Chapter 7

Waverly

After watching Nicole walk around the corner towards Champ's office, there was nothing for Waverly to do except wait. She went back to the bar and tried not to glance at the clock every five seconds, focusing instead on serving drinks and chatting with the regulars to pass the time. Dang I need to pee. Waverly excused herself and weaved her way to the bar's single stall restroom, locking the door behind her.

She was washing her hands when she heard a knock on the door. "Occupied!" she yelled, hoping whoever was outside could hear her.

"Waverly, it's me. Open up." Nicole.

"Um, just a second!" Perfect, this isn't embarrassing or anything. She finished drying her hands before unlocking the door and finding familiar brown eyes on the other side. "Uh, hi." Smooth, Earp.

Nicole laughed at her. "Hi. Let me in, silly." Always so pushy, as Nicole literally pushed her way into the small space with her. "Sorry ladies, we'll be fast," she heard Nicole say to someone outside. Kill me now.

"Nicole!" she yelled, feeling her face heat up.

Nicole was cool as ever. "Oh, chill out, Earp, I'm keeping our cover in tact. It's not like I can tell them we need to have a mission debrief in here, now can I?" Fair point. Still not funny.

"Fine, but make it quick. What'd Champ have to say?" she asked.

"Well, not much actually, it was all pretty easy. Basically he agreed to test out the product I've got and consider looping me in if he likes what he sees, so we set up a time a few nights from now to meet up with some more of his crew," Nicole sounded excited. "He's not the brightest crayon in the box, I mean he probably should've vetted me more and asked some tougher questions, but at this point I'll take what we can get." Huh, something seems off about that, Champ would never be careless regarding the business...

Waverly was concerned. "Don't underestimate him, Nicole. Yes, he's pretty stupid when it comes to common sense, but he doesn't mess around when it comes to business. Why do you think he hasn't let me close to anything? I think we need to tread with caution here."

Waverly could tell she immediately hit a sore spot with Nicole. "Why aren't you more excited about this?" the redhead challenged. "This is the first break we've had on Hardy in months, I would think you'd be grateful for the progress!" Grateful? Oh hell no.

"Whoa, let me stop you right there, Haught. Yes, I am grateful for the support here, but don't for one second think I couldn't have made a break in this case without your help! I would've gotten there eventually, I just needed more time but then Dolls – freakin' Dolls – just dropped you in my lap like some great fixer and now we're stuck in this situation together, and we need to be on the same page!" Ok, 'stuck' may have been harsh, but still.

She saw the tick in Nicole's jaw and knew things had just gone from bad to worse. "Maybe we would be on the same page if you shared things with me!" Nicole was shouting now, that accent of hers getting thicker by the minute. "Maybe we would've been on the same page this entire time if you had just talked to me eight years ago, Waverly!" And there it is, always just under the surface, goddamn it. Nicole took a breath and lowered her voice. "What the fuck happened to us? How did we get here, in some disgusting bar bathroom arguing over the likes of Champ fucking Hardy? Seriously, help me understand this, because I'm lost," Nicole finished quietly.

I can't tell her. I can never tell her what happened that night. Waverly felt her eyes welling up with tears. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the ground. "I don't know, Nicole," she was almost whispering, and she hated herself for being so weak. "I can't explain any of this to you now, it's too late. I did what I did all those years ago and no explanation is going to fix that now." Please for the love of god do not start crying.

Waverly felt Nicole move towards her, then a warm hand under her chin before her head was being lifted gently. Goddamn you, Nic. "Waverly, talk to me, please. Why won't you tell me what happened the last time I saw you? You don't understand how much I've thought about it, how many nights I went without sleep wondering what I had done wrong, why you had left without a word, how you were even capable of doing that. I need answers, please, Waves," Nicole begged. Her eyes were so wide and pleading it was all Waverly could do not to pull Nicole into a hug and cry into her shoulder.

You can't go there, you don't have a choice, so put that out of your mind. Put the wall back up, do whatever you have to do to get out of this mess, Earp.

Waverly steeled herself, knowing she was about to stick a dagger in the person she cared for most in the world. She felt a long tear run down her cheek before responding. "I told you not to call me Waves." Her voice sounded dead, flat, even to her own ears. Nicole's eyes widened and Waverly saw understanding and defeat pass over her face. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Someone knocked loudly on the door.

Nicole dropped the hand holding Waverly's face and stepped back a foot. It might as well have been 100 miles. "The meet with Hardy is in a few days, Dolls can update you afterwards." And with that Nicole was gone, and this time it had been Waverly pushing her away rather than running away herself. She wasn't sure which was worse.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. Waverly glanced at the line outside the door, shut the door in their faces, and slid onto the floor and cried.