Mule

Chapter Eight: Ghostly Touch

The bartender at Sporty's filled her tumbler with more whisky and she threw it back. She felt the burn all the way down to her gut and welcomed it. She hadn't had a drink since high school. Not since Connor nearly got himself killed. He'd started drinking after Derek went missing and had two stints in rehab since then. He was sober now.

"Want another, or should I cut you off?"

Ana glared. "Oh, don't judge me, Cole. Just because I let you touch my boobs one time doesn't mean we're best friends."

Cole chuckled, shaking his head. Ana had known Cole as long as she'd known Derek. Everyone in town ended up at the same school one way or another, and Cole was in their small circle. When Derek went missing, her and her brother started partying a lot, and Cole always had the best alcohol.

"You and your brother were something else, Hell's Bells," he said as he poured drinks for other customers. "The kids at Chief Mo still talk about you like an urban legend. They call you the Binge Twins. Nobody could outdrink you guys."

Ana pushed her glass to the side, signifying she was cutting herself off. She had been quite the drinker back then, though it had been the way her and her brother coped with losing Derek. Her brother's accident woke her up and made her turn her life around. It took Connor a bit longer to grow up, but he eventually got on the right track. Now he had a good job and a family.

What did she have? Emotional instability, a dick for a boyfriend, and no babies. Not to mention some stalker was leaving a trail of roses and just might kill her and keep her body parts in jars. Life was just great.

"Derek is back," she said, sulking with her hand against her chin. "My dad just wants us to move on and get back to normal. Apparently, I'm a bitch for wanting to know where he was. Is that too much to ask?"

Cole pulled out a bottled water and slid it over to her. She took the hint and popped the cap, sucking down half of it.

"If I were you, I'd let him tell you when he's ready. If I remember Mule correctly, he wasn't a big talker. He didn't talk about his mom when she left, and he never talked about his drunk-ass dad."

Ana groaned. She knew this. She knew Derek didn't like to open-up about his feelings, but with her he always did. They told each other everything, and all she wanted was for him to talk to her. Not push everything away like it never happened.

"You're right." She sucked down the rest of the water. "You are so right, Colton." She frowned. That sounds weird. I never call you by your whole name."

He laughed. "For old time's sake, I'll give you a pass. By the way, I was thinking of stopping by to see Mule. Should I wait until he's out, or . . .?"

"He should be out tomorrow. He's staying at my dad's." She smiled. "Why don't we all get together? What are Chelsea, Damian, and Lana up to these days?"

"Shit, I haven't seen those fools in a long time. Damian got into Harvard. He doesn't talk to us anymore. Chelsea works for the city, and Lana . . . who knows. I could hit her up and see."

"Yeah, do that." She stood up, wobbling a bit. "Wow, I am . . . very tipsy right now."

"Need a ride? I go on my fifteen here in a bit."

Ana touched his hand. "Please? You're a doll. You could just leave me at the state park. I feel like sitting by the lake for a while."

He narrowed his eyes. "You're not going to jump in, are you?"

She rolled her eyes. "That was forever ago. I was way more hammered than this."

"Alright, if you say so. Cause I will be more than happy to give you mouth-to-mouth again."