Free Silent City by Alex Segura

back on his father’s lawn, a few weeks after the funeral. Realizing that he couldn’t return to New Jersey, that the life he’d created and wanted to continue with Emily was close to collapse. He’d been staying at his father’s house—the smallish three-bedroom where he’d grown up—with Emily while they got his father’s affairs in order. It had been surreal, but also strangely comforting.
    He remembered pulling into the carport slowly. He had stopped at La Carretta, a chain Cuban restaurant on Bird Road, for a few beers. He moved slowly. They’d been fighting lately. It took him a second to notice the suitcases by the porch. A few more to catch Emily as she brought out another bag. She saw him first and stood at the top of the steps, waiting for him to speak. A cab pulled up. Pete stood there.
    “Please, don’t try to call me. This is the decision I’ve made and I need you to respect that.”
    At the foot of the steps, Pete shook his head, to clear the cobwebs partially, but also on the off chance that this was just another bad dream in a series of nightmares.
    “You’re doing this now, of all times?” The words spilled out of his mouth.
    She walked to the cab, dropped the remaining bags in the trunk and got in the car. Pete remembered walking up to her window. She didn’t lower it. She was looking straight ahead. He rapped his fingers on the window. Nothing. She looked back at him for a fleeting moment and then the cab was moving. Pete was tempted to chase after her, like in the movies. All that he had left, though, was dust.
    The memory disappeared as quickly as it had popped into his head. Pete made himself cough in an effort to explain away his red eyes to anyone that cared. He noticed Paul Westerberg was on the jukebox now. “As Far As I Know.”
    “How long have you been here?”
    Pete turned around slowly to see Emily, her dark brown hair in a tight ponytail. She was in a T-shirt and jeans, but still looked great—scrubbed and fresh-faced. He felt a pang of guilt for lusting for her so quickly after taking a rollercoaster ride through their failed relationship. Emily looked concerned. She stared at Pete, which made him realize that a few seconds had passed and she was waiting for an answer.
    “I dunno, couple of hours?” He tried to not sound as buzzed as he felt. “Where were you guys?”
    “Don’t get me started,” Emily let out with a dry laugh. She was a little annoyed, Pete could tell, but it wasn’t worth getting angry over. “Mike wanted to go all the way to his neighborhood to eat, so it took forever to get here. Then we walked in and went straight to the patio. I just came to the bar because our dumbass waiter went home and closed his bill with us.”
    “Ah, shit,” Pete mumbled. “I checked outside and couldn’t see you.”
    “Don’t you check your phone, Pete?” Emily said.
    Pete could smell the Chanel. “It’s gonna rain in a bit. Lemme go out and get Mike and we’ll meet you here.”
    She darted out, shaking her head. Emily was, like Pete, usually in a state of annoyance. She rarely got enraged or very angry, but it took very little to get under her skin. Pete pulled two stools closer to his. He was glad she was here, though. And that Mike was here. Whatever he’d been through, with or without them, made more sense when they were near him. Whenever he found himself alone for too long, things got dark very quickly.

Chapter Ten
    “ D o I need to use the bridge example?” Emily said, staring right at Pete, more frustration than humor in her voice. “Kathy’s a fuck-up. She’s a great writer, I consider her a friend, but she’s totally unreliable and a mess. I’m surprised it took this long for her to go AWOL.”
    “Bridge example?” Pete asked, knowing where she was going.
    “Yes.”
    “What are you talking about?” Mike asked. Emily turned to look at him with the same annoyed surprise she’d already served up to Pete.
    “Maybe it’s time to cut you