Chapter 2

Omar allowed Kellan to go make a report to the police. Kellan was more concerned about the rain getting into his car, so after he made the call he took a trash bag and some duct tape to patch up the hole until he could get it to the shop. He also texted Matt. Matt had to be up at four in the morning for work, so he was usually asleep by now, but he put his phone on silent so Kellan could text him anytime.

Omfg, someone broke into my fuggin car in the restaurant parking lot. They didn’t steal anything important, but still, grrrr.

To Kellan’s surprise, Matt replied within a minute. :O Oh no! Your poor car is probably soaked inside now, huh? Poor Kel. Want me to come over with some bath towels?

Kellan’s heart fluttered. That was Matt in a nutshell. He could always tell what upset Kellan most about any unpleasant situation and knew how to make that situation better. No, it’s fine. You should be asleep. Talk to you tomorrow, okay?

Mkay. Don’t worry, I passed out on the couch earlier and I just finished getting ready for actual bed. Glad I was able to get your text, but sorry to hear the bad news. Let me know if you need anything. Love you.

Kellan sighed. Even if Matt didn’t have to be up for work, Kellan didn’t want him coming out here in this rain anyway. Kellan got as soaked as his back seat while he tried to tape the bag over the hole, despite having his hood up and the drawstring pulled as tight as possible. Whoever it was hadn’t had any mercy with the window. Only a few pieces of glass remained stuck valiantly to the frame. Everything else was scattered over the seats or the asphalt. By the time Kellan had cleaned up, every piece of exposed fabric in his clothes was stuck to his body.

The police came, took Kellan’s and Omar’s statements, then checked the CCTV footage of the parking lot’s camera. As the customers had said, the thief was wearing a long raincoat with the hood pulled up. Because of this and the poor quality of the video, it was hard to make out their features. Kellan cringed at the sight of the thief taking something from their pocket and using it to smash open the window.

“Probably some teen looking to make a quick steal,” one of the police officers said. “I guess they hoped you had a laptop in that bag or something.”

“No, nothing like that, thank God.” Kellan sighed. “You don’t have enough to find this guy, do you?”

The officer shook his head. “Afraid not. If there are any other thefts in the area, maybe we’ll find more clues, but even if they had broken your window with their fist and left some blood behind, the rain would have washed most of it away. We’ll have to hope if they do it again they won’t be so careful.”

Everyone in Besha was waiting to hear the news, staff and customers alike. Omar simply shook his head and told them all, “Nothing to be done about it, but I will be adding a second, more visible camera to the parking lot for extra safety so this won’t happen again.”

That was something Kellan hadn’t considered, but he felt guilty about it. He had been so wrapped up in concern for his car and what the thief might have taken that he didn’t think about what this could do to Besha’s reputation. Customers wouldn’t want to come here if they thought their belongings wouldn’t be safe in their cars.

Kellan was in a sour mood for the rest of the night. He wished he knew who had done this. He’d give that punk a good slap in the face and a punch to the gut. That wasn’t going to happen, though. Chances were this would be just another break-in that everyone would forget about within a few days. He was going to get the window fixed as soon as he could afford it, he would be more careful about leaving things visible in his car, and tomorrow he could lament about his situation to Matt while in the comfort of Matt’s arms. That last thought helped him get through the end of his shift, but despite his attempts to be positive he still shuffled out after closing with a pit of melancholy in his stomach. 2

True to his nature, Matt came straight from work with a chocolate/vanilla marbled pound cake and a little sealed cup of the strawberry reduction glaze that Kellan loved so much. They both had some errands to run before they met up again that evening, but Kellan appreciated seeing Matt any chance he could. The tight comforting hug Matt gave him in addition to the pound cake was also very welcome.