Petrichor: Chapter 1

Daniel

Five years of waking up with hangovers and you'd think I'd be fucking used to it by now. My head felt like a damn bowling ball as I lifted it off my pillow and rubbed my eyes open, fixing my junk as I headed to the bathroom to get ready for work. When I opened the door, steam blew out, and I waved it away as the silhouette of a woman exited my shower. Shit. I must've been beyond wasted to take whoever this chick was back to my place. I don't remember the last time I touched a woman, much less liking her enough to let her stay till morning.

"Good morning," the familiar voice rang in my ears as the steam cleared out and I turned to brush my teeth in the sink. Swiping away the fog from the mirror in front of me, I almost choked on my toothbrush when I realized the naked woman in my bathroom was Jesse.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, respectfully keeping my gaze towards the sink instead of what I really wanted to look at. I'd been curious about her over the years, wondering if she was just as nice in bed as she was outside of it. In the end, I chose to never cross that line with her, knowing how much it would fuck shit up for me. But that was before, before I lost everything I ever cared about. Nothing was holding me back this time, but I still looked away out of habit.

"I brought you home from the bar last night. It was pretty late so I crashed on your sofa. Don't worry, Dee. Nothing happened," Jesse explained with a smirk on her face and while part of me was relieved, I wondered what was stopping her from making a move now.

"Thanks," I replied quickly, resuming brushing my teeth as she reached near me to get a clean towel from the cabinet next to the sink. She felt comfortable around me, I suppose I was around her as well. It was probably because I reminded her of her dead boyfriend. She was always talking about how amazing he was, what a good man he turned out to be despite the bullshit that he'd gone through. I didn't see the comparison. I wasn't honorable. I wasn't even nice. I was a fucking mess and a half and I owed it all to her, the only woman in the world who had the power to make this pain go away, and who could also make it worse. I fucking missed her. I fucking missed my kids. And this pain was close to swallowing me whole. I could still feel it five years later, crawling deeper into me every time I tried to breathe.

"You can turn around now," she claimed, walking passed me in a towel as she exited the bathroom, and closed the door behind her. I was alone again, left to look at myself in the mirror and to slap myself awake before I headed in for a quick shower.

I was done a few minutes later, and I turned when I heard the front door open and slam shut. Jesse must've left for the shop already.

"Danny? Are you decent?" I groaned in agony when I heard Marley's voice and hurried to wrap a towel around my waist before things got weird. Opening the bathroom door, I forced a smile at her and she raised an eyebrow at me, calling my bluff. It's what made me stick around as a kid. She knew when to call me out on my shit. Marley and Serena were similar in that way.

"Not really. I'm late for work," I answered, turning towards the sink to begin shaving. It'd been a couple of weeks since I bothered to trim my beard, and I felt like it was time to stop looking like I belonged next to a dumpster.

"You own the shop, Danny. You can afford to be late if you want," Marley began to nag and I sighed, gripping the sides of the sink as I prepared myself for another one of her lectures. I'd heard several of them this week alone due to all the drinking I've been doing because of the trial. Thea had finally been caught trying to frame me for drug possession, and I would've been pissed as all hell if I didn't deserve it. I did help kill her sister after all. I deserved to be locked up, forgotten about. The more I thought about it, the more I drank, and the more I realized why Serena had left me. I was put on this earth for a purpose and God's been punishing me for not bothering to find it.

"I'm not fixing to lie and say I ain't gonna drink again. I am. Every single fucking day until they come back to me," I spat out and sighed when I realized I was pissed at the wrong person. Marley's done nothing but watch my back for the last five years—Michael, Freddy, and Jesse as well. Yet, the only thing I gave them were more headaches instead of gratitude.

"What if they don't?" she asked quietly, and I felt the anger rush through me again, sparking the pain as I brushed passed her and entered my bedroom.

