Chapter 24
Jack
I’m in bed with Morgan. I wanna fuck the hell out of this girl again. We went for a round two last night. She begged for it. I was gentler. I behaved. For her. Probably shouldn’t have. Going slow is dumb when it’s Morgan underneath me.
I grit my teeth, annoyed sex with her was different.
It’s just cause she was a virgin. A tight cunt and a body to match... although, everything she did was addictive. Those little whimpers. Her face when she came. How she clung to my body like I meant something to her.
Christ, now that it’s over, I can’t believe she gave herself to me. Noel was right. That moment belonged to a better man.
Snap out of it, Jack. Just be fucking grateful something good happened in your goddamn life.
I turn off my watch alarm. Four AM. That means only two hours of sleep.
I dress and grab my keys. She awakens and does a half push-up in bed. Her eyes are almost closed.
“Where are you going?” she frets, raspy.
Cute.
I lean over the bed and kiss her forehead. “I gotta drive back. Work’s at eight.”
“Aww. You stayed even though you had to get up this early?”
I snort. “You didn’t make it easy.”
She blushes.
After kissing her once more, I step back.
For a moment, I hesitate.
Don’t say it. Don’t do it. Go.
“I’ll buy you a burner phone and leave it at the front desk.”
Fuck. I said it. You idiot.
Her face lights up. “Oh, yeah. Yeah! Do that!”
I move to leave and she adds, “Shut the door quietly, please.”
“I will,” I reply coolly.
But I give the door a heavy jerk shut. It rattles down the walls, and I smirk.
I don’t give a fuck if her handlers know I was here. It’s screwed up, but being Morgan’s dirty secret pisses me off. Someone else will get to fuck her, and he won’t have to hide in the shadows.
That thought enrages me. I swallow it down.
Walk on.
Be grateful, Jack.
“Get your ass up and ready for school.” I check my watch. “Hurry.”
Noel groans and rolls over. “I stayed up too late. I’ll miss first block, but I’ll go to second.”
“This isn’t a negotiation. I’m tired, too. Up.”
I pull him out of the bed. “You wanna go to school with your hair fucked up, fine with me. Otherwise, get in the shower.”
He grunts but walks into the bathroom.
I pay the sitter, who is helping Tommy get ready. I’d shower — I need one — but that would steal Noel’s hot water. I settle for a change of clothes and put on new deodorant. My reflection is ragged.
Caffeine.
After cracking open a soda, I grab Noel’s backpack and throw it at him as he walks out of the door. Tommy follows even though he isn’t riding the bus. He’s riding with me.
I wrangle Tommy into the car instead and start it... look over.
“Bud, where’s your glasses?”
“Broke ’em.”
I grip the steering wheel, then head inside and find them on his nightstand. Not broken.
When I return, Noel’s in the damn car behind the wheel.
“I missed the bus. Can I drive?”
“You missed it?” I look down the road.
No sign of a yellow school bus. Guess he did miss it.
I close my eyes and inhale a deep breath. Then I make Tommy sit in the back and Noel drives.
Irritating. I’ll be a half an hour late for work. The crew will be standing outside, wondering if we’re closed.
I’m furious, but too damn exhausted to bother expressing it.
“Slow down, Noel. You are too close to that car.”
He does.
At least he’s smiling.
“I didn’t know you liked driving so much,” I say.
“Yup. Think I could take it out Friday night for a date?”
“A date?”
“Yeah. With Morgan.”
I grind my molars at the suggestion. But I am more worried he came up with the idea.
“First of all, no, the car is on its last wheels. Second, what the hell are you talking about?”
“Please!” he whines. “You went on a date. I want to take Morgan out.”
“Pull over the fuckin’ car.”
“No.”
“Now, Noel, or I’ll make you crash, kill you, resuscitate you, and kill you again.”
“Uh, you’re an asshat!” He jerks the car over and we switch seats.
“No more talking about Morgan,” I warn. “My job is to keep you out of trouble and graduate high-school. Morgan is trouble for you.”
He sulks, then leans close and sniffs several times. I shy away from him. “The hell?”
He squints as his face and ears flush red. “You smell like Morgan’s perfume.”
“What? How would you know?”
He furrows his brow, and his nostrils flare. “I smelled the same scent when I hugged her at church, at the center, and saw her in court.”
“Bro, calm down—”
“You fucked Morgan last night, didn’t you?”
“Lots of girls wear perfume.”
“The same scent!”
“Yes, the same.”
All of a sudden, a fist hits the side of my head. I block the next with my forearm. The car swerves and I jerk it back into my lane.
Another fist.
“You backstabber!” Noel roars. “My own brother!”
Tommy wails in the backseat.
Another hit.
The car swerves again, hits the median, a tire blows, and we slam into a light pole.
In a split second, Noel rushes out and runs across traffic. Cars honk, a man yells, and tires squeal. He makes the crossing and disappears down an alley.
What in the—
“Waaaa! Eeeee!”
And now Tommy is crying. I look back at him. “It’s okay, buddy.”
I rest my forehead on the steering wheel as strangers rush over.
When one of them pushes on my shoulder, I sit up. That’s when I notice the car isn’t running and smoke creeps from the hood.
Fuck me.