Chapter 10
CHAPTER
TEN
Sabrina finished her last client of the day and stepped out of the room to let the older woman get dressed.
She was a violinist in the Pittsburgh Symphony who had wrist and finger problems. Last week, the musician came to Sabrina to get her hands worked on.
This week, she was back and had booked a regular time slot.
“I swear, you’ve made the biggest difference to my performances.” The woman wiggled the stylus on the signature pad and added a generous tip. “I’m so glad I found you.”
Sabrina smiled. “Thanks for that. See you next week?”
“For sure. Have a nice night!” she trilled as she walked out of the building.
This was the kind of client Sabrina enjoyed working with regularly—someone who needed her services and appreciated the help a good massage could bring.
It almost made up for the two walk-ins Stephan had foisted on her earlier today.
One was a woman who complained that her session was too rough, even after Sabrina had repeatedly asked her if the pressure was more than she wanted.
The second was a man who let out a long “Ahh” as if climaxing every time she released a trigger point.
He got so loud, she was afraid the other people in the spa would think something besides the man’s back was getting a massage.
Sabrina’s smile dropped with an exhausted sigh.
It was Cicely’s day off and Stephan had left early, leaving her to close up by herself.
The days were getting dark earlier, and Sabrina didn’t like riding her bike at night if she could help it.
Cars were bad enough about messing with motorcyclists during the day, but it was always just a little worse after the sun went down.
No matter. She really didn’t need to go anywhere, but sometimes it was nice to just ride. She and Ernie would do that after she got her first motorcycle. Rodrigo had his own bike but didn’t like to use it much. Why he kept one was a mystery. Jealousy, perhaps?
The weekends riding over to Lido Key and hanging on the beaches with her dad were some of her best memories.
Those were the times when she’d questioned nothing about her life, who she belonged to, and where her future lay.
Her plans were to work at Amelia’s place until she’d saved enough to open her own massage business.
When her world collapsed, she used a lot of her savings to purchase and outfit her van as a backup space until she got back on her feet. Pending that miracle, she still had to work and support herself, which brought her here to Pittsburgh to get some answers so she could restart her life.
For tonight, she could put all that aside and grab a quick shower. No other plans than snuggling up with Rugrat and Reptar, plus a good book. Food would be easy, as she had a stash of instant dinners she could grab from the break room freezer.
She locked the front door and walked down the hallway to the mudroom, where clients would get covered in a whole-body mud wrap for toning and cleansing.
The tiled room had a handheld showerhead that hung over a central table.
Cicely usually worked with those people, but Sabrina had helped a time or two.
It was a small price to pay in order to use the facility after hours.
She pulled out the long braid she wore during the day and shook out her hair, letting the locks fall in thick waves around her face.
Her eyes landed on the table with speculation.
Yes, a mud wrap sounded nice, and she wasn’t opposed to doing it on herself, but she was afraid she’d fall asleep and wake up in the morning to find herself in a crusty mess. Nope. Shower, then food, then book.
Her phone rang just as she gathered her bath items together from her locker.
Rodrigo’s name popped up, and she pursed her lips.
She wished she could just delete his number, but the connection was necessary, at least for now.
She pulled her lower lip between her teeth as she pondered answering, then, against her better judgment, swiped up.
“What do you want?”
“Your fucking signature on these papers.”
The background noise told her there was a crowd at the house. Parties happened frequently after Rodrigo moved back into the family home, something Sabrina did not miss. The night one of her brother’s buddies put his hands on her was the night she started living full-time in the converted van.
“Then bring your ass up here and I’ll sign away.”
“I can’t just leave work.”
Sabrina rolled her eyes. Right, like no one else’s job matters but yours. “We’ve been through this already. Mail the damn things or send me a DocuSign email. I’ll give you my work and personal email addresses. Take your pick.”
“I don’t trust that shit. You need to come down here.”
Sabrina closed her locker door with a bang. “I don’t have to do a goddamn thing. You and Aunt Rosa started this crap. Y’all can finish it.”
“Why do you have to be such a bitch?”
She stopped in the hallway and let out a sarcastic laugh. “Bitch. Right. You threw me out of the family, and I’m the bitch.”
