Still the One (Book 2 in the Four of Us Trilogy)

27 | Not Today

What I just can't get past

Is the way we let it end

Now I'm wonderin' where (s)he is

Knowin' I can't get that goodbye back.

-Luke Bryan, "Roller Coaster"

Brooke

"Are you sure, Brooke? You're good at this job, and there are management opportunities available for you. Do you really want to throw that away?" Jackie, my manager at Sephora, questioned.

"Jackie, I don't want to quit. I really don't, but I cannot work with Madison. It's not good for my recovery," I said, not wanting to throw Madison under the bus, but Jackie just wasn't letting it go.

"What do you mean?" she asked, a perfectly sculpted eyebrow dropping.

I sighed. "Jackie, I've told you everything, right? Heroin use, DUI, miscarriage?"

Jackie nodded. "Yes, and HR determined that since you never used while on the clock and you completed your rehab, you could keep your job. What does any of that have to do with Madison?"

Wow, she really has no clue. "Madison introduced me to heroin. I'd never used it before I met her. And I met her here."

Jackie's mouth dropped open slightly. "Oh, Brooke. I didn't know. I'm sorry."

I shook my head. "You don't have to be sorry. But I can't work with her."

Jackie chewed on her lip and looked up at the ceiling. "Okay, look. I'll level with you. You're up for a promotion. I was going to make you assistant store manager. That comes with quite a pay raise along with benefits. What if I never schedule the two of you on the same shift?"

I considered this. I could use a pay raise, and I did like my job. I nodded. "Okay. But I want day shift."

"Done!" Jackie exclaimed immediately. "And if you see or hear about a trace of heroin use... you let me know right away," she ordered.

"Okay. Got it. Thank you, Jackie. I really appreciate this. You could've just written me off as a loss, and you didn't," I said, standing up to hug her.

"You're welcome, Brooke. I believe in you," she said, hugging me back.

"Thanks," I grinned. "Well, I guess I'll see you at the end of my shift tomorrow."

"See you then. Your training will begin next week," she said as I left the office.

In the parking lot of the mall, I saw a familiar silver Toyota sitting next to my car.

Madison.

Shit, I thought. She's the last person I want to see right now.

She jumped out of her car and waved wildly. "Brooke! Where have you been, bitch?"

I bristled at the use of our old nickname for one another. "I've been in rehab, Madison," I snapped.

"Oh, well, isn't that precious. It was just as a condition of your DUI, though, right?" she asked suggestively.

"No – I mean, yes, it was a condition, but that's not the only reason I did it. I'm almost two months clean now, and I intend to stay that way," I responded, opening my car door and turning to face her.

She pouted. "Oh, come on Kane. That's no fun," she mocked.

I saw red. "No, Madison. You know what's not fun? Getting pushed around by your boyfriend, getting a DUI, spending weeks in the hospital and rehab, losing the person you love, and then having a fucking miscarriage. That's what's not fun!" I screamed.