Gator hadn't come in tonight. Indigo had no idea where he was. She had texted him and asked if he was going to swing by, but he hadn't responded. Maybe he already went to bed, she wasn't too worried. She locked the door and started cleaning up the bar when there was a knock on the door. "Can't they see the closed sign?" She muttered, annoyed. The knock came again. "We're closed!" She shouted.
"Indigo... I really need to come in." A voice said. She opened the door immediately.
"Gator, what's wrong?" She asks. He's standing there looking shell-shocked.
"I messed up.... I fucked up real bad." He says quietly.
"Come in." She says, leading him inside and closing the door. "What happened? Tell me what's going on." She says, sitting down in a booth and gesturing for him to sit next to her. He sits down.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know where else I could go... I..." He stares off into space.
"It's okay, just tell me what happened." She says.
"It was real bad, I can't tell you everything... It's just... I was trying to do somethin' for my dad... I should've just listened to him..." His voice cracked and he put his head in his hands. Indigo put a hand on his shoulder. "I tried to let it go but I couldn't." He sobbed. She pulled him into a hug.
"It's okay, Gator." She said softly. He wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"She was innocent, she didn't do anything, it was an accident, I didn't mean to!" He sobs.
"What happened?" She asks, concerned.
"I can't tell you..." He says.
"Yes you can, who am I gonna tell? The police? You can trust me." She says, brushing the hair out of his face.
"I killed someone." He says. You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed. She knew he was a cop, which probably meant he's killed someone before but she didn't think he'd kill someone innocent... She didn't know what to do, even if it had been an accident. "I'm sorry... I'm so so sorry." He says, crying into her shoulder. She strokes his hair, not saying anything for a little while. "She was just some old lady, I just came to kill Munch... I..."
"What? Who's Munch?" She asks.
"Broke my wrist. We had a deal... I was just trying to get my dad's money back... Wanted him to think I was a winner." He says, sniffling.
"Gator... I don't know how to explain this to you without being blunt and soundin' mean but your dad doesn't seem to ever think you're a winner. I mean, he kind of just uses you as a pawn. He's a piece of shit and you didn't deserve to have to have him as your dad." She says.
"But... He's my dad, I can't just..." He says.
"I think you need to really think about trying to get out of your situation. I have a couch you could sleep on, you could work here for some extra money... Whatever you need." She tells him. He nods.
"Thank you but..." He shakes his head. "It's where I belong." He says. She nods.
"I know but I just really want you to think long and hard about it... You said your dad was up to shit the other night, is this what you meant?" She asks him, suddenly.
"Somethin' like that. I mean, this is part of it but... Only part of it." He puts his head in his hands again. "He found Nadine." He says.
"Whoa wait like... Your..?" She trails off.
"Yeah. That lady... Got her house burned down... It was her. And that mask..." He nods. "Jesus, I'm a bad fuckin' person, I shouldn't be here." He says, standing up. She stands up and grabs his hand. She was a little shocked to find out that he had been a part of the Halloween thing but she didn't have the energy to get into that now.
"Gator, you're a product of your environment. You wouldn't be like this if it weren't for your stupid fuckin' dad!" She says, angrily.
"No, you don't understand, I'm a horrible person. I don't deserve your help, I should leave you alone, you deserve better." He says, looking away.
"You can change, and I don't think you're a bad person, I just think you've done some bad things trying to prove yourself to your dad." She says.
"Why do you believe in me?" He asks, turning to face her. 'Because I love you' is what she wanted to say. She wanted to let him know that it really meant a lot to her that he came to her when something like this happened, that he had accepted her help. But she didn't.
"I don't know, Gator." She said.
"Come on, there has to be a reason." He says.
"Because...." Was she really about to risk everything? "Because I love ya...." There's a pause. She's terrified, her heart is beating out of her chest but she continues. "I've loved ya ever since our first conversation in that bar, we just clicked y'know, like love at first sight and when you love someone ya don't wanna see them have to go through somethin' like this and I..." She trails off.
"You love me?" He asks, looking down at her, surprised and teary-eyed.
"Yes." She says. "I really love ya." She says. She can't believe she's really said it out loud... To him. She looks at the ground and waits for him to say something, it was only a few seconds but it felt like another 6 years to her.
"I love you too." He says. She looks up at him.
"You? You really?" She asks. "You're not just saying that?" She confirms. He shakes his head.
"I really do." He says. She lets out a small nervous laugh. He wipes a few remaining tears out of his eyes.
"What now?" She asks, nervously.
"Well..." He says, taking a step closer to her. He puts a hand on his cheek and starts to lean in. They close their eyes and their lips touch. They hold the kiss for a few seconds before pulling away. Indigo can't help but smile, Gator even had a small smile, even after everything that happened that night, as long as they were together, he thought, everything would be okay. "Was that alright?" He asks.
"That was... Amazing." She says, laughing a little.
"I'm glad." He says, a small smirk appearing on his face. "So... I should probably head home now, before my dad notices I'm gone." He checks his watch. "Jesus, it's like 3 in the mornin'." He notices. "Sorry for keepin' you up." He tells her.
"I'm glad you came." She says.
"I'll see you, Darlin'." He says, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She was pretty sure she was blushing right now.
"See ya." She said quietly. He left and she finished cleaning up, completely shocked from the day. She has so much shit to process and decided to sleep it off and think about it in the morning. Getting into bed, she noticed she still had his hat on her desk. She'd forgotten to give it to him and decided she'd just swing by tomorrow and drop it off. But until then, she was ready for a great sleep.
