West Coast
six.
“Has she come in yet?” Brian asked as he stood in the doorway of Zack’s office. It had been nearly two weeks since Christmas Eve, which was the last time Brian had seen or spoken to Scout.
The guitarist looked at his friend and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Didn’t you look at her desk when you walked in?” Brian shook his head in response causing Zack to sigh, “Listen man, I didn’t know how to tell you this. I figured you would’ve talked to her by now.”
Brian felt a look of confusion creep onto his face, “What are you talking about, Vengeance?”
“I got an e-mail from Scout on New Years Eve saying she was leaving the internship. Well, she finished it, but that she didn’t want the job I had offered her. She came in like an hour ago to clear out her stuff.”
“How did she look?” Brian hadn’t seen or spoken to Scout since she took off from his house on Christmas Eve.
Zack raised an eyebrow, “Want me to be honest?” Brian nodded, nervous as to what his friend was about to say next. “She looked like shit man.”
Brian groaned and shoved his hands in his pants pocket, pulling out his car key, “Alright man… well thanks I guess. I’ll see you around. I’ve got to head to my dad’s; I told Suzy I’d stop by for a bit.”
Zack offered his friend an encouraging smile and a pat on the back, “I’ll see you tomorrow night. Matt’s place… 8pm. He and Val want to have people over, something about integrating Brooks into the family or something.”
Scout rolled over in bed and let out a yawn. Blue was still fast asleep beside her, snoring loudly. The brunette searched for her phone before finding it wedged between the dogs back and the mattress. 11:45AM. Scout sighed and rolled back over, closing her eyes again, and drifted back to sleep. Only twelve hours and fifteen minutes until Christmas was over and Scout couldn’t wait. She planned on staying in bed until Blue needed to go for a walk and even after that, it was right back to bed.
The rest of the holiday season had followed a similar schedule. She had received an e-mail from Vengeance University the day after Christmas announcing that she, Scout Hawkins, had been offered the coveted full time position at the company. The brunette couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride course through her before it was soon replaced with doubt. Had that decision been made before Zack realized that she and Brian had been sleeping together? Was the offer based off merit alone or had Brian said something to his friend?
By New Years Eve, Scout had decided to e-mail Zack personally and graciously decline the offer. She promised to have her desk cleared out within a week and wished him well in the coming year. Aside from the day she went into the office with a big empty box, Scout spent the majority of her remaining winter break searching for jobs. It wasn’t until her sister, Harper showed up unexpectedly that Scout began to leave the apartment more, mostly in an effort to get away from her sister. Break couldn’t end soon enough.
“Oh sweetie, maybe it was for the better.” Suzy stated sitting beside her son-in-law, “She was awfully young.”
Brian sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. Up until that point, he felt himself agreeing with what people were saying to him- how well did they really even know each other, she’s an employee of Zack’s, how would it work when she went home for summer break. But when Suzy pointed out their age difference, a light bulb went off in his mind. Did their age difference really make a difference?
“Does it really make a difference though? I mean, I really care about her and she cared about me. I was just Brian. There was no Synyster Gates.”
Suzy listened to Brian as he spoke in a quiet voice. Pushing bias and judgment aside, Suzy wrapped her arm around Brian’s shoulder and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “You need to do whatever you need to in order to make you happy then.”
Brian hung around his dad’s house a bit longer, deciding to leave before McKenna arrived in an effort to avoid the dirty looks he just knew the eighteen-year-old would be sending him. He had begun driving home as his mind began to wander. Before long, Brian realized he had in fact driven himself right to Scout’s apartment complex rather than his own beach front property. He sighed as he parked the car. It was a shot in the dark to see if Scout would actually speak to him, but he just felt like since he had already driven there, he might as well try.
“Well, hello there.” Harper smirked as she opened the door, greeting the person on the other side. “Can I help you with something?” She bat her eyelashes dramatically.
Brian looked over the woman’s shoulder into the once familiar apartment, “I’m sorry… Is Scout here? I need to talk to her.”
Before Harper even had a chance to open her mouth and respond, Scout walked in from the kitchen. It had been longer than the guitarist would have liked since he had seen Scout. She looked tired, worn out. At the sight of Brian at her front door, Scout couldn’t help but feel her heart skip a beat. In an effort to save face, her frown deepened a bit.
“What are you doing here?” She snapped, running a hand through her messy, unwashed hair.
Brian shrugged. A bit of her skin poked out when she lifted her hand to run it through her hair. To be honest, he hadn’t really even planned on stopping by. It just happened and seeing Scout stand there wasn’t helping his thought process. “I just, wanted to talk to you is all. I was in the area and figured I’d drop by. But I see you have company so I-”
At the thought of being able to escape from her sister, even if meant spending time with Brian, Scout smiled. “Let me just changed really quick and we can grab coffee.”
Harper smiled to herself as she watched her sister sprint down the hall to her bedroom, “You must be something special. I haven’t seen my sister smile like that since I’ve been here.”
Her sister. “Ah, you must be Harper… I’m Brian.” He introduced himself, extending a hand for her to shake. Brian laughed to himself as the memory of all of Scout’s stories about her sister came flooding back to him.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Brian.” Harper giggled, accepting his handshake.
