Marlene narrowed her eyes. “What, you think someone is trying to hurt Brett to get to you?”
I shrugged. After a moment’s debate, I told her about Hannah, leaving out the grittier details. By the time I was finished recanting the whole sordid saga, Marlene looked shocked and pissed.
“That little bitch,” she said. “I can’t believe I trusted her around my son!”
“I know.” I shook my head. “So, I’m not ruling out the possibility that she’s somehow trying to get revenge. She did come from money, it’s possible she could’ve bought that stupid PlayStation on her own.”
Marlene shrugged. She gave me a devious look. “I bet you’re not doing so well without an assistant,” she said smugly.
“Hey,” I said, pretending to be offended. Marlene burst out laughing and after a second, I joined in. It was odd – I wasn’t having a bad time with her. Now that the poison and vitriol of the divorce had passed, it felt strange to be having an okay time with the woman who had ripped my heart out.
I just hoped we could keep it up, for the sake of parenting Brett.
Marlene sighed. “I wish things could be like this all of the time,” she said, scooting closer to me on the seat.
I narrowed my eyes. “What are you talking about?
Marlene pouted. “Between us,” she said. “I wish things could be good like this all the time, you know?”
“Marlene, we’re divorced,” I said flatly. “And honestly, I think that’s for the best. Hell,” I added, turning in the seat and crossing my arms over my chest. “You were the one who couldn’t stop talking about how much you loved your freedom.”
Marlene swallowed. She stroked a finger down the side of my arm. I waited two seconds before pushing her away.
“I was hasty when I said that,” Marlene said. She batted her eyelashes and lowered her voice to a honey-sweet pitch. “I miss you, Thomas. I miss being your wife.”
I exhaled as stiffly as I could. “Well, it’s never going to happen again. We split up for a reason. You cheated on me, for over fifteen years! That was our whole fucking marriage!”
“I made a mistake,” Marlene said. She sniffed and my irritation came roaring back, full blast.
“A mistake is forgetting to pick up the dry-cleaning,” I snapped. “Fucking other men for fifteen years wasn’t a mistake, Marlene. That was a very calculated, intentional decision on your behalf.”
Marlene narrowed her eyes. “Well, I regret that,” she said softly. “Besides, shouldn’t Brett have both of his parents?” She scooted closer and I pushed her away. “I miss being a family with you, Thomas. We should get back together.”
My jaw dropped. “You’re seriously crazy,” I told her, shaking my head and rolling my eyes. “I can’t believe you think we should be together just because you miss me!” I groaned. “And this is probably all because you’re sick of working and you want to live on my dime again!”
“I miss you,” Marlene said. Her voice was insistent, full of passion that I’d somehow never heard from her during the entirety of our marriage.
“I’ve moved on,” I said flatly. I rapped on the back of the driver’s seat. “Stop here,” I called loudly. “I’m getting out and taking the subway.”
Marlene looked at me with hatred in her vivid green eyes. “You can’t have moved on,” she said, twisting her lips into a scowl. “That’s not possible!”
“Well, it happened,” I said. “And I’m falling in love. Marlene, you and I will never be together again. Do you understand?”
Marlene glared at me with such palpable hatred that I was expecting a slap to the face. Instead, she opened her coral lips and spit right on me.
I sighed and pushed open the car door.
“Fuck you,” Marlene yelled after me. “I can’t believe you could be so cruel!”
I stood there for a moment, wondering what I should do. In any other moment – on any other day – I’d turn right back around and tell her she deserved everything that she’d gotten. But I was tired. I was exhausted, from dealing with Hannah, and June, and now Marlene. I couldn’t waste my energy on my useless ex who didn’t deserve to even breathe the same air as June.
“Fine.” I slammed the car door and waved cheerily. “Have a nice life!” I called after the car.
Marlene didn’t respond, but I felt satisfied all the same.
Chapter Fourteen
June
I had to admit that when I told Thomas he should leave so he wouldn’t miss his meeting, I didn’t actually expect him to go. But once he was gone and the apartment was empty again, I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. My eyes were burning and my sinuses were choked with snot and saliva, but it was like a compulsion. I couldn’t stop – the tears just kept falling, no matter what I did.
