Justice (6 page)

CHAPTER FIVE

W
HILE MACEY WAS in the hospital, Payton organized the packing and moving of Macey’s home into a high-rise apartment in Portland with a door man.

Due to its location, Macey knew the condo had to have cost a mint, but she couldn’t be sure. Payton gave Macey the master suite that overlooked the water and took the second bedroom down the hall. Macey was pretty sure Payton’s parents helped pay part of the rent. At least, someone did. There had to be a third-party because there was no way they could afford a two bedroom, two bathroom condo on Naito.

“Do you like it?” Payton asked as Macey shuffled through the inside.

She’d been released from the hospital barely an hour before, and Dallas had left her in Payton’s capable hands. He hadn’t wanted to leave, but Macey forced him to go. Floor to ceiling windows in the living room gave unobstructed views of the Willamette River and the Fremont Bridge.

“Isn’t it gorgeous?” Payton held her hands out and spun in a circle. “We have two decks, Mase. Two. We can walk to everything. We have a full time concierge service, sauna, and a gym. We each get a parking spot and there’s storage.”

Macey narrowed her eyes. “There is no way the rent’s this cheap, Payton.”

“Dallas set it up, so I promise, we only have to pay half each. You don’t have to worry.”

“No, I mean, there’s no way this condo would rent for anything less than three or four grand a month. So, who’s paying the rest of it?”

“Mase,” she said in exasperation. “It’s one of Dallas’s dad’s properties. And I think he’s giving us a deal because… well, because it’s you.”

Dallas’s father was a real estate developer and loaded. But he was also a very nice man and adored his kids. He would absolutely do this for Dallas if he asked him to.

Macey grimaced. “I didn’t want to owe him anything.”

“You don’t. Won’t. They care about you, Macey. You need to be in a safer place, and since I needed to move out, I thought we could room together. You know we’ve always talked about it,” Payton said, her positivity grating on Macey.

She sighed and rubbed her temples, her head suddenly pounding.

“Do you have a headache?” Payton asked.

“Nothing gets by you, Payton.”

“You don’t get headaches.”

“Well, I do now. Alec said that the bonus prize of all of this shit is migraines. And he said they may or may not go away.”

“Oh, Macey, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Macey grumbled, and waved her hand toward the water.
“Can you really afford this, Payton?”

“You and I are splitting rent… of course I can afford it.”

Macey shook her head. “Did Dallas strong arm you into moving in to keep an eye on me?”

“No one made me do anything, Mase,” Payton said. “It was time. And don’t worry about the money. I have a little savings and my school loans are super low interest, so it’s all good.”

“But you’re moving to Portland, which means you’re going to have to pay income tax now.”

Payton was a teacher and had paid her way through school mostly on her own, which left her with debt, but her degree also provided her a good job in Vancouver. With a ten percent income tax hit to her salary, Macey didn’t know how long Payton would find it worth her while.

“You know I have always wanted to live in the city. I’m down here all the time anyway.”

Macey sighed. “Yeah, but you haven’t had to do that morning commute before.”

“Mase, I’m fine with it,” Payton assured her.

“Well, I’m not,” Macey snapped. “You shouldn’t have to take a hit to your bottom line to make sure I “feel” better. I will never feel better, so you’re giving up a hell of a lot of money for no fucking reason, Payton.”

“Well, this is happening, so you’re just going to have to get used to it,” Payton said.

“I don’t have to get used to shit!”

Beyond pissed and feeling very sorry for herself, Macey barricaded herself in her room, locking the door and shoving a chair under the knob. It didn’t matter what Payton did, or how hard she tried, Macey gave her nothing.

Over the next few weeks, she managed to shut Dallas out, continued to try to do the same to Payton, but Payton wouldn’t let Macey retreat. This meant Payton got the sharp end of Macey’s tongue and Macey could lob an insult like no other.

Three months after Macey’s attack, Macey was sure Payton was ready to give up on their friendship.

Payton’s parents were celebrating their thirty-sixth wedding anniversary and they’d booked a large section of Beaches Restaurant in Vancouver. The family and closest friends were invited and that included Macey. She however, wanted nothing to do with it.

“You said you’d come,” Payton reminded Macey.”

“No. I didn’t say anything. You assumed I’d come.”

“Macey you have to be there.”

“Why, Payton? Why do I have to be there?” she snapped.

“Because my parents adore you.”

“What a load of sentimental, pathetic horse shit! I’m not even family.”

“You
are
family, Mase. We love you. You know we do.”

“What exactly do I need to do to make you understand that I want nothing to do with you?” she bellowed. “God, Payton, stop being such an idiot! Just leave me the hell alone.”

