Glaring once again, I waved a hand toward his yard. “He was a dick for no reason. Okay, so he might have been in a bad mood to begin with, but he could’ve been polite enough to let me finish what I was going to say. Instead, he jumped to the conclusion that I wanted to get in his pants. And this was after we saw a woman leave his house that morning.” I scoffed. It didn’t matter how attractive the douche was, no way would I warm his sheets. “I’ve never met such an egotistical man before.” Crossing my arms, I flopped back on my own seat to soak up the afternoon sun. “Do you think it’d be petty of me if I put a potato in his tailpipe?”
Wrenley giggled as she threw the straw from her drink at me. “Yes, Raya. It would be.”
“Damn.”
Her smile dimmed a little. “I’m going to miss this.”
Rolling my eyes, I picked up the straw and threw it back. “I’m only restarting work again.”
She pouted. “Yes, and leaving me alone after two months off.”
“Wren, you’ll be asleep most of the time.”
She sighed. “I suppose. Though I still think the night shift is going to kill you.”
“It’s better money,” I reminded her.
“What about if I need to pee through the night?”
“You haven’t needed my help yet to pee. You’ll have your crutches close. Besides, you only have to wear that for another week.”
My thoughts drifted, and my heart clenched. I did pray that Wrenley would be okay on her own. Even though we had a fifteen-year age gap between us, with me being thirty-eight and Wren twenty-three, I worried about her because… well, no one should have witnessed what she had. Only, it wasn’t just that. I had a gut feeling there was something else worrying her. Though, no matter how much I’d asked, she just told me her stress was over what she’d witnessed.
“Wren—”
“Don’t, please, Raya. I’m only teasing. I promise I’ll be okay. The nightmares are lessening, and I completely understand why you took the night shift job. If…. Since I can’t work just yet, the extra cash from those late hours will help.”
Smiling tightly, I nodded, but I still felt heavy inside my chest. Knowing my sweet sister had been there when our father killed our mother….
Since that day months ago, we’d been inseparable. But now I had to make sure we had an income to keep this roof over our heads and food on our table.
We’d been lucky that our aunt had offered this house. She’d already bought it a while ago as an investment property and hadn’t rented it out to anyone because she hadn’t found the right person or family. Aunty Mildred had been kind enough to give it to us at a cheaper rate than what she could have gotten from strangers.
I’d already had an apartment, but it’d been a one-bedroom place, which wasn’t big enough for Wren and me. And there was no way I’d let her be on her own, especially when I knew she didn’t want to be. And like hell she could stay in our family home after everything. That house got sold, and the payment went to the debt our parents had accumulated.
Even if he was in jail, the memory of what she’d witnessed, what she’d told me, would be too much for even the strongest man or woman. Hell, it still played on my mind, and I hadn’t been there. It was no wonder that the memories took control of her sometimes—whether she stared off into the distance or woke screaming from nightmares.
She was always trying to be strong, and if I were anyone else, I’d think she remained unaffected. It was why she’d questioned the douche’s name the other day. Of course, it just had to be Death.
Why he would pick that name or be given it was weird on its own.
God, I hoped it wasn’t an omen. My sister had seen enough from that one tragic moment.
A kick landed on my leg. “Stop thinking.”
“Lucky that was your good leg or you’d hurt your other one.”
She groaned. “I can’t wait until it’s off.”
“I still can’t believe you fell down the steps in the first place.” We’d been waiting in front of my apartment for our aunt to pick us up for the lunch date where she told us about this house.
“I’d like to see what you do when a bird flies at your head, pecking and squawking.”
Smiling, I shrugged. “I don’t think it’d be to run like a madwoman and miss the stairs in front of me.”
“Whatever,” she grumbled and gave me the middle finger, a small smile on her lips.
Fear punched me in the stomach.
If she’d arrived any earlier at the house, I wouldn’t have her with me.
She wouldn’t be here.
I could have lost my sister.
We hadn’t been close to our parents. They were never the best, but Wren had a heart of gold and often called in to drop off extra food she’d made. I’d kept my visits to our so-called parents for special occasions only, and for a while, even those had been sparse over the last year.
“You’re doing it again,” Wren complained.
“What?”
“Staring at me with all your thoughts.”
“I’ll stop.” Not wanting to stress her out further, I needed to stop. “How about some ice cream?”
“Sun and ice cream always make for a good afternoon.”
Standing, I nodded. “Completely.”
A bike engine roared to life and revved a little.
“And she’s back to glaring at the neighbor.” Wren laughed.
“I’m not,” I told her, though I totally had been. “Be back in a sec.” Once inside, I grabbed the rocky road out of the freezer when I heard more bikes. I went to have a peek out the front window and caught five pulling to a stop out front of his house. They climbed off and greeted our neighbor, who stood in his driveway near his Harley.
All of them wore biker vests, and that confirmed it. He was definitely in a club. Concern stirred inside me. Maybe we should have looked into who lived around here, because I worried having a member of a club nearby was going to bring trouble close. Not that there was anywhere else we could go. The deal with Aunty Mildred had been too good.
Time would tell what type of neighbor he would be. Besides an asshole.
After grabbing two bowls, I went back outside to enjoy the rest of the afternoon with my sister before I had to go to work.
I loved working in the snack factory. I mean, it wasn’t good for my waist, but the atmosphere made coming to work worth it. We were like one large family. Well, at least the day shift was, and I had my fingers crossed that the night workers were just as fun and friendly.
Night workers?
That made it sound like I worked on the corner. Not that there was anything wrong with selling your body for sex. More power to you. Hell, maybe I should look into it; then at least I’d be getting it regularly. Instead, I was worried my vagina had sealed shut from lack of use. It’d been six years since my last boyfriend.
And why was I thinking about sex when I was about to enter work?
I hadn’t been here for a couple of months, and stepping through these doors put a smile on my face. Thank God for the day shift manager who had the kindest of hearts and so much compassion. Not only had she kept my position open, but she also swapped me out for the night shift to receive the better wage.