HEADLINE ✓

TRACK 19 - PART 2

CARTER

My nail dug into the label on the bottle, picking away at the sticker to provide some sort of distraction. Showing up, evident from TJ's reaction, was clearly the wrong thing to do. In my defence, I never imagined her smile to vanish as quickly as it had when she saw me standing in the dressing room after their show. I wasn't expecting her to show some display of public affection. But, I also wasn't expecting her to ask "what the fuck are you doing here" with such a disgusted look on her face.

While I stood pathetically at the bar alone, she stood on the opposite side of the room, next to Patrick and who I assumed was Gwen. TJ was right. Even from this far away, I could tell Pat was hopefully in love with the girl. I took a swing from my beer. It wasn't the beverage I typically went for, but I happily accepted the first drink that was handed to me.

Finish my drink, say a quick goodbye to whoever I spot first, and then get the fuck out. That was my plan.

TJ's lack of interest in my arrival was confusing, especially with how we ended our last call. However, learning why she acted that way was not something I was expecting to discover tonight - if ever - given the way things were currently going. Especially when she appeared to be purposefully staying as far away from me as possible. I wasn't sure she had even looked my way since entering the bar.

Looking over towards TJ's direction, I was surprised to not see her standing there anymore. My thoughts of where she might have been were quickly interrupted by none other than Weston, who joined my side.

"Where's Silas?"

"Bathroom," I responded, keeping my eyes on my bottle.

"So, did you really just happen to be here in Seattle?"

I glanced over at Weston, trying to gauge if his question was a friendly attempt at starting mindless chatter or something more. However, as always, there was nothing I could read off his stoic expression.

"Yup," I said, raising the bottle to my lips to take a long sip.

Weston waved over the bartender and ordered his drink. "Regretting that now?"

I raised a brow at his question. "What?"

"Stopping by. Are you regretting that now?"

"Why would you say that?"

As the bartender returned with his drink, Weston dug through his pocket and pulled out a few dollar bills. I had returned to picking at the label on my beer bottle when I heard him say, "Trust me, she's a hard one to figure out." He paused to take a sip of his drink. "She's probably still pissed at you for your disappearing act."

"You think?" I asked, hoping the surprise in my voice wasn't as evident to him as it sounded.

"Well, yeah. It's not like you've seen each other since right?"

"Right," I murmured.

Weston took a step closer and dropped the volume of his voice. "I know what you did wasn't intentional - I know you didn't mean to hurt her. But, if you ever do hurt her, know that you'll have a lot more than TJ yelling at you to deal with." He roughly clasped his hand against my back. In one quick motion, Weston grabbed his drink from the bar and disappeared into the crowd.

Facing a threat from Weston was not what I had expected to come out of tonight. I wasn't left alone to ponder my thoughts for long as Patrick made his way over to where I stood.

"Hey, man!" Patrick greeted, sporting a goofy smile. "Have you guys met yet?" He gestured to the female standing next to him. "Carter, Gwen. Gwen, Carter."