"What did you come here for, Marley? More wedding shit? I already told you I was going," I reminded her, hoping she'd take the hint that a wedding is the last fucking place I wanted to go to right now. Don't get me wrong, I was happy she and Michael were finally getting hitched, but, the more she talked about it, the deeper the hole I wanted to fall into when I realized I wasn't married to that pain in the ass of a wife anymore.

"You're a thirty-two year old man now, Danny. Don't you think it's about time you get your shit together?"

"So you did come here to yell at me. Not interested," I argued as I pulled some clothes out of my dresser and headed to the bathroom to change in peace, locking the door behind me.

"Fine. I'm sorry. Truce?" she offered, and while I knew this was another one of her tricks, I knew I was going to agree anyway. It was the only way to get rid of that caring midget.

"Make me some of those tamales I like and you have a deal," I countered, and when I heard her laugh I smirked, pulling my boxer shorts and jeans up.

"Come over for dinner tonight then. You have to go somewhere else that's not the bar or the shop or this mess of a house," she began her nagging again, and I sighed in surrender. I wasn't going to win this one, I knew that much.

"Okay. Have them ready after work and I'll be there," I promised as I finished putting on my work shirt and opened the door, finding her smiling as she reached to hug me. I made a face and pushed her away gently so I could put some deodorant on before I fetched for my keys.

"Oh and one more thing about the wedding—"

"Marley, I swear to God—"

"You don't have to go. With the trial and everything, I wouldn't blame you," she mentioned, making it ridiculously hard for me to stay mad at her. I didn't feel like going to that wedding. But I had to. I couldn't leave Michael hanging like that. I was the best man, after all; I couldn't disappoint him too.

"I'll be there. I promise. Now get out because I really have a shit ton to do today," I hurried and she rolled her eyes before she reached in for another hug and we walked downstairs to our cars.

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The second I pulled up to my shop, I noticed the lot was full of cars I haven't even begun to touch yet. Fucking shit. I needed to pull an all-nighter if I wanted to get ahead of this workload. After looking in the mirror and deciding I wouldn't look too much like shit if I put some shades on, I reached for them inside of my glove compartment and slid them on.

While I walked over to my trunk to pull out some extra rags, I noticed a black SUV parked across the street with Arizona license plates. The vehicle screamed law enforcement, and I wondered if this had anything to do with the trial and all the people I managed to piss off on Thea's team. Including Thea and Catherine's parents. I had gotten back in touch with them when Thea was arrested last month, wanting to apologize for my part in their daughter's decision to commit suicide. Thea's sentencing was this morning, and according to the phone call the lawyer who handled my case made to me, Thea was going down for corruption, possession of illegal drugs, and a whole bunch of other shit. I made my peace with the situation when her parents decided to forgive me.

I closed my trunk when I saw the guy who'd been on television this morning talking about the trial jog across the street towards me. I forgot what his name was but I recognized his taste in sunglasses. And the ones he had on were definitely name-brand. I wondered how big of a paycheck he got for bringing down such a reputable FBI agent like Thea. She'd been a big deal in the FBI world. Not that I gave a shit. She came after the wrong person and she was now paying for it. I left my gang affiliated days behind me, and it paid off big time when I testified in court.

"Daniel Carter?" the detective called for me, and I straightened as I kept my distance.

"Who's asking?"

"Detective Vinson Mercy," he introduced himself, extending his hand, and I shook it, "Can we go somewhere private to talk?" the detective asked, and I turned to see why he had suggested that. Jesse and some of the other workers in the shop were staring.

"Uh, yeah. Follow me," I led him into my office inside the shop and locked the door as I offered him an empty seat, and he took it. I reached for a beer from the mini-fridge and offered him one but he refused it and I shrugged it off, keeping both for myself as I sat at my desk.

"Drink a lot, Mr. Carter?" he questioned, and I smirked as I slammed the cap off against the corner of my desk and took a swig.

"We all have our poisons. What brought you to my shop, detective?" I fished, taking another sip of my beer as I reclined into my leather desk chair.

"I'm here to talk to you about your wife, Serena Carter," he said her name, and I immediately dogged down the beer in my hand before he continued.