“You were never family, chica. You were just a placeholder.”
Rodrigo’s nasty tone bit deeper than Sabrina was ready to hear. “Dad never felt that way, and you know it.” She scoffed. “That’s why you’re being such a dick to me. It’s ’cause Dad loved me no matter what, and you’ve always been jealous of that.”
“Don’t you talk about him like he was your real father! All you need to do is sign these papers and get the fuck out of my life.”
“I already stated your options, brother. Ball’s in your court now. Goodbye!”
Sabrina swiped the screen and resisted the urge to throw the device against the tile wall. Half a second later, she wiped angry tears from her eyes. “I can’t believe I care enough to cry over this shit. Dad, why did you have to die?”
The walls had no answers.
Ernie was gone. Her family had abandoned her. She was in a strange city that didn’t want her, with no real support from anyone, not even her work colleagues. She told herself it didn’t matter and she could handle it.
It’s rough when you can no longer believe your own lies.
Loneliness hit her hard. The tears kept falling, and no matter how many happy thoughts she tried to drum up, they didn’t stop. She needed a shoulder, a hug, or just to hear the voice of another human who didn’t hate her.
With trembling hands, she called the only person she trusted in Pittsburgh.
Cam parked his bike next to the van in the dark alley.
The back door to the massage business was all but invisible in the dim light, the bulb over the opening doing nothing to dispel any shadows.
Some light came from the van, but it was also limited by the curtains drawn over the window.
If they were off, the van would disappear from sight.
He had to admit, the likelihood of anyone coming back here to mess with his girl was low, given the visibility and isolation.
Even so, he still despised the thought of her being here, alone and vulnerable.
He’d just finished eating at Quillon’s place when he got the call from Sabrina. The tears were obvious in her voice, even though she was trying to hide them.
“Hi, Cam. Um… what are you doing tonight?”
“Having supper with my friends, then going home.”
“Oh, okay. I was just thinking, maybe….”
Cam shifted the phone to his other ear as Quillon glanced at him with questioning eyes. “You okay, Sabrina?”
“Oh yeah, I’m just fine, sugar. I was just thinking, if you weren’t busy….”
“You in your van?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t have to think about it. “I’m on my way.”
Cam considered knocking or texting to tell her he was outside her door, but she must have noticed his arrival. The door slid open, and she waved him in with a smile. Her leggings were patterned in elephants, and her black tunic hung long and loose.
“Hey, sugar. You didn’t have to come out here. I could have met you someplace for a drink or something.”
“Supposed to rain soon. No one likes riding while you’re getting pelted with water bullets.”
She made a face. “Do you want to put your bike in the trailer just in case? It’ll be a tight fit, but we can manage.”
He wanted so badly to say, “That’s what she said,” but he stopped himself. The mood wasn’t right for joking. “Sure, thanks.” He handed her a paper grocery bag. “Tracie sent this over. She thought you might not have eaten yet.”
“What is it?”
“Sausage and pierogies.”
She blinked. “Sausage is familiar and comes in several forms, but I’ve never heard of proggies.”
“Pierogies. Potato dumplings. Tracie makes great ones, but not quite traditional. She sneaks bacon crumbles into hers.”
Sabrina eyed the bag. “They sound interesting.”
Cam smiled. “You got the trailer key handy? I’ll get my bike settled before it starts coming down hard.”
It took some effort, but he was able to get his bike into the trailer next to hers. Some bikers didn’t worry about covering their rides for weather, but if shelter was available, he’d take it.
The van had more room in it than he thought. A small kitchenette area, folding table and bench on one side, and on the other…
“Holy shit! What are those?”
Sabrina laughed. “My kids, Rugrat and Reptar. They’re bearded dragons. Want to meet them?”
Cam looked at the two lizards, the theme of her headgear suddenly making sense. “Why do you have them?”
“Presents from a former roommate. She moved out and left them behind. They’re my roommates now. A lot cleaner and no complaints.”
The two animals scurried to stare at him for a moment, as if sizing him up. One of them puffed up a bristled chin at him while the other crawled off to other parts of their enclosure. He and the lizard had a stare-off before the reptile gave up and moved to climb the tree.