I’ve been mindlessly wipingthe same spot on the counter for the last ten minutes. I know if I don’t stop, I’m gonna fuck up the countertop and I can’t afford to fix something like that right now.
“Earth to Nessa. Helloooo?” Rory waves her hand in front of my face, and I blink, snapping back to reality.
“Huh? Were you saying something?” I ask, tossing the rag onto the back counter.
“Nothing Earth-shattering. What’s up with you?” She leans both elbows on the counter, dropping her face into her hands.
When Rory left my shop to open her own dance studio, I was sad to see her go but so happy to watch her follow her heart to where it truly belonged. Now, most days she spends more time here than she ever did when she was employed at Mug Life.
“Can I ask you something?” I busy myself with clearing pastry plates and coffee cups off tables as she watches me intently.
“Of course.” She takes the dishes from me, placing them into the sink behind the counter.
“It’s kind of…personal. Feel free to tell me to fuck off.” I joke, knowing she keeps most of her personal life to herself when it comes to the business side of Breaker’s world.
“How much do you know about Sebastian?” I ask, and she stops walking, propping her hip against the counter.
“More than a little, less than a lot. What kind of information are you looking for, Ness?” She raises an eyebrow at me, and I fall into a chair across from her, resting my head on my palm.
“He said something the other day. It just made me wonder,” I tell her. I’m not sure how much I should really say, if anything at all. Maybe Breaker keeps Rory completely in the dark about the things he does.
“Are you asking me about the man? Or about his business?” She sits in the chair across from me, a smirk painting her lips.
“I’m not interested in him.” My expression is unfazed. I mean it with every ounce of my being, I am not at all interested in fucking Sebastian.
“Uh huh. And the six foot asshole warming my bed every night wasn’t interested in me at all either.ANYWAYS, if you’re asking me for specifics, I can’t give them to you. But if you’re asking me if he’s a good man, I can tell you he is. He’s protected my family and people I love in ways I can’t even begin to explain.” There’s a sincerity in her eyes that’s unmistakable.
“Good men don’t cut people’s tongues out, Rory.” I scoff, thinking she’ll be appalled. But she doesn’t even flinch.
For a moment, she just stares back at me as if she’s wondering if I’m being serious. Standing with a shrug, she walks over to the cooler and places a five dollar bill down before taking a water bottle out and twisting off the top. She takes a long drink, leaving me swimming in my own thoughts. Just before I feel like I might drown, she clears her throat, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at me.
“You of all people know this world isn’t black and white, Vanessa. People aren’t always just good and evil. Do you think my husband is a bad man?” She asks, and I jerk back.
“What? No! Of course not!” I exclaim. Breaker is one of the most caring, selfless people I’ve ever met. Rigid and a bit of an asshole if you cross him? Maybe. But never an evil man.
“Yet you would be shocked by the number of lives he’s taken in my defense. In the defense of others he loves. There are skeletons in his closet stacked so high they’d bury him alive. But I choose to see him for who he is, Vanessa. Who he really is.” She has so much faith in the man he is, it makes me jealous.
“Sebastian is different. I can feel it. He’s not…he’s just not the same kind of man Breaker is, Aurora. He’s colder.” I stare out the front windows, watching the cars driving by at a snail’s pace. This town is always so slow, so safe.
“Cut him some slack. The world he lives in isn’t like ours. Some things just require you to be more detached. More…dickhead-like. Sometimes bad people do good things for the right reasons, Ness.” Her sly smile makes my head swim. What the hell does that even mean?
Is Sebastian a bad guy? A good guy who does bad things? A fucking vigilante? Who the hell knows? I feel way more confused than I did at the beginning of this conversation. All I wanted was a simple yes or no, and she gave me fifty shades of fucking confusion.
“I’m trying to ask you if I’m safe around him. Normal people don’t cut people’s body parts off, Aurora. But evidently Sebastian has.” I roll my eyes, wondering even more now if his threat was a gross exaggeration or something far more sinister. But I don’t have to think too hard. I know he meant it. I’ve seen the truth in his eyes when he spoke. The man has no need to lie or place empty threats at my feet. His real experiences are scary enough.
“I’ll put it this way. Would I leave him alone to babysit Jasper? No, butonlybecause I’d worry more for Sebastian's sanity than Jasper’s safety.” She laughs softly, and in all of her unspoken words, I have my answers. There is nothing in this world she holds more dearly than the safety of her son. If she would trust Sebastian to protect him, then he can’t really be all that bad. Can he?
Not wanting this man to occupy any more space in my mind than he already has, I force him from my thoughts.
“New subject. I missed you in class this week. Are you cheating on me with a different yoga class?” I joke, lightening the mood.
A small smile teases across her lips, and she avoids my eyes. Rory isn’t ever one to beat around the bush in telling me things how they are, so her avoidance is odd behavior.
“Something you want to share with the class, Mrs. Negan?” I cock a brow at her, and she drops her head back, staring up at the ceiling as if she's contemplating giving me the codes for nuclear launch.
“If I tell you, you absolutely can not tell my husband that you know. He’s so sensitive, Ness. I know he doesn’t seem like it, but he is, and he wants to be careful…,” she trails off, looking out the front window, completely lost in her thoughts.
“Cross my heart, hope to…well, let's not have anybody dying around here, okay?” I take her hand in mine, pulling her attention back to me. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”
