We play a couple more rounds of one-on-one and then go inside to cool off in the AC when the door swings open. “What’s up, boys?” Jonas says with his hands thrown in the air and a smirk on his face.
“Just got my ass handed to me in some b-ball,” Brock says, before slamming his bottle of Gatorade.
Jonas drops down into a chair at the kitchen table and starts tapping into his phone with a grin a mile wide plastered on his face.
“Who you talking to?” I ask him with a nod.
“Oh no one. Just your little toy for the week.”
Without even thinking, long strides lead me over to him and I snatch the phone out of his hands. “Why the hell are you talking to her?” I spit out as I scroll through the chain of text messages they’ve been sharing. Holding up the phone, I grumble, “What is this?”
“What the fuck?” He tries to take the phone back, but I’m quicker. Holding it up, I begin reading the messages.
Thanks for letting me walk you to class today?
Nadia: Thank you for walking me :)
Hey, how would you like to get dinner this weekend? Saturday maybe?
Nadia: That sounds nice.
Great! We can work out the details tomorrow.
I finish reading them then slam the phone to his chest. “You’re canceling that dinner.”
“Like hell I am. Just because you have a problem with her doesn’t mean I have to.”
“It’s bro code. Stay the hell away from her!” I can feel myself getting angrier and angrier just by looking at him. Something burns my insides and the idea of him touching her fuels the fire.
“And what if I don’t?”
In a swift motion, I grab him by the collar and walk him backwards to the wall. “She’s off-limits. Got it?”
Brock comes up behind me, grabbing me by the arm and tugging me back. “Chill out, man. No one is touching the girl.”
Glaring at Jonas, I can feel my teeth grind together and this insatiable need to make sure he understands that she’s off the table. I’m not sure why the idea of them together irks me so bad, but it does. Maybe it’s the shit-eating grin on his face that I wanna claw off.
My hands drop and I take a step back as he slithers out from my reach. “She’s too hot to go to waste. If you don’t plan on banging her, someone else will,” he says as he makes his way to the door.
I spin around and look at him. His hand wrapped around the door handle and that smirk still on his face. He’s trying to get a rise out of me. Jonas and I aren’t exactly close. I slept with a girl he was pining for last year and he’s never forgotten about it. The real kicker is, I didn’t even know he liked the chick. She moved away, but the grudge he has remains. But, it’s not just him that needs to stay away from Nadia, it’s all of them.
Jonas leaves and I release a pent-up breath. “I don’t fucking like him,” I say as my head shakes and my heart still pounds like a jackhammer in my chest.
Brock goes back over to the table and sits down. “Is it him? Or is it her?”
I cock a brow. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You said that you just want answers from her, but is it possible you want something more?”
“Fuck no!” I spit out. “She’s a home-wrecker. I want no part of that shit.” She is a home-wrecker. She lied through her pearly white teeth. Even if I did feel an ounce of attraction toward the girl, I’ll never act on it. I can’t. She’s damaged goods. An entitled little brat who thinks she can do whatever the hell she wants and escape the consequences. Not this time. This time, she gets to answer to me.
But first, I need to instill a little fear inside of her, so she knows that this isn’t a game. If I want her to speak the truth, she needs to realize it’s her only option.
When I pull up to the house that is supposed to be home, I immediately notice the porch light is off. That light hasn’t been off since I moved in here. Even during the day, it is still on. Guess the bulb finally burnt out. Doubt we even have one to replace it. Slamming the door shut to my old clunker, I notice the bumper shift slightly. Won’t be long until that son of a bitch falls off. Could probably strap that thing up with a zip tie from the repair shop once I start working there.
My feet hit the broken cement slab of steps and I swing open the screen door before pushing the old wooden door open. Reaching to my left, I go to switch on the light, but it doesn’t come on. Switching it up and down, my chin drops to my chest. “Fuck!” I mumble.
Rent might be paid through the month, but it would have been nice if Aunt Nikki mentioned that the electric bill was due. Not that it would matter. I’ve got ten bucks in my wallet and a piggy bank from when I was a kid filled with pennies and IOU’s that Mom and Dad would slip in when they’d steal my birthday money.
On a good note, they can’t take my water. One of the perks of living in the city limits. Water bill is due every three months and I’m pretty sure that was paid last month. I remember Aunt Nikki having to drop it off at the township hall on the due date.
Pulling open the large junk drawer in the kitchen, I grab a flashlight and flick it on. Nothing. Fishing around, I find two double-A batteries and pop them in. And wouldn’t you know, fucking nothing! Who keeps dead batteries? We do. In hopes that if we just flip them around and pair them with a new one, we can get the last bit of juice left. Little good that does this time.
Slamming the door shut, I go to my small nine by nine room and shuffle around on the nightstand beside my bed until I find the remote to my tv. Once I have it, I slide the back off and pop out the batteries. Dropping them into the sleeve of the flashlight, I twist the top on and, wa-lah, we have light.
It’ll do for now. There isn’t much that I need to see, anyways. Still got a roof over my head and I’m pretty sure there’s still food in the refrigerator—all of which I need to eat up before it spoils.
Deep down, I know that this won’t last. I got a job, but it’s only one day a week. I might get enough to keep myself fed. Eventually, I’ll have to sell my car, just to get by another month. There is one option. A road I really don’t wanna go down. If I go to him for help, he’ll see me as weak. “Get your ass up and be a man.” Smack. “That’s what I thought, you’re just a little bitch. You’re nothing and you’ll never amount to nothing.” Smack.
No. I’ll live on the streets before I end up back in that house or ask that piece of shit for a dime. Chances are, I’ll end up crashing with Brock. He knows a bit about my past. Just haven't told him about the present. I’ve still got my pride and I’d like to hold onto it as long as possible.
Stripping down, I shine the light on my bed and grab my black joggers and a black hoodie.
It’s showtime.
8
Nadia
Curling up with my knees to my stomach, I close my eyes—then open them again. Flipping over to my left side, I try again. I just want some sleep. I flip back over to my right side again and stretch my legs out, tugging the comforter up over my shoulders. Staring out the uncurtained window in my bedroom, I catch the soft golden glow of the full moon and my thoughts trace back to when everything started to fall apart.