River Haven

Chapter 3

Later that afternoon Dean Ambrose was drinking alone at Jericho's bar.

"I don't give a shit! Find her!" Jericho could be heard yelling from the back room.

Dean let out a small laugh to himself before taking another shot. The bar was practically empty. It was so quiet that Dean could hear the door open to the bar. There was a cautious silence before Dean heard a familiar voice.

"Are you going tonight?" Seth asked suddenly.

A sudden rush of anger came over Dean before he turned around and saw his old friend standing there.

"Roman needs us tonight." Seth told him.

Dean quickly pulled out his gun and aimed it at Seth.

"I thought I told you to stay the fuck away from me?' Dean asked angrily.

Seth stared at Dean apologetically for a moment.

"I'm not asking for me, okay? I'm asking for him. Just be there for him" Seth said.

Dean eyes filled with tears as Seth slowly backed away and left the bar. He turned around and took another shot.

When school got out that day, Sasha and Bayley went to Mick's diner to get milkshakes. The diner was a traditional study space for students in River Haven and had been for generations. Sasha and Bayley sat down in their usual booth and started looking over their notes from first period. Bayley had somehow already managed to get whipped cream on her lip.

"You are such a dork, come here." Sasha told her.

"What?" Bayley asked.

Sasha reached over the table with a napkin and carefully wiped her lip. Sasha looked up into Bayley's eyes and let out a slight smile.

"Um.. I'm going to use the restroom really quickly." Bayley told her in a clear attempt to ruin the moment.

Sasha took a deep breath and tried to keep her composure. She flipped through her notebook as Bayley left the table. Suddenly, Alexa walked into the diner with Peyton and Billie. Outside, Alexa's personal security detail waited. Sasha looked up from the table and made eye contact with Alexa. Sasha rolled her eyes as Alexa flashed a friendly smile. Then suddenly, Bayley's phone buzzed.

"How was the sleepover at Sasha's? I should be home sometime this evening."

-Mom

When Bayley returned to the booth, Sasha gave her a skeptical look.

"Is your mom out of town?" Sasha asked.

Bayley looked at her in confusion.

"What?" Bayley asked.

"She texted you." Sasha said.

Bayley looked down at her phone and read the message.

"Oh.. right, um.. My mom had a meeting in New York this morning.." Bayley told her.

"And she thinks you stayed with me?" Sasha asked.

"Yeah, I might have told her that." Bayley said awkwardly.

"But you didn't stay with me.. So where were you?" Sasha asked curiously.

Bayley looked across the table at Sasha, hating that she was lying to her.

"I stayed home. I just knew she wouldn't be okay with that so I told her I was staying with you." Bayley said.

"But didn't you tell me this morning that you were late because your mom wouldn't stop talking?" Sasha asked.