Bone Diggers (Paperback out now!)

Bone Diggers - Chapter Forty Two

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Andreah and Owen fell into whatever was their natural way of working the next few days. Owen arrived a little early for once, and oddly enough, so had Andreah. She was settled and already one empty coffee mug into the evening. Her job at the courier service must have been letting her off early.

Andreah looked up at Owen as he walked in. "Jorge is looking for you."

"Oh yeah?" Owen said, as he dropped his bag onto the chair.

Andreah nodded. "He told me to call his secretary when you arrived. But I'm not your secretary, so he can honestly go fuck himself."

Owen couldn't help but grin at her.

"Well, now that you're here, I'm going to go hide, and act like I had no idea you ever arrived." She picked up her laptop before opening the door to the small private office they rarely used. It was mostly reserved for when one of them didn't want the company of the other. She stopped herself from fully closing the door enough to look back at him. "If you want, I'll share, so you can safely avoid Jorge until you need to stream."

The room barely passed as a supply closet. Andreah sat on the desk while Owen leaned against the door. Andreah ignored her responsibilities for a while longer and messed around on her phone. Owen was about to say something, until he heard someone enter the other room. He moved away from the door and towards the desk, hoping whoever it was wouldn't check their refuge. Someone mumbled to themselves about needing to find Owen. Jorge. A few seconds passed before Owen heard him finally shuffle out again.

Owen turned back to look at Andreah who had her phone camera pointed at the door. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I was hoping if he caught us I could catch all the different colors his face turned." Now that the opportunity had passed, she put her phone down. "It's safe now. He's too lazy to check again, I think. Do you want to go back out?"

"I don't trust he won't come back."

Andreah smiled softly, leaning back with her palms against the desk. "Look at us slacking off together."

"Yeah, look at us..." Owen's words slipped out so softly that they gave a chill to the air.

Andreah glanced away as the sense washed over her. Owen could tell she had some comment tucked up her sleeve. She sat up, and crossed her arms over her chest. "I wanted to talk about the other day. What I suggested before I left wasn't true, I shouldn't have said it."

Owen almost wanted to mimic her body language, but instead he stood awkwardly in front of her. "It's okay. It's just...we're on the same team. I will stand up for what's right, and I didn't understand why you weren't. And I probably should have asked what you wanted to do about it." He fiddled with his jacket, not completely sure he was saying the right thing. Andreah simply nodded, before averting her eyes to the floor. Somehow, Owen found some more to say.

"When we broke up, I didn't originally miss you as much as I thought I would." Owen knew his words sounded harsh and abrupt, but carefully tried to hold Andreah's attention. "I was too hurt, too angry, too...everything. But now, there's no avoiding you anymore, and I don't think I want to, either." Owen shook his head, and looked away himself. "I guess, what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry I said things before I didn't mean either. I don't even know how you feel anymore."

A beat passed before Andreah glanced back up. "I feel cowardly, and nervous," she confessed. The tension she felt for weeks melted, and instead of pushing him away, her fingers reached out to touch him. Her eyes fell to her hands as if to silently question what they were doing as Owen edged closer. "I didn't want you to care, Owen." Andreah paused again, her lungs pulling in a wavering breath. "And I didn't want to care."