Payton, with tears streaming down her face, her voice hiccupping as she spoke and jabbing a finger at Macey, yelled, “I don’t care what you say to me, sister of my heart. I don’t care if you tell me I’m an idiot or that I’m pathetic! I love you, Macey Gilbert, and you will not chase me away because you’re too broken to recognize you are worthy.” She slapped her palm to her chest. “I know your value. I know your worth. Dallas knows that too. So does my family. We are not going anywhere,” she screamed. “Do you hear me? Nowhere! You are going to call Mom’s friend and you are going to get some fucking counseling even if Brock has to handcuff you and drive you to the fucking appointment in a squad car. I will drag you inside and shove your ass onto her couch. But you will not live like this anymore. I’m done watching you slowly try to kill yourself.”

“Fine! I won’t kill myself slowly anymore, Payton. I’ll take care of it right now!” Macey shouted, and stormed out of the apartment.

She didn’t get far.

Brock was leaning up against his car when she exited the building. “Go away, Brock.”

He pushed away from the cruiser and shook his head. “Not gonna happen, babe.”

“I hate you so much right now.”

“Yep, I know.” Brock looked down at his phone. “Wanna walk a bit?”

“No.” She pulled the hood of her sweatshirt further around her face. “It’s daylight.”

“So?”

“Look at me.” She waved a hand toward her face, but dropped her head again. “Actually, don’t. I’m a monster, Brock. Right now, I just want to throw myself in front of the MAX.”

He cornered her without touching her and forced her to look at him. “Mase. I know that my words mean nothing to you right now, but what’s on the outside is still beautiful, it’s what you’re doing to the inside that’s making you a monster.”

“Screw you, Brock.”

Brock smiled. “I love you, Macey. We all do. At some point, you’ll get that through your thick head, but until then, you’ve got us and we’re not going anywhere.”

“There’s nothing left to love.”

He still didn’t touch her. Knew she couldn’t stand it, but he also didn’t let her out of his reach. He smiled again. “Not true.”

Macey forced back tears and dropped her head. “Well,
I
hate me. Why don’t you just do the same and go away?”

Brock knelt down a bit, so he could catch her eye, again without touching her. “I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart. None of us are. You can either fight it until you’re too tired to fight it anymore, or you can embrace it and avoid a lot of frustration in the end. You’re going to have to face Dallas at some point, too. Whether you want to acknowledge it, he loves you and he’ll give you space, but he’s not going anywhere either.”

“What if I kill your dog? Will that make you hate me enough to go away?”

“I don’t have a dog.” He smiled. “And you wouldn’t let me kill that stupid ass spider when you were twelve years old, remember? I highly doubt you’d kill a dog.”

“Well, I had just finished Charlotte’s Web,” she explained. “How horrible would it be if one of the spiders was Nellie?”

“Babe, I can guarantee you that that spider was most assuredly
not
one of Charlotte’s offspring.”

Despite the desire to smile, just a bit, she ground out, “I hate you.”

“No you don’t.”

“Yes. I. Do.”

Brock chuckled. “No you don’t.”

She bit her lip. “Payton hates me.”

“No she doesn’t.”

“I told her that she was sentimental and pathetic, and that I’m not going to your parents’ party because I’m not family.”

“Yeah, that would have hurt her, Mase. But she still doesn’t hate you.”

Macey threw her hands up in the air. “Then that really
does
make her an idiot.”

Brock shook his head. “No, that makes her your family.”

“Stop it, Brockaby.” Macey burst into tears. “I’m the worst person on earth. She’s always so nice to me and all I ever do is push her away. Everything is just so messed up and I feel so... ”

“Babe, we can’t even imagine what you’re going through. We just wanna be here for you.”

She wiped her tears. “I can’t. I can’t cope.”

“Well, now we’re getting somewhere. You gonna call Mom’s friend?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Nope.”

“Fine. I’ll call her.”

Brock smiled. “Good. Can I hug you?”

She bit her lip. “I can’t hug you before I hug Dal. It just doesn’t feel right.”

“Even better,” Brock said. “I agree that it should be him first.”

She nodded.

“You know we got accepted. Me, Dallas, and Jax.”

Macey nodded again. The FBI had scouted the three young detectives to be trained for a special op team.

Brock frowned. “He doesn’t want to go.”

“He
has
to go,” Macey said. “It’s the career opportunity of a lifetime.”

“He’s worried about leaving you for six months.”

“I’ll be fine. Tell him I’ll get counseling. Tell him I’ll get better, but I need space. He needs to live his life and not wait around for me. I might never be ready.”

Brock shook his head. “You’re gonna have to tell him yourself, babe, but when you do, if he does go, I’ve got his back.”

“Thanks, Brock. Please don’t let him do anything stupid.”

“I won’t.”

“And I mean anything you would naturally do yourself,” Macey clarified.