Chapter 10
Denise
Sorry, we’re closed.
I gawk at the sign, then at the hours listed on the glass door. My frustration spikes when I check the time on my phone. We were only ten minutes late.
The shop’s dark interior makes it clear they’re done for the day, but the owner might still be around, willing to serve one last customer.
Pressing my hands to the window, I peer inside.
No movement. I yank on the door handle next.
Locked. I knock on the door, harder than I should on something made of glass.
Matt grabs my arm. “Babe, stop. Don’t break down the door. It’s pointless. Nobody’s in there.”
But with what’s at stake, I can’t give up. I slip my hand from Matt’s grasp and quickly dial the number on the shop window. Every unanswered ring weighs heavier in my stomach.
Pick up the fucking phone!
Nobody does. Not even after I try five more times.
We’re screwed.
Those two words repeat in my head as Matt and I take the bus home. Isaac threatened if he didn’t get his watch back by tonight, we have to leave on Friday.
On the bus ride to the pawn shop, Matt mentioned he got the job at a warehouse today when he went to see Benny.
He starts tomorrow. It’s a step in the right direction for more financial stability, but it’ll be a while before he gets paid.
In the meantime, we’ll be at the mercy of picky landlords who’ll take one look at our poor credit and bad rental history and run for the hills.
My anxiety lessens when Matt and I discover Isaac’s car is gone from his driveway. But that’s false relief. The inevitable has only been delayed. I have to tell him what happened, and he’s not going to like hearing that Matt added insult to injury by selling his watch.
“If we have to leave, we could stay at June’s place,” Matt says as we enter the basement.
“June has a roommate.”
“So? We could sleep on the couch.”
“We’re not doing that.”
I sink into our couch, its lumpiness making me miss Isaac’s smooth and comfortable sofa. A song I like to listen to when I’m upset floats through my mind. I lean my head back and close my eyes, trying to focus on the lyrics. But then Matt flops down beside me, jerking my attention to his presence.
“What about my parents’ place?” he says. “We could go back there.”
The reluctance in his voice is telling. Even he knows it’s a bad idea. We briefly stayed with his parents after my dad kicked me out, and those two weeks were the longest of my life.
Matt’s parents were the most miserable people I’d ever met, especially when they were in the same room.
They were always fighting, and sometimes it got physical.
Matt’s mother’s wails when his father hit her would make me tremble with terror, my hand crushing my phone with the emergency number already dialled.
But Matt was always unfazed. He said they had always been like that. She’s never gonna leave him, and she gives as good as she gets. He wasn’t wrong about that. I’d hear his father cry out in pain too.
Matt’s dad was also a creep. The bathroom door conveniently didn’t have a lock.
On two separate occasions, while I was in the shower, he pretended not to know it was occupied and barged right in.
He often made filthy comments about my body, even in front of his wife.
I curl my upper lip, remembering the worst one.
I love a woman with hips like yours, honey. They’re the best fuck handles. I bet my son gets a real good hold on you when he’s bending you over.
“I would rather live in a dumpster than with your parents again.”
He huffs. “At least I’m offering options. All you’re doing is shooting them down.”
I straighten in my seat and glare at him.
“You wouldn’t have to be offering options if you had kept your wandering hands in your pockets.”
“You’re going to rub that in my face forever, huh?”
I barely stop myself from retorting, yes, because your actions are the reason why Isaac rubbed cum in my face. Instead, I take a deep, calming, fortifying breath.
“Here’s what I think we should do—when Isaac comes home, we’ll go have a talk with him. You’ll apologize for what you did—”
He shakes his head. “Hell fucking no. I’m not going anywhere near him. If he sees me right now, I won’t even get a word out before he clocks me.”
“Isaac isn’t a violent person.”
“You told me he used to get in fights at school.”
That’s true. Gayle, Isaac’s mom, admitted he was a menace at school until he got an expulsion.
Everything changed. He never got into another fight after that.
She believed he worked hard to become a better person.
That would explain why he’s always been so reserved and in control.
I always thought that was inspiring, and I’ve held such a positive impression of Isaac that my admiration for him might even be a little unhealthy.
There’s a joke that if a guy does something horrible enough to make the news, his mother or sister would be the first to insist he’s a good boy.
Even though Isaac broke the illusion today that he could do no wrong, that he’s perfectly capable of being bad, a part of me still thinks Matt is making Isaac sound worse than he actually is.
Then again, that evening when I was out in the backyard, cooling down from my argument with Matt about his recent job loss, I was surprised by how serious Isaac looked when he offered to hurt Matt for me.
And looking back, when he came down to the basement today, he was most likely planning to get violent when he demanded to know Matt’s whereabouts.
Maybe Matt has legitimate reason to be afraid of Isaac.
It’s probably better if he stays out of sight after all.
Which means I’ll have to face him on my own.
Oh god. I don’t know if I want to be alone with him.
Not like I’m afraid of him. I’m just not looking forward to the awkwardness that will definitely exist after what happened between us.
Get on your knees and suck my cock.
The naughty scene that occurred an hour ago and just a few feet from where we’re sitting flashes through my mind. I’m naked and kneeling before Isaac, telling him how much I want to suck his cock and worshipping it with kisses, traitorous heat and wetness between my legs.
Warmth floods my face.
“Let’s forget about it for now,” I say to Matt, but it’s an order to myself too.