Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88064 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88064 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
"Maybe you should go in pairs," Dawn says, her eyes scanning the group as her brow pulls into a concerned frown.
"We’ll work it out." Lachlan takes a seat on the corner of the desk and runs his hand over his face. "We need to meet with the lawyer. We can’t put it off anymore. I didn’t want to have to pay when none of this is our fault, but we’re going to have to."
"Yeah. Don’t worry about the money for now. We have to defend our business. Whatever it takes." Mitchell rises from the chair and claps Lachlan on the shoulder. "That’s the benefit of there being nine of us. Nine against the world."
"Ten," Dawn says. "At least for now."
All of us turn to face the girl who made our hearts soar for just a moment before dropping us back to earth.
"Ten," Mitchell says, ignoring the last part of her statement.
She smiles, and it’s warm, but her eyes seem sad, like she knows something we don’t. Maybe she has a return ticket and hasn’t told us? Maybe there’s a date already set in concrete and we’re just oblivious, falling deeper and harder for her.
"I’ll go get the broom," she says, resting her hand gently on Lachlan’s knee as she passes. I watch her walk out the door, feeling as though each step she takes is leading her out of our lives and not just to the cleaning cupboard.
"For now," Mitchell says, shaking his head. "Those are not the words I wanted to hear."
"Nothing’s happened yet," Lachlan says, his hand curling around the edge of the desk, gripping so tightly his knuckles are the color of bone.
"We have to focus on the business," I say. "But not at the expense of the rest of our lives."
Dawn returns before he has a chance to reply, but I know he understands what I mean.
I take the broom from Dawn even though she objects and begin to sweep the sharp shards of glass into a pile. Mitchell brings a bag to collect it all, and between us we make quick work of the cleanup.
We find tape and a board to secure the window until the glazing repair man can come in the morning.
I don’t sleep well, even though I know Mitchell and Lachlan have stayed up to patrol Cloud 9 like it’s Fort Knox. When the sun rises, I groan, throwing my arms behind my head and arching my back into a stretch. I imagine Dawn somewhere beyond the walls of my room, curled up asleep, her hair spread across her pillow like an angel fallen from heaven. Did she sleep peacefully, or did she lie awake worrying about the brick and what Barrow might do next? Did she spend time imagining leaving this place?
I tear the sheets from my body and stalk to the shower, hating the idea of her room being empty and what the bar will be like when she’s no longer bringing laughter and joy to everything we do.
I scrub the dirt from my body and try to slough the worry from my mind. There’s still time to make Dawn see that this place is her home, not just for vacation, but forever. There’s still time for her to realize she doesn’t have to travel the world to make good on her tattooed promise.
At breakfast, we all talk about the incident and who has done what since.
"The glass guy is coming out around three pm," I say.
"Me and Logan have time with the lawyer at one pm," Lachlan confirms.
"The police are coming this morning," Mitchell says. "They couldn’t give me a specific time."
"We’re going to have to get really organized before shift today." Lachlan bites at his finger, his nerves showing through. "Jared and Logan are going to patrol, so we’ll be two down."
"I have a friend coming tonight, but she won’t be a problem. She’s been going through a tough time and just needs to get out and be amongst good people, so I told her to come here," Dawn says.
"What’s your friend’s name?" Bryce asks.
"Chantelle. She’s from here." Dawn nods.
"Ah…a fellow Aussie," Thomas says with a smile.
"Yeah, be kind because she needs it."
Despite the stressful situation we’re all living in, conversation moves to lighter topics. I sit back and watch my friends discuss anything and everything, and marvel at how easily Dawn manages to keep up the conversation. I start to imagine what it would be like if she stays and these mornings all together become our every day. It’s an idea that takes root inside me, one that I know I shouldn’t keep to myself.
Dawn’s tattoo flashes into my mind. YOLO. It’s such a stupid saying, but I get it. I’m still a young man, but I can feel life speeding up. The last year has passed by in a flash. It feels easy to let days go by, and then all of a sudden, find that I haven’t really noticed or marked the time at all.