Brian rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses, knowing it wasn’t true. “I could say the same.”
The guitarist looked at his friend and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Didn’t you look at her desk when you walked in?” Brian shook his head in response causing Zack to sigh, “Listen man, I didn’t know how to tell you this. I figured you would’ve talked to her by now.”
Brian felt a look of confusion creep onto his face, “What are you talking about, Vengeance?”
“I got an e-mail from Scout on New Years Eve saying she was leaving the internship. Well, she finished it, but that she didn’t want the job I had offered her. She came in like an hour ago to clear out her stuff.”
“How did she look?” Brian hadn’t seen or spoken to Scout since she took off from his house on Christmas Eve.
Zack raised an eyebrow, “Want me to be honest?” Brian nodded, nervous as to what his friend was about to say next. “She looked like shit man.”
Brian groaned and shoved his hands in his pants pocket, pulling out his car key, “Alright man… well thanks I guess. I’ll see you around. I’ve got to head to my dad’s; I told Suzy I’d stop by for a bit.”
Zack offered his friend an encouraging smile and a pat on the back, “I’ll see you tomorrow night. Matt’s place… 8pm. He and Val want to have people over, something about integrating Brooks into the family or something.”
Scout rolled over in bed and let out a yawn. Blue was still fast asleep beside her, snoring loudly. The brunette searched for her phone before finding it wedged between the dogs back and the mattress. 11:45AM. Scout sighed and rolled back over, closing her eyes again, and drifted back to sleep. Only twelve hours and fifteen minutes until Christmas was over and Scout couldn’t wait. She planned on staying in bed until Blue needed to go for a walk and even after that, it was right back to bed.
The rest of the holiday season had followed a similar schedule. She had received an e-mail from Vengeance University the day after Christmas announcing that she, Scout Hawkins, had been offered the coveted full time position at the company. The brunette couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride course through her before it was soon replaced with doubt. Had that decision been made before Zack realized that she and Brian had been sleeping together? Was the offer based off merit alone or had Brian said something to his friend?
By New Years Eve, Scout had decided to e-mail Zack personally and graciously decline the offer. She promised to have her desk cleared out within a week and wished him well in the coming year. Aside from the day she went into the office with a big empty box, Scout spent the majority of her remaining winter break searching for jobs. It wasn’t until her sister, Harper showed up unexpectedly that Scout began to leave the apartment more, mostly in an effort to get away from her sister. Break couldn’t end soon enough.
“Oh sweetie, maybe it was for the better.” Suzy stated sitting beside her son-in-law, “She was awfully young.”
Brian sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. Up until that point, he felt himself agreeing with what people were saying to him- how well did they really even know each other, she’s an employee of Zack’s, how would it work when she went home for summer break. But when Suzy pointed out their age difference, a light bulb went off in his mind. Did their age difference really make a difference?
“Does it really make a difference though? I mean, I really care about her and she cared about me. I was just Brian. There was no Synyster Gates.”
Suzy listened to Brian as he spoke in a quiet voice. Pushing bias and judgment aside, Suzy wrapped her arm around Brian’s shoulder and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “You need to do whatever you need to in order to make you happy then.”
Brian hung around his dad’s house a bit longer, deciding to leave before McKenna arrived in an effort to avoid the dirty looks he just knew the eighteen-year-old would be sending him. He had begun driving home as his mind began to wander. Before long, Brian realized he had in fact driven himself right to Scout’s apartment complex rather than his own beach front property. He sighed as he parked the car. It was a shot in the dark to see if Scout would actually speak to him, but he just felt like since he had already driven there, he might as well try.
“Well, hello there.” Harper smirked as she opened the door, greeting the person on the other side. “Can I help you with something?” She bat her eyelashes dramatically.
Brian looked over the woman’s shoulder into the once familiar apartment, “I’m sorry… Is Scout here? I need to talk to her.”
Before Harper even had a chance to open her mouth and respond, Scout walked in from the kitchen. It had been longer than the guitarist would have liked since he had seen Scout. She looked tired, worn out. At the sight of Brian at her front door, Scout couldn’t help but feel her heart skip a beat. In an effort to save face, her frown deepened a bit.
“What are you doing here?” She snapped, running a hand through her messy, unwashed hair.
Brian shrugged. A bit of her skin poked out when she lifted her hand to run it through her hair. To be honest, he hadn’t really even planned on stopping by. It just happened and seeing Scout stand there wasn’t helping his thought process. “I just, wanted to talk to you is all. I was in the area and figured I’d drop by. But I see you have company so I-”
At the thought of being able to escape from her sister, even if meant spending time with Brian, Scout smiled. “Let me just changed really quick and we can grab coffee.”
Harper smiled to herself as she watched her sister sprint down the hall to her bedroom, “You must be something special. I haven’t seen my sister smile like that since I’ve been here.”
Her sister. “Ah, you must be Harper… I’m Brian.” He introduced himself, extending a hand for her to shake. Brian laughed to himself as the memory of all of Scout’s stories about her sister came flooding back to him.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Brian.” Harper giggled, accepting his handshake.
Brian rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses, knowing it wasn’t true. “I could say the same.”