By the time Angela got home, I’d almost tired myself out. She took one look at me and did a double-take, dropping her bag and rushing to my side.
“June!” She sounded dismayed and unhappy. “Girl, what the hell happened?” Angela put her hand to my forehead. “It better not have been Thomas,” she said. “I’ll kill that rich bastard.”
I sighed. “No, it wasn’t Thomas.” I sniffled and reached for a soggy tissue as I recounted the events that had happened that day at school. Like Thomas, Angela was shocked and unhappy that I hadn’t told her about the Andy-in-the-alley incident.
“June, those cops had no right to act the way they did,” she said hotly. “That’s like, a total breach of conduct!”
I shrugged. “They had a point,” I said miserably. “I did ask him out, remember?”
“But you don’t deserve to be stalked and harassed!” Angela shot back. “And those creepy drawings?” She shuddered. “What kind of asshole calls you a pedophile just because you won’t go out with him?”
“I don’t know,” I said sadly. I wrapped my arms around my knees and brought them to my chin, resting my chin on top. “I just wish this was a bad dream,” I said. “And that I’m going to wake up any time.”
Angela sighed. “Have you told Thomas?”
“I called him earlier.” I pointed towards the wad of bills on the table. “He gave me this, for now. He said if there was anything I needed to just ask. But I can’t do that – we barely know each other. We’ve only slept together once. I can’t suddenly start acting like I can depend on him.”
Angela licked her lips. “I want to help, too,” she said slowly. “But we can’t lose this apartment, June. I don’t make enough to cover your rent, too.”
“I know.” My heart sank. “I’ll just use this money and then pay Thomas back.”
“And they have to rehire you soon,” Angela said. “Look, this is probably some stupid school policy where they can’t have either of you around while they check things out. Anyone with a brain could see that this isn’t your fault!”
“Everyone at school hates me now,” I said flatly. “Those stupid drawings must have really done the trick.”
Angela rolled her eyes. “I thought teachers were supposed to be smart,” she said, climbing off the couch and stretching. She walked into the kitchen and two seconds later, I heard the pop of a wine cork.
“Bring me some,” I called loudly.
“Duh,” Angela replied.
When Angela came back into the living room, she was smiling. She handed me a glass of wine.
“To new beginnings,” Angela said.
We clinked and I took a long swallow, barely tasting the cheap wine as it drained into my stomach. Compared to the beautiful wines I’d drunk with Thomas, this tasted like gasoline. But still, I didn’t care – I appreciated the gesture from Angela, and cheap or not, I knew enough of it would make me tipsy enough not to care.
“I can’t believe I have to start looking for a new job,” I moaned, draining my glass. Angela refilled me without even asking. “It took eight months to get that teaching job! Eight months!”
“It’s the middle of the year now, maybe you can sub until the end of t
he semester or something,” Angela said. “There’s always temp work.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I hate temping,” I said. “But you’re right – maybe I should call about a sub job tomorrow.”
Angela nodded.
“I worked at Starbucks before P.S.151 hired me,” I complained, rolling my eyes. “And it was dreadful. Getting that teaching job felt like the best thing that had ever happened to me.”
Angela eyed me sympathetically and rubbed my back. “Not if you had to work with a creep like Andy,” she said. “No matter what happens, I’m sure things will work out for the best.” She raised her eyebrow. “Maybe Thomas could help get you a job,” she said. “I bet he knows a lot of business guys.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Doesn’t that seem…I don’t know, kind of unethical?”
“What’s fucking unethical is that your school practically fired you without even hearing your side of the story,” Angela snapped. “So, I wouldn’t worry too much about that right now.”
I sighed. “I guess you’re right,” I said. “I just hate the idea of asking.”
“Thomas would be happy to help,” Angela said. She raised an eyebrow at me and I blushed. “He’s obviously way into you.”
“That’s because I haven’t asked him for much,” I said. “It’s not like I’ve been very demanding.” I sniffled and wiped my nose on my hand, disgusted at myself. “If I’d started out asking him for everything, I’m sure he’d see me as a gold-digger.”
