Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
ARLOW
It was nearly three a.m. when I walked Calli back to her cabin last night. After our talk about our families and memories, things lightened up. We ended up talking and laughing in my kitchen, eating French toast in the middle of the night. It doesn’t matter if we’re hiking in the woods, at a bonfire, or just sitting on one of our porches, I always have a good time with her. I need to keep things at a friendship level but it’s getting difficult. Ever since she kissed me, I can’t stop thinking about it, her fingers playing through my whiskers, the little moan she let out when my tongue brushed hers.
Fuck. Drinking around her isn’t a good idea. My self-control is too tested by her when I’m sober, much less when I’m buzzed. It’s not only because she’s gorgeous. When we were sitting on her porch glider with her cuddled up to me, my arm around her, it felt so comfortable, so natural. She’s a private person, like I am. Neither of us talk much about ourselves but the more she’s opened up, the more I want to know everything about her.
For the first time, it feels like someone genuinely gets me. It’s so gratifying but also heartbreaking because it makes me want things I can’t have. As friends, we can keep some distance between us. I can’t stand the thought of hurting her by letting things go any further. She’s so sweet.
She’s also the first thought in my head when I drag my eyes open just past noon. I need to work. I need to get focused on that and spend a little less time with her so these feelings will lessen. Scrubbing my face with my palms, I climb out of bed to shower and get ready for the day. My mouth is a desert, but at least I’m not hungover. After a quick meal, my intention is to spend the day in the barn, but that plan is halted when I step outside.
My truck sits parked in the driveway where it usually waits, but the driver’s side window is shattered. Glass clings around the edges, outlining the gaping hole in the center. Déjà vu washes over me as I open the door to survey for other damage.
Handleman . Mom warned me that he was being released from prison.
No. There’s no need to jump to that conclusion. Maybe this isn’t even vandalism. The column doesn’t look tampered with so stealing the truck wasn’t the goal. The console and glovebox are closed, and a quick inspection shows nothing is missing. Not that a thief would want an aux cord, tire gauge, or some proof of insurance paperwork. The window has had a tiny chip in it for over a year. The temperature changes recently combined with the repeated opening and closing of the door may have weakened it. It’s possible it broke from the storms last night.
My phone rattles in my pocket with a text from Lee.
Lee
I’m right down the road. Need to borrow your ladder so wake the hell up.
Me
I’m up.
He pulls into my driveway a couple of minutes later while I’m bringing out my shop vac. My truck is a mess. Everything is soaking wet inside and covered in crumbling fragments of glass.
“What the hell did you do?” Lee asks.
“I found it this way. From the storm last night, maybe, I don’t know.”
He does the same thing I did, scanning around for an obvious tree limb or something that could’ve bounced off it. “Was it hailing?”
“No.” By the time I walked Calli home, the storms had passed leaving only rain. It’s possible the window was already broken, and we didn’t notice it in the dark. We were both drunk. “I can fix it, but can you run me to the auto parts store?” It’s not my first time replacing a window. Handleman saw to that before.
“No problem. I’ll help you get the new one in.” Lee rubs his chin, studying the truck. “You don’t think this was intentional?”
“I don’t want to,” I sigh.
“It’s been a long time. Surely not.”
“He got out of prison recently, but this could be a coincidence. The storm or some random asshole.” I’d be a little more confident of that if something was stolen. “The ladder is behind the shed if you want to go ahead and grab it while I vacuum up the glass and water.”
The shop vac works well for the glass, but it’ll still need some time to dry out. Hopefully the auto parts store or junkyard will have the correct replacement window.
“You have company coming,” Lee says as I’m wrangling in the extension cord.
Calli crosses the driveway, grabbing her hair in one hand when the wind whips it around her face. “Oh no, you too?”
“Was your car broken into?” Lee asks before I get the chance.
She nods and presses her lips together. “They busted out my window too. I had to call the police to get a report for my insurance company. That’s what I was coming up to tell you so you wouldn’t be alarmed to see a squad car at my house. They’re supposed to be on their way.”
“Did they take anything?” I ask.
“The knife out of my glovebox, the two twenty dollar bills I keep in the console for emergencies, and like five bucks in change, probably. Nothing worth breaking the damn window for. I should’ve just left the car unlocked.” Frowning, she slides a hair tie off her wrist and pulls back her hair. “I’m too hungover for this shit.”
I hate that she has to deal with it too, but it is a little bit of a relief. This was likely some assholes out robbing cars. “I’m sorry. We’re going to go see if the auto parts store has a replacement. Come with us and I’ll fix yours if you want.”
“Thanks, but it’s a new car with full coverage insurance. I pay them too much so they can deal with it. The cops might want to talk to you since it was both of us though.” As if her words summoned him, a squad car pulls into the driveway, and she starts back down to her place.
A few minutes later, she returns with the officer, who gives my truck a cursory look. “We’ve had a rash of vehicle break-ins lately in town. She tells me you aren’t missing anything?”
“No, there wasn’t anything of value to take.”
Nodding, he jots something down in his little notebook. “Give it forty-eight hours and you can pick up a report for your insurance company.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“Suit yourself.”
He nods at Calli, then walks back down the driveway to his car. As soon as he’s gone, Calli looks at Lee. “I’m sorry to ask under the circumstances but could you please do me a favor? I need a ride to the county jail.”
“You can’t get the report for two days,” Lee points out.
“Ah, yeah, not for that. I need to bail out my friend.” She glances at me. “Silver got arrested last night. I’m not sure what exactly is going on, but she asked me to get her.”
Lee looks over at me, biting back a smile. “Let’s go. We’ll swing by there first.”
