“What did you think of Matt?” Amelia asked.

“He’s fine,” Bradley replied, turning down his music. “Why?”

“No, I mean James.”

“He’s a pain in the ass, why?”

“He’s nice,” James finally answered.

Amelia was silent for a long moment as James watched the car that had been traveling beside them on the highway pull off on the exit ramp. “Sorry,” she said finally. “I didn’t even think of that. I should’ve been more sensitive.”

“No, it’s no one’s fault.”

“Not even yours.”

“What’s going on?” Bradley asked.

If he was going to be humiliated tonight, he might as well go all out. “I hooked up with Matt,” James said. “At Marcy’s. And that triggered…this.”

He glanced over at Bradley, who seemed more focused on the empty road than on him. “Ah.”

“He doesn’t want a boyfriend anyway,” James said. “He said he’s too busy with work and school.”

“And now I feel like an even bigger asshole,” Amelia murmured.

“No, you know what? Where’s Riley in all this?” Bradley asked. “Like, where the fuck was your girlfriend who lives near here when shit went down?”

James’s first instinct was to apologize. He should have called and told Bradley not to come. But then Amelia spoke from behind him, her voice soft.

“You told her to shut the fuck up when she was yelling at me.”

“Are you kidding me?” Bradley demanded. “Look, I kept my mouth shut last time, but she’s awful to you.”

Last time? James remembered Madelyn saying something similar a few months ago. This apparently wasn’t the first time Riley had treated Amelia like this. 

Amelia burst into tears and James twisted awkwardly in his seat to take her hand. “She said I keep dropping her for work,” she said, and sniffed. “But it’s like every time I need her for anything serious or can’t go do whatever she wants me to do, she gets mad at me. Because I’m boring.”

“No, it’s because she sucks.”

“She called James work. He’s not fucking work, he’s James. You and Madelyn are my best friends, it’s not like I took a shift while we were there.”

“She sucks,” Bradley said.

“I don’t want to break up with her.”

Based on Riley’s anger tonight, James figured Amelia might not have that choice. Riley had been furious and he’d felt so guilty. But based on Madelyn’s disdain and Bradley’s irritation, maybe there was more to this situation that he had missed.

He wished Amelia had felt comfortable telling him about it. Had this all started while he was gone?

“It’s your decision,” Bradley said. “Whatever.”

If he hadn’t just driven from Boston to get them, James might have been irritated at him for being dismissive when Amelia was so upset. But instead he was just bone-deep exhausted. Had it only been a couple hours ago that he’d been making out with Matt in a dark, loud club? 

“He touched me where she did,” James said softly after a few quiet minutes, brushing his own fingers behind his ear. 

“What?” Bradley said.

“Nothing.”

“No, what’s wrong?”

Why had he said anything? “I said he touched me where she did,” he said again, motioning toward the side of his head. “That’s why.”

“The anchoring bead?”

James nodded. “And the control compound. When she told me to kill you, I almost said no and she- please pull over.”

They were still on the highway, but Bradley took a sharp turn across two lanes of traffic and into the breakdown lane. The car had barely stopped before James wrenched open the door and vomited onto the wet sand.

He stayed where he was, awkwardly leaning out of the car, his seatbelt still somewhat holding him in place as it dug into his neck. Bradley’s hand was on his back and he realized Amelia had opened the back door and was crouched beside him now.

“Don’t,” he said. “You’ll step in it.”

“Whatever,” she said. “Are you done?”

He nodded and pulled himself upright. There was a small metal water bottle in the front cupholder and James motioned toward it. “Do you mind?”

“It has my germs.”

“Whatever,” he said and took it. “How many joints have we shared?”

The water helped get rid of some of the acid taste in his mouth and he drained it, reminding himself to add that to his tab with Bradley. “Sorry,” he said.

Amelia was back in the car now and Bradley pulled back onto the highway without speaking. James rested his head against the cold window.

“I almost told her no, then she gave me more compound,” he finished. “She put it behind my ear.”

“Fuck,” Bradley murmured.

“You saved me,” James said quietly.

“We were just part of a process,” Amelia said, sounding more sober than before.

“I wouldn’t have stopped. You broke through to me. In the bath, you held my head under water.”

“Yeah.”

“Now I need a different Christmas present for Bradley.”

They were quiet for a second, just long enough to make James wonder if he should have kept that joke to himself. Then he glanced over to see Bradley’s shoulders shaking with silent laughter as he drove. Behind him, Amelia reached over to lightly shove his shoulder. 

As they pulled off the highway into Leominster a little while later, James realized they were about to pass the tiny burrito place they’d always gone to after late-night cases. For the first time in months, that sounded extremely appealing. And it was still open.

“Can I buy you guys burritos?” he asked.

Before Bradley could refuse, James continued. “I’m paying you for gas too. But can I buy you dinner because I ruined your night out and you had to drive from Boston to Providence to get us when I was just panicking?”

“‘Just’ panicking would’ve still sent you off a fucking bridge,” Bradley said. “Yeah, sure. Thanks.”

