Page 37 of Unruly

Yeah, he’s definitely drunk.

I sigh. “Our marriage is over.”

There’s a pause, then a scoff. “Yeah, I know. When did you become such a bitch?”

“I’m not doing this … I’m hanging up⁠—”

His voice raises. “Do you really think ignoring me is going to fix this? You ran away—that’s what this is. You packed your shit and ran back to Cedarbrook the second things got hard for us.”

I lean my forehead against the cool wall. “We lost a baby. I was in the hospital alone for hours while you fu⁠—”

“Don’t start with that,” he cuts in. “We both lost the baby.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. I know he’s right. My therapist let me know that regardless, it was his baby too. But there’s a huge difference between what he lost and what I lost, he just can’t say it out loud. “Zachary … please⁠—”

He interrupts me, “But you turned it into this massive thing—blew up eight years of marriage because you couldn’t handle it. Couldn’t just get over it and move forward like a normal person.”

“You betrayed me, Zach.”

“I gave you everything you ever wanted—big wedding, beautiful house. Anything you wanted was yours, baby. I made a mistake—one I will never make again. Just come home, Halle.”

“I can’t. That’s not home.”

“And you think that shit hole of a town is? Your dad tells me you’re just playing bartender with your aunt. Is it because she understands that you’re … you know?”

“Don’t fucking go there,” I say, my tone angry.

“Then come home. Let’s fix this. We can be a family. Pepper misses you.”

Oh … now he’s using the fucking dog on me. I peek out from the back room and notice Cash behind the bar—serving drinks. Fuck. He’ll give everyone free shots if I don’t get back. What the fuck is he thinking?

“I have to go. I have customers.”

He laughs, short and ugly. “You’re going to regret this—throwing everything away over something we could’ve worked through. Your dad agrees with me, you know? But you’ve dyed your hair pink and ride a motorcycle the same color, like some stupid teenager in rebellion. It’s pathetic—you’re pathetic. You ran from our problems instead of facing them.”

“You need to leave my family alone and stay out of my decisions. I’m a grown woman.”

“You need to come to your fucking senses, or I’m going to knock them into you. So hurry up and come home soon … Or I’m coming to bring you home, sweetheart.” He sneers the last word.

I hang up before he can say anything else, blocking the number immediately. My hands are shaking as I shove the phone back into my pocket. Taking a few breaths, I count to ten as a lone tear streaks down my cheek. Squaring my shoulders, I wipe it away and walk back out. The bar looks exactly the same.

No one noticed, except Cash. He’s behind the bar when I come out of the hallway, which is its own problem because he has absolutely no business being back here. He’s got a bottle of Tito’s in his hand, trying to do a trick shot for Hank and Larry, and he’s about to drop the bottle.

“What are you doing?” I ask, keeping my voice low.

“You were gone a while.” He sets the bottle down. “Figured someone should cover.”

“I don’t need you to cover.”

“You okay?”

“Fine.”

“Halle—”

“Cash.” I take the Tito’s out of his hand and put it back on the shelf. “Get out from behind my bar, go back to your pool table, and stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”