Truth Be Told

six

"What did he say?"

Drew shrugs. "Just asked me how she was doing. He knows she's living with us now, so she must've told him when she moved out of their place."

Colin doesn't say anything.

"Does she talk to you?" he asks. "Did she tell you anything about their breakup?"

"Not really."

"Daniel seems to really care about her, though. I wonder what went wrong." Drew shrugs. "Maybe it's just a short break, yeah? It would be nice if they worked things out and got back together."

Thankfully, they reach Barrels Up before he's forced to reply to this. The conversation goes unforgotten as Drew sees the sign up front and raves about the band playing. Apparently, he knows the lead singer from one of his past classes or some shit, and he proceeds to tell them in great detail about this kid's sob story.

The band is still setting up on the small podium when they file into the bar. It's a pretty small bar, but there's a good crowd. It's not as packed as Jeremy's, but it's not dead empty either.

"I'll get the first round. You guys find us a good spot." Perry turns to Sadie. "Beer okay with you?"

"Yeah," she replies. "Thanks, Per."

Perry winks in reply and Colin just rolls his eyes.

"I'll go say hi to Kurt," Drew tells them before heading to the podium.

"I'd never been here before," Sadie tells Colin, looking around the bar's interior.

He doesn't respond. His eyes zero in on an unoccupied booth and he wordlessly heads for it. Sadie follows behind him. He takes a seat as soon as they reach the table, but he soon regrets this because Sadie takes it as an opportunity to slide right next to him.

He scowls at her. "Can you, like, not sit next to me?"

"Oh. Sorry."

Colin can't believe it. He blinks, surprised, as Sadie stands up obediently. He watches her as she makes her way to the opposite seat, a strange feeling of shame creeping over his shoulder. The guilt trickles past his throat, sour and unwanted, but it's immediately replaced by irritation.

"Okay, that's it," he says as she sits across him. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

The old Sadie would have scooted closer to him. She would have blinked innocently and said some annoying dumb shit like, "I don't know, can I?" before giving him a faux innocent smile. She would have stayed there until Colin stood up and squeezed past her to sit elsewhere, and then she'd laugh at his face because she'd once again successfully riled him up.

Now she sits there, looking surprised at his sudden outburst.

Colin seethes in frustration. It's like she's perpetually dazed. Like she's just going through the motions of her life. Sometimes, he'd see a glimpse of the Sadie he knows, the Sadie he'd had to deal with for most of his life, but then she'd disappear so quickly it's like his eyes were just fooling him.

He stares her down with his nostrils flaring, half-expecting her to fight back. He pushes down the overwhelming sense of disappointment rising up his throat when she says nothing. She just looks at him in confusion, and Colin's irritation intensifies.

Perry returns with four bottles of beer, expertly holding them in both hands. He seems oblivious of the strained atmosphere as he sits next to Sadie, placing the bottles on the table. They're already opened. Condensation runs down the surface. Colin reaches for one and immediately takes a swig.