The county jail is right downtown. Lee and I wait in his truck while she goes inside. A few minutes later, she emerges with Silver right behind her.
Silver stops in her tracks when I climb out of the truck and hold the door open. “Did you have to bring your entourage to witness this?”
Calli chuckles and shrugs. “Someone vandalized our vehicles overnight. Luckily, Lee said he’d bring me to get you.” Lee dips his head to look at her. “Lee, this is Silver, Silver, this is Lee, Arlow’s bestie.”
“I am a grown ass man, not a bestie,” Lee growls as Silver climbs in and sits beside him.
“Well, thanks for the ride, not a bestie. I really appreciate it.”
Calli gets in next, scooting as close to her as possible to give me room. “Where’s your car?”
“At my house.” She addresses Lee. “Over on Webb Avenue beside the park.”
Lee smirks down at Silver. “What did you do?”
Silver grins at him and chirps, “Rearranged the balls and teeth of a cheating asshole.”
“Kyle cheated on you?” Calli exclaims, outraged, and Silver nods. “Do you want to tell me what happened or wait until we can talk privately?”
“No worries. I’m sure the whole town will know soon. You know how things spread. I’m not the lying, cheating bastard or whore in this situation so people can say what they want.” Rage and pain battle for dominance in her voice and Calli reaches over to take her hand.
Silver takes a deep breath. “Remember how Sandra didn’t want Kyle to move in with me? She failed to mention it was because it would be harder for her to keep fucking him. She was supposed to meet me at my house when I got off work yesterday so we could head to your place for margaritas. Business was slow at the diner, and I was able to leave a bit early. Sandra was already at my house even though I hadn’t told her to come yet, but I didn’t think much of it. We’ve been friends for almost ten years for fuck’s sake. I figured she was excited to have a night out since she rarely has a babysitter, so she showed up early.”
She points out her house to Lee and he parks in the driveway beside her huge fenced yard.
“Did you catch them, like…in the act?” Calli asks as we exit the truck.
Silver scoffs, “It was a fucking act all right. That bitch was moaning and hollering while she rode him on my couch. Sounded like a fake ass porno.”
“I’m so sorry,” Calli tells her and grabs her in a hug. “What can I do?”
She hugs her back and wipes her eyes quickly. “Help me throw his shit in the yard?”
“Hell yes, let’s do it.” Calli turns to me and Lee. “Thanks for bringing us. I’m going to stay with Silver. I’ll deal with my car later.”
Lee shakes his head in unison with me as I argue, “You don’t know if he’ll come back here. It might not be safe.” I’m not leaving her here in the middle of some domestic fight that could get out of hand.
“Both of my brothers are on their way to spend the night with me. They’ll be here any minute,” Silver assures us.
“We’ll stay until they arrive.” I glance over at Lee who nods his agreement. It’s not that these two couldn’t take care of themselves but you never know how situations like this might go. Especially after a fight and a night in jail.
Silver thanks us and invites us inside but we hang around by Lee’s truck instead to keep an eye on things while Calli goes in with her.
Lee leans against his bumper, then grins over at me. “Your neighbor has made your life much more interesting. Vandalism, a jail pickup and bodyguard duty in only a few hours.”
“None of that is her doing.”
“I didn’t say it was a bad thing. You need some excitement.”
“Your most exciting day is fishing,” I point out. Before he can reply, the upstairs window screeches open and random items begin to fly out. A gaming system topples end over end before hitting the ground and bursting like an egg. Clothes, personal items and electronics pile up.
“That is not a woman to cross,” Lee remarks with a tinge of admiration in his voice.
“Fucking her best friend in her living room. Can’t blame her.”
A car parks on the street in front of the house and a woman gets out. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?” Silver shouts, charging out the door as she approaches. Calli is right behind her and catches up to them in the yard.
“I’m sorry. It just happened.”
Lee glances over at me as we both realize this must be Sandra.
“Really? It just happened? That’s the best you’ve got? Oops, sorry, I accidentally got my pussy out and it jumped on his dick.”
“I wasn’t trying to hurt you?—”
“How long?” Silver demands. “Don’t even try to lie and tell me it was only the one time. How long have you been fucking him?”
She shakes her head. “I’m sorry. You don’t understand. I love him.” Silver glares at her until she answers her question. “Six months.”
“You’re a sorry piece of shit and so is he. Get the fuck out of my face. Tell him his shit is in the yard and whatever is still here by tomorrow will be ashes.”
Sandra’s tearful attitude shifts and she glares back. “You knocked out his front tooth!”
“Good,” she snorts, while Calli covers a smile.
“Maybe if you’d paid more attention to him instead of spending all your time at the diner, he wouldn’t have needed to look somewhere else.”
Oh, this is about to get ugly. Calli’s glare is as fiery as Silver’s.
Silver puts a little space between them, her restraint clear in her action. “You’re lucky I can’t afford to pay bail again.”
“I can,” Calli declares and abruptly punches Sandra in the eye.
The shock on Sandra’s face rips a laugh from me as I rush to get between them because I sure didn’t see that coming either. Calli calmly watches from my side as blood wells from a split in Sandra’s eyebrow. She doesn’t try to go after her again, and Sandra doesn’t retaliate. She’s too busy holding her eye and backing away.
“Don’t you even think about calling the police again,” Silver warns her. “I have screenshots of all the dirty sexts you sent him. If you press charges on Calli, I’ll print flyers and pass them out at church. You fucking know I will.”
Bursting into tears, Sandra turns and rushes to her car while Silver shouts after her. “I hope he whistles through that gap in his teeth every time he bends your skanky ass over!”
Lee glances over at me. “This was definitely more entertaining than fishing.”