Amelia was staring out the back window as James turned around. “What kind do you want?”

“What?” she said, jerking herself out of her daze.

“What kind of burrito do you want? We’re stopping at Taqueria del Norte.”

“Oh, um, chicken, I guess. Thanks.”

When they got to the tiny taqueria in downtown Leominster, it was one of the few buildings with any signs of life. “Do you know what you want?” James asked Bradley as he pulled into a parking space.

“I’ll come in.”

“Do you guys mind if I stay here?” Amelia asked.

“Are you going to call Riley?” Bradley said.

“No.”

They both looked at her. “No, for real,” Amelia insisted. “Bring my phone in, though. Just in case.”

She handed James her phone and he slid it in his pocket. “I just want to think for a few minutes,” Amelia continued.

They left her in the backseat and went into the building, where a man was placing an order at the register just ahead of them. Bradley studied the menu as though he hadn’t been here at least eight hundred times. Meanwhile, James tried to keep his eyes open. He was exhausted, but actually hungry and right now the space smelled better than anything he’d ever smelled. Whether it was because he was still a little drunk or the relief that he couldn’t bring himself to wonder if any of the food was poisoned, he wasn’t sure. 

Once they’d placed their order, they sat at one of the tiny tables to wait for it. James buried his face in his hands for a second, then shook his head and looked around the tiny restaurant, his gaze eventually landing on Bradley, who was texting someone as he sat across from him.

“Can you please tell Roxanne sorry?” James asked. “I can, but I only have her official contact information and she probably wouldn’t appreciate that.”

“She’s fine,” Bradley said.

“Still, I feel bad.”

“What else is new?”

Bradley finished with his phone and set it on the table, covering his face as he yawned. “We hadn’t gotten to the club yet anyway,” he said.

“Seriously? How do you have the energy to start that late?”

“I’m not going to answer that question.”

James was about to apologize for the twentieth time tonight, but there was a hint of a smile on Bradley’s face as he said it. A moment later, Amelia’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He knew he should leave it alone, but he pulled it out and read the message on the screen.

RILEY

That was really messed up tonight

“What the hell,” he muttered.

“What?”

Again, he knew it wasn’t their business, but he turned the phone around so Bradley could read it. Bradley scanned the message and rolled his eyes. 

“Madelyn told me that Riley wasn’t good to Amelia when I was gone,” James said.

“No, she wasn’t.”

He didn’t elaborate, but James wasn’t sure if it was respect for Amelia’s privacy or fatigue because it was coming up on two and he’d driven probably four hours in total tonight. “Are you going back to Boston?” James asked.

“What do you fucking think?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what you do outside of work, remember?”

Bradley shrugged. “No,” he said. “It’s late and I’m tired. I’m going to drop you off and then go to bed.”

Their order was ready a moment later, so James took it and they went back outside, where the air was at least twenty degrees cooler than it had been in Providence. James took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as they go to the car. 

Amelia was asleep with her head against the window, but she woke up as James slid into the passenger seat. 

“You good?” he asked her. 

“I think I’m going to break up with Riley.”

Before he could say anything, she continued. “Not because of you. But I don’t like being treated like this.”

James reluctantly handed her her phone. She looked at the message and sighed. “Yeah, I’m done.”

“Talk to her tomorrow,” James said. 

She nodded and didn’t say anything else. 

Five minutes later they were outside James and Amelia’s apartment. “Thank you,” James said to Bradley, instead of apologizing again like he felt he should. 

Bradley nodded, stifling a yawn. “Are you good to get home?” James asked. 

“Come eat with us,” Amelia said before Bradley could respond. 

Bradley hesitated behind another yawn. James figured he wanted to get home, but now he was a little concerned about him falling asleep on the way. 

“I was fine,” he said, before James could really start feeling guilty. “It just hit me. I should get home before I fall asleep.”

“Probably safer to fall asleep on my couch than on Route Two,” James pointed out. 

“I’ll stay and eat, then leave.”

They all staggered their way upstairs to the apartment, where the oven clock read three-fifteen. James dragged the third kitchen chair from its usual place as a crap collector in the corner of the kitchen and over to the table, moving all the things that had accumulated on it onto the floor. Then, almost sleepwalking, he poured three glasses of water and brought them to the table.

“I’m out of beer,” he said apologetically. 

Amelia smiled sadly. Her eyes were red. “Do you guys really think I should break up with her?” she asked.

“Yes,” Bradley said immediately as he unwrapped his burrito and took a bite.

James hesitated. “She was mean to you when I was gone?” he asked.

“Well…”

“Yes,” Bradley said again. “Yes, she was fucking mean. If you ask your cousin, she’ll tell you the same thing.”

“Then yeah, I think you should.”

Amelia nodded, like maybe she’d been hoping for a different answer. “In the morning,” James added. “Don’t call right now.”

“Okay.”

James looked at his burrito. It still smelled good, but he wasn’t as hungry as he’d been in the car. Still, he made himself take a bite.

---

CONTINUE TO CHAPTER 8