No Hard Feelings

four

F O U R

JOSH HAD CHEATED on Hadley.

Josh had fucking cheated on Hadley and Dexter can't for the life of him figure out why on earth she's back with him now when he can't even figure out why she agreed to go out with that bastard in the first place eight months ago.

Dexter doesn't understand her, and for the first time in a very, very long time, he wants some time away from her.

Because he's pissed. And confused. And a little hurt, because how could Hadley choose to stay with Josh, when she so easily threw what she and Dexter had? How could she choose to stay with Josh, when she didn't think the good times she and Dexter had two years ago were worth saving?

How could she keep Josh and not him?

The thought stabs a knife into his chest, and now that it's planted there, he can't seem to pull it out, so it stays there like a giant fucking splinter struggling to dig its way into his bloodstream.

He feels almost betrayed, and he can't stop the waves of anger that follow immediately after.

The last time he felt like this was so long ago that he no longer knows what to make of his feelings. All he knows is that he doesn't want to be around her right now, and he finds himself thanking his lucky stars when Tito Robert asks Hadley to run some errands with Taylor.

"A big order just came up," he had announced, "and we need more supplies."

It's only when she leaves that he realizes how suffocated he's been feeling around her lately. It's like he's been holding his breath all this time, and only now that she has left the vicinity do his lungs finally settle back into their natural rhythm.

You're fine, he thinks to himself. You and Hadley are fine.

He just needs to cool off and get his mind off things for a moment or two. To remind himself why he chose to stay when she had already tried to kick him out of her life before, and to remember why he never once regretted his decision. He just needs to realign his thoughts and get rid of the confusion that's been plaguing him ever since the night they had sex, because honestly?

That night still confuses the fuck out of him.

With a shake of his head, he clears his thoughts and instead pours his concentration into his work.

That's the good thing about Dexter. It takes a lot to set him off, but not much to get him to calm down, and by the time the customers start rolling in, he's already back to his usual self, ringing them up over easy small talk, the kind that naturally happens once Dexter starts interacting with people.

He's just about to ask Hadley's mom if he can go ahead and have his break two hours later when he hears a customer say, "Excuse me."

Dexter's eyes snap to the direction of the voice.

A girl around his age idles next to the chocolate aisle. She's holding up a box of truffles, which she holds up for him to see. "I can't seem to find the price for this. How much is a box?"

She's a tourist. This is obvious enough from her accent, which is something he often picks up from people who come from the city. It's also in the way she dresses. People around here usually dress in simple tank tops and shorts when summer rolls around, but she's clad in what he can only call as pretty summer clothes.