Ten Days of Perfect (November Blue #1)

“So you didn’t see any of them.” Adrian asserted.

“No, just heard their names and they were talking about Rae . . . but I thought it was ‘Ray’. They called the other guy ‘Spike,’ which I now know to be some high school nickname given to Bo . . .” My thoughts drifted to Rachel who was still, hopefully, unaware of the situation.

As Adrian opened his mouth to speak, there was a frantic knock on the door.

“Adrian? November? It’s Bo - let me in.”

I rose, but Adrian’s hand forced me back to the bed.

“Just sit, you’re a mess,” he said as he headed toward the door.

Inexplicably, Adrian opened the door just a crack.

“What the hell Turner, let me in! I need to see her, is she OK?” Bo was frantic.

“Just, OK, stay calm dude, she hasn’t cleaned up yet,” Adrian said as he backed away from the door.

“What the hell? Oh my God, Ember!” Bo fell to his knees in front of me, wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face in my lap.

The dam broke, and in the span of time it took for him to utter the word ‘God’ I went from near-catatonic to a heaving, shuddering mess. He rose and met me on the bed, using tender strength as he pulled me toward him. When I finally pulled away, I saw my blood-stained tears resting on his shirt, and Adrian standing uncomfortably by the bathroom door.

“Bo, what the fuck was all of that?” I finally managed as I stood and crossed toward the bathroom to clean myself off. Adrian walked to the other side of the room as Bo remained seated.

I walked out after my face, elbows and knees were sufficiently cleaned, and found the guys in the exact same positions.

“Ember,” Adrian started, “you were telling me that you saw, or heard, something with Bill and Max a couple weeks ago in Barnstable?” His tone was prompting.

“Yea, and apparently Bo - but they called him Spike . . .”

“That was my nickname in high school-long story,” he chuckled.

“Why didn’t I know about this, Bo?”

Bo stood and faced Adrian, “Those assholes knew I’d be in Southern New England for a couple weeks on business and they were getting impatient. I knew if I just got it out of the way at the beginning of the trip it would buy me a couple of weeks . . .”

“Damn it, Cavanaugh!” Adrian yelled. “A fight? Behind a garage!”

“Calm down, Turner,” Bo held up his hands and dropped his voice.

“But you didn’t see anyone?” Adrian continued, shifting his glance back to me.

“No, I told you that,” I said as I crossed passed Bo, toward Adrian. I was their geographic center for the moment; I’d seen enough fights for one night, “It was dark, I was hiding behind a fucking tree, and I”- I stopped myself mid-sentence, dropping my jaw, and widening my eyes in horror at Adrian.

“What?” Adrian reached for me, but I turned to my right.

“What?” Bo asked.

I turned slower than I’d ever turned in my life and addressed Bo.

“When did you know it was me?” I choked, shaken by my own words.

One . . .

Two . . .

Three . . .

“When did you know it was me, Bowan?” I took one purposeful step forward and heard Adrian shift behind me.

“Ember,” Adrian touched my shoulder, turning me back around, “what the hell are you talking about?”

“I saw him that night.” The weight of the revelation did its best to crush me.

Bo touched my back, “Nov-”

“Shh!” I replied, not turning around, “I saw ‘Spike’ that night. It was nearly dark, he was shadowed under a street light more than fifty feet away. I heard the fight, one car pull away, I checked to see . . . ”

I turned back to Bo.

“November . . .”

“When . . . the fuck . . . did you know it was me?” I recoiled as he reached for me.

Anxious sweat highlighted his forehead, “We were fifty feet away, I had no idea-”

“Bullshit! You realize there was a potential witness to whatever the hell happened and you don’t use every single second to memorize every detail of what I look, sound, act like? Tell me, Bo . . .”

His shoulders sank and my rage ignited unlike anything I’d ever felt before. I lunched toward him with feral strength and I was as surprised as he when my palms connected with his chest and he staggered backwards.

“You knew it was me?” How long did it take? Was it the second you saw me at Finnegan’s, when I sang with you on stage?” I kept pushing and pushing him until he was against the wall. When there was nowhere left to push, I clenched my fists and pounded them in to his chest and shoulders.

“Ember, fuck, stop!” Bo tried to grab for my arms, but I was thrashing so erratically, he couldn’t catch up.