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“I’d probably fall down the ladder when I need to pee in the middle of the night.” My comment makes him laugh out loud and I can’t help but stare at how magnetic it is. It’s so genuine and contagious, it makes me want to make him laugh again.
Instead, I distract myself by looking around at my stuff to make sure none of it’s been disturbed, and so he doesn’t see my heart eyes for him.
My jewelry looks untouched but when I pull open the top drawers of my dresser, I slam them shut, instantly.
“What?” He asks, his concern clear. My voice is lost for a moment, needing to come to terms with what I discovered.
“He… He went through my drawers. He messed with my underwear,” I finally admit out loud.
“Are you sure?” His voice is filled with concern but his eyes are wild suddenly and burning with anger.
“Yes. I organize everything. I like things to be exactly where I need them and now they’re all messed up.” I turn toward my bed, feeling the need to crawl under the covers and hide, but that brings my attention to my nightstand. A drawer I will not be checking while Jay stands in my room.
“Is there anything you need from me? Anything I can do?”
“No. I need you to leave now because I am definitely going to cry and I don’t want you to see that. Thank you for everything, Jay.” I don’t look at him as I say it, not trusting myself to stop the tears from falling while he’s still here.
He doesn’t say anything right away, both of us standing in silence for a few breaths.
“Keep a chair wedged under your front door tonight and your bedroom door locked until you get a new lock set installed. If you need anything, call me. I’m down the road at the New Hope Inn.” I hadn’t even thought about the fact that he might not be a resident of New Hope, that he might just be visiting, but I can’t focus on that right now. “Have a good night, Sunshine.”
After those words, there is a slight hesitation before he leaves, but he does, closing my bedroom door quietly behind him.
I let my tears fall.
Chapter Nine
Jesse
I’m on autopilot walking into the stale air of this bar, scanning the tables for Curtis’ familiar face. I see him throwing darts and I make my way over to him.
“Hey man,” I utter, lacking any enthusiasm. I’m not thrilled to be here, but what I want doesn’t matter. The job is the priority.
“Hey,” he says between throws. “I have a friend who needs some help with a big job. He needs a few guys to help him move a bunch of boxes to a warehouse. Said he’d pay. You interested?” Part of my cover story is that I moved here for work.
“Yeah. Definitely. Do you have the details yet?” I ask, hoping like hell this leads somewhere and it’s not another dead end.
“Not yet. He’s supposed to text us when he’s ready. He’s waiting for his truck to come in from the road.” He walks down to the dart board, retrieving all the darts, and handing them to me.
I take my time throwing each one, attempting to play relatively average. I’m usually pretty good but I don’t want to draw attention to myself.
“Alright, man. Thanks.” I retrieve the darts, handing them back off to him. “Do you know anybody around here, maybe your age, named Kyle?”
I don’t know why I ask. The last thing I want to do is get Curtis involved with my business with Sunshine. I just can’t shake the disgust I have for this guy.
The nerve to snoop through her underwear drawer and violate her privacy. I want to find him and beat his ass. Not Jay, Jesse. The thought of her crying because of what Kyle did has strongly influenced my sour mood. She should feel safe in her home.
It was captivating the way she loved it. Every detail looked hand-picked and important. To think that some creep could take away her comfort in her own space aggravates me. If I had a home that I cared about, I’d cherish it like she does.
“I don’t know. I went to school with a Kyle, but it’s been years since I’ve seen him. I lost touch with a lot of people while I was in the Army.” He’s somber as he says it, giving me the urge to probe.
“What made you get out?” I ask as casually as I can, curious about what version of the truth he’ll give me. He’s always vague at our meetings, never sharing details.
“My grandma died. They wouldn’t give me leave for her funeral. She raised me, but I missed her funeral.” He scoffs. “After that… I don’t know. Everything seemed pretty fucked up. The whole system. I couldn’t be a part of it anymore, ya know?”
“Yeah. I know what you mean.” I don’t, not really. I never had many problems requesting leave because I never needed to. I never had a family to go back to, no family to mourn while I was serving.
I definitely don’t know how it feels to want to turn to a group of people who are hell-bent on destroying the government and everyone it protects, but I sympathize with Curtis’ grief. He lost his grandmother and spiraled. I’d be pretty torn up if I didn’t get to attend my mother’s funeral, so for that, I can relate.
