Scarred Read Free

behind me, I was on the phone to Sean, letting him in on the grim news. Upon entering the apartment, I found myself relaying that very same information to my roommate, Cooper.
    “What a shitstorm,” he said, exhaling between swigs of Sam Adams. “If Sean doesn't figure a way out of this one...”
    “He will, Cooper.”
    “Yeah—by whacking everyone that sees or knows about it.”
    “Shut up! He will not. It won't come to that; besides, it's just a picture of him. They have no way of matching that up to anything.”
    “And the fingerprint?”
    “It could be anybody's...he probably didn't even actually touch it.”
    “He's gotten sloppy, Rubes. It's a bad sign,” he said, tossing his empty bottle into the recycling pile. “I just hope he isn't up to something...something more than the usual anyway.”
    “We'll know soon enough. Kristy promised to call me the second she hears from Alan.”
    “And then you can relay that to your boyfriend, right?” he asked, cynicism dripping in his tone.
    “He's not my boyfriend, Coop. You should know that by now.”
    “The only thing I know for sure is that I'm not your boyfriend,” he replied with distaste. “You just use me for sex on occasion.” I turned to see what expression he wore after delivering his low blow. I didn’t appreciate the one I found.
    “Oh my God, Cooper. I can't even believe you just said that,” I yelled. “You're seriously going to use that against me? Like I have any control over it. You agreed that it was better than me sleeping with randoms, and I know it makes you happier than thinking I'm screwing Sean.”
    “That it does, indeed. But, it is still technically using me,” he argued. “I feel like such a piece of meat.”
    “Maybe that's because you're such a ham,” I quipped.
    “Oh, aren't you the punny one tonight?”
    “Calling ‘em like I see ‘em, Coop. That's all,” I said, grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge before heading down the hall to my room. “I'm going to bed. It’s already been a long night. I'll let you know if I hear anything.”

    * * *

    I startled myself awake the next day by the thought of being outed to the public. It consumed me while I got ready for work. The idea of eating made my stomach uneasy, so I settled for a liquid breakfast consisting of an entire thermos of black coffee.
    Once I secured my provision, I made my way to the shop downstairs. REWORKED had been my pet project ever since my parents died and I had to start afresh—all alone. The store also afforded me the opportunity to work on my own terms, support the concepts of reusing and recycling, and do something that I really enjoyed.
    When I pushed the door open, I saw my petite sidekick already preparing the store for business. Peyta was a godsend. She not only knew how to run my business for me, but also knew who and what I was, and loved me even more for it. It probably made that pill easier to swallow given that she herself was something slightly other than human. Peyta was a Healer to the PC, though she hadn't been officially bonded to the group. I studiously avoided that topic with Sean as he would be the one to choose the new Healer and tie her forever to the brothers―I was having none of that. For the past couple of months, the topic had been shelved, but I knew it would be revisited sooner than later. I didn't want that life for Peyta; she was like a sister to me.
    “Rough night?” she called from behind the front counter, smiling wickedly.
    “You know me,” I groused, “the life of the party.” I threw my purse on the counter, resting my coffee beside it. “I need a vacation.”
    “I couldn't agree more,” she said, laughing. “You're a mess!”
    “How you flatter me, young one,” I said, patting her on the head. “Anything exciting I need to know about around here?”
    “Nope. I got all the bills paid and finished all the orders for the week. You may want to have a look at last month's bank statement though. I