  I’ll see you around, Devon,” he said with a half-smile before he walked out the back door.

She watched him leave with a heavy weight on her chest.  Hadn’t she left St. Louis to escape her problems?  Why did it feel like the farther she ran, the more problems kept piling up?  Nothing was working, and she couldn’t hide out in Chicago forever.  She would have to face what had happened to her before school started or else it would only get worse.

Somehow, she would have to factor Brennan into all of that because whatever she was feeling wasn’t going away.  Her stomach twisted at that thought.  Brennan didn’t need to be anywhere near her problems…they could get him killed.

JENN WAS BEYOND bitchy when she finally found Devon.  Devon couldn’t really blame her; it was a holiday.  Who was late on the Fourth of July?  She was missing all the fun with parades, barbeques, and American flags everywhere outside.  She wished that she could have had the day off, but Jenn’s was slammed.  Hannah had called in sick, and there was no way that Jenn was going to let Devon leave early, especially after she had shown up twenty minutes late.

The only good part about being this busy was that Devon didn’t have any time to think.  She was on her feet all morning, literally running at some points to get through orders faster.  Her head was pounding by noon, and her feet hurt like the first day she had started working there.

Just as she was taking her first break of the day, Devon saw Hadley walk into the restaurant.  Hadley had been as scarce in the apartment as when Devon had first confronted her about the drugs.  This time, Devon was pretty sure that it wasn’t her fault though.  She had never found out what had caused Hadley’s argument with Garrett.  Hadley hadn’t been around all week, so Devon hadn’t gotten the chance to ask her.

Garrett hadn’t been acting any differently toward her.  He clearly didn’t know that Devon knew about the argument.  The more time she spent with him, the more she thought it must be Hadley’s fault.  He wouldn’t be that carefree about the situation if it had been his fault.  She knew because she felt terribly guilty for leaving St. Louis, like it was her fault for not facing her problems, for not somehow being better.

Garrett didn’t show any signs of feeling bad about the argument, whereas Devon knew Hadley was using.

Hadley’s eyes roamed the restaurant, and when she found Devon, she bit her lip and nodded her head to the side.

Hmm…

Devon was on her break, so she did have some time to talk to Hadley, but all things considered, it was weird that Hadley wanted to talk to her.  It was also strange that Hadley was alone.  It was a holiday.  She should have been with her family, or with Garrett, or with Garrett’s family.

What the hell? Devon thought, deciding to go find out.

“Hey, do you have a minute?” Hadley asked when Devon reached her.  “I know it’s packed in here.”

“I’m on break actually,” Devon said.

Hadley looked relieved and motioned for her to follow her outside.  Devon’s curiosity was getting the better of her.  She wasn’t going to miss a chance to talk to Hadley even if Devon wasn’t sure of the circumstances.

They walked around the side of the building and stood in the alleyway facing the street.  It wasn’t exactly private, but it was more privacy than they would get inside.  Plus, if Jenn saw Devon in the break room, she would likely flip, and Devon’s fifteen minutes would be up.  Devon leaned back against the brick building and waited for Hadley to say something.

“Hey,” Hadley said awkwardly as if she wasn’t talking to her best friend.

“What’s up, Hadley?” Devon asked, knowing there was something to this.

What was she going to ask for—money for her drugs?  Devon couldn’t help thinking the worst of Hadley, and it made her feel bad.  Hadley was her best friend, and Devon needed to act like it.  Just because she was going through her own issues didn’t mean she couldn’t keep trying to help Hadley.  It was something Devon could work toward, but it was another thing she had just as little control over.

Hadley sighed and looked down at the ground.  “I didn’t know who else to talk to,” she whispered.

She sounded more like the Hadley that Devon knew before she had found out Hadley was on drugs.

“About what?” Devon asked carefully.  She didn’t want to scare Hadley off.

Hadley swallowed and fidgeted.  “I’ve…I’ve been trying to quit.”

“That’s great, Hadley!” Devon cheered.

“I’m still working on it,” she said, fidgeting some more.  “I didn’t really come to talk about that though.  I just…just thought you should know.”

Damn!  That was the best news she’d had all day.  Devon didn’t know exactly what it meant, but at least it showed that Hadley knew she had a problem.  Progress was progress.

“I’m really glad you told me,” Devon said honestly.

“There’s, um…more.”  Hadley bit her lip and moved from the ball of her foot to the other.  “Garrett and I got into this huge fight the other night.”

“You did?” Devon asked, feigning surprise.  Now wasn’t the time to reveal that she already knew this much.

“Yeah.  You might have noticed I haven’t been at the apartment much.”

“I did.”

“Well, I just got so angry at him.  I…I slapped him, Dev,” Hadley said, her hands shaking.  “Gah, I mean…what happens if we break up, and he kicks me out of the apartment?  It’s his place.  He could do it if he wanted.”

Hadley was blabbering on, and Devon was just staring at her, surprised that Hadley had told her.

“Wait…wait…back it up,” Devon said.  “What were you even fighting about?”

“That’s the thing.  I don’t even know.  It all just escalated and got way out of hand,” Hadley said, glancing off into the distance.

Devon knew that look anywhere.  She was lying.  Everyone was lying to her.  It was only fitting, considering she was lying to everyone else, too.

“Hadley, come on.  I know you too well.  What happened?” Devon prodded.  She took a chance and reached out to touch Hadley’s hand.

Hadley flinched but let her take it.

“You can tell me what happened.”

“I wasn’t in a good place the night it happened.  I was trying to stay off of it for the show.  It was…bad.  Then, he kept acting so funny, and he made some fucking cocky remark.  I freaked out and started yelling at him.  I don’t know, Dev.”  She stared at the ground with an expression on her face like she did know.  “I think he might be cheating on me.”

Devon stared at her with her mouth hanging open.  Garrett?  Cheating on her?  No.  That didn’t make any sense.  That just didn’t add up.  When would he have time to do that?  He worked all day when he didn’t live in the gym.  His body was a testament to his dedication in that area.  The only other time he was awake and not with Hadley was when he was goofing off with Devon late at night.