"You mean ex-wife," I corrected him, feeling the pain stretching my insides as I recalled the moment I signed those divorce papers after a year of not hearing a word from her, "what about her?"

"Now that your name has been cleared, and we've locked Thea away for good, Serena and your boys are free to come back home," he started, and I thought I misheard his words since I was still a little foggy from the hangover, but since he didn't look like the type of guy who joked around, I took his words seriously.

"Come back? From where? I thought your cop buddies stopped looking for them years ago," I recalled and tried to focus even though all of this information made me want to throw up. She was alive?My boys were okay? They're coming home? Why'd they leave to begin with? The questions kept coming, and I threw them all at the detective until he answered each and every one of them. He went on to explain why Serena had left so abruptly five years ago, making sure I understood the circumstances of the investigation before he stood up from his seat to leave.

"I came to make sure she wasn't coming home to something....violent," he assured, raising an eyebrow as he kicked an empty beer bottle on the floor towards the garbage can. The tone in his voice made this all seem more personal than normal, and I wondered if he had spent any time with her and the boys during these last few years. It pissed me off, to be honest. I didn't care that it was his job to protect them. I was their father; she was my wife. Or at least I was until I signed those fucking papers. Fuck. I should've never signed them. I didn't want to but everyone kept telling me I needed to move on, that she wasn't coming back.

Now what?

"I'd never put my hands on her, or them if that's what you're implying, detective," I answered defensively and stood up to show him out of my office.

"This has all been hard on her as well. I wouldn't want your drinking problem to make it any worse," he countered, and I lifted my chin up when I realized this was definitely personal to him. He spoke about her the same way I used to, as if he had any right to claim her and her well-being. He was halfway in love with her from what I could tell, if he wasn't completely already. Another fucking problem to add to my list.

"When are they arriving?"

"I'm picking them up myself from the airport in about an hour. Should I bring them here or...?"

"No. Definitely not here. Bring them to our old place. She knows where it is. I'll meet them there after I finish some things here," I replied, and he extended his hand again, leaving me to shake it, "Thanks again, detective."

"Just doing my job," he stated through a forced smile as he exited my office and headed for the exit of the shop. I couldn't believe this was actually happening. My family was coming back home. Oh, shit. I reached for my phone to call Marley and the rest of the group, but I hesitated, placing it back into my pocket. They wouldn't be the welcoming committee Serena and the boys needed right now. They'd been pissed at her just as long as I've been, and I was positive it wasn't going to be easy for them to forgive her, even though she really didn't have a choice in the matter back then. Thea didn't give her much of an option, which was something she had counted on for her revenge.

None of that shit mattered now, though. I just wanted my family back and, if my friends couldn't accept that, then maybe we were better off the same way we were before Gabe's funeral six years ago.

"Dee? What's going on? Who was that?" Jesse asked, holding a wrench in her hands as she brought me out of my thoughts. I rubbed my tired face and gestured for her to come into my office, so we could talk in private. I didn't want word to get around that Serena and the boys were back before I got a chance to tell the rest of our friends.

"They're back. Serena, my kids. It's a long story, but they're coming home," I answered, trying to stop smiling as I tried to think of what to buy them as welcome home gifts. Serena enjoyed her chocolates. I'd have that ready for her soon enough. I had no idea what the boys liked now that they were older, and probably had different personalities. I was getting a migraine from thinking so much, and I completely misheard everything Jesse had just finished saying.

"Sorry. What did you say?"

"Dee, this is great news and all, but you can't forget the hell she put you through these past few years. It's not good for you," Jesse lectured and I looked away, trying to control how upset I was getting. She had no business telling me what I could and couldn't do. Serena's been my everything since before I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life arguing with her and I wasn't going to allow Jesse or anyone else for that matter, take that away from me too.

"I've done worse to her," I reminded Jesse, and she simply stood quietly with nothing else to say as she watched me take my keys and head out the door.