Angela shrugged. She stood up. “Want me to order some food?”
I grimaced. “I couldn’t really afford anything right now,” I said sadly.
“My treat,” Angela said quickly. She whipped out her phone and checked her bank balance. “As long as it’s cheap.”
I smiled thinly. “Thanks,” I said quietly. “But honestly, I’m not really hungry.” My stomach gurgled and twisted. “I think I’d just throw the food right back up.”
“And that wouldn’t be a good use of my money,” Angela joked. She smiled. “Come on, June, relax – it was a joke.”
I sighed. “I think I’m just going to try to get some sleep.”
Angela nodded. “Okay,” she said. “If you change your mind and you get hungry later, I’ll be up.” She yawned. “I’m just gonna stay here and veg for a while.”
I stood up from the couch and sighed. Even though I was exhausted, I didn’t feel sleepy. At least, that’s what I thought. But once I was tucked into a pair of flannel pajama pants and a loose fitting t-shirt, I felt much more comfortable. Closing my eyes, I crawled into bed and pulled a pillow over my head. Snuggling in the blankets felt more comforting than ever before. Maybe this is all a bad dream, I thought. Maybe I’ll wake up and I’ll have a message from the school, saying this was all a mistake.
Soon, my brain was clouded in a dense fog and my eyes were burning. Yawning, I rolled closer to the wall and drifted off to sleep.
--
“Hey, June, it’s me. Wake up.”
“Guh?” I opened my mouth and yawned widely right into Angela’s face. She was sitting on my bed, glancing down at me with concern.
Yawning a second time, I balled my hands into fists and rubbed my eyes. “What time is it? Did I fall asleep for a few hours?”
Angela chuckled nervously. “You were out all night,” she said. “It’s like, ten-thirty in the morning now.”
I frowned. “Why did you wake me up?”
Angela gave me a guilty smile and held up my phone. When I saw the screen, I gasped – it was covered with notifications. All from Thomas. Calls, texts, even a few voicemails.
“Damn,” I said.
“Yeah,” Angela said. She licked her lips and cleared her throat. “He’s actually here, right now. He’s in the living room.”
“What?” I sat up in bed, my black hair falling over one shoulder like a curtain. “Are you serious?”
Angela nodded. “Yeah. Sorry I woke you, but damn – this guy is hella protective. He told me that he’s not leaving until he knows that you’re okay.”
The events of the previous day came crashing back to me and I shuddered. I closed my eyes, picturing Principal Morris as he told me to leave. As he told me that I’d be escorted out of the building with security.
Tears welled up in my eyes and I shook my head. “I can’t see him right now, Ang. I really can’t. I feel too bad.”
Angela shook her head. “Oh, no,” she said. “You’re getting out of bed and seeing Thomas and I don’t care if I have to drag you myself.” She put her hands on my shoulders and tugged. I shrieked as Angela pulled me out of bed.
“Okay, okay!” I gasped, wrenching free of her tight grip. “Tell him I’ll be five minutes.”
When I looked in the mirror, I groaned. I should’ve told her to say that I needed a half hour, I thought bleakly as I ran a brush through my tangles of black hair. I look like absolute poop.
After splashing my face with water and soap, I dried off and pulled on a loose sweater and a pair of leggings. They were new – some of the clothes that Angela and I had picked out together. But putting them on only twisted my heart when I realized I wouldn’t need new clothes for work after all.
I swallowed nervously as I combed my hair into a manageable mane, then rolled it into a messy bun. With a swipe of blush and lip balm, I almost looked human again. Taking a deep breath, I opened my bedroom door. Thomas and Angela were sitting on the couch, side by side, looking stiff. When he saw me, Thomas’s face relaxed.
“Oh, god, June, I was so worried about you,” Thomas said sternly. He stood up and walked over to me, wrapping one arm around my shoulders and pulling me close.
“I’m sorry.” I blushed. “I fell asleep, I didn’t think I’d be out for more than a few hours but I didn’t wake up until just now.”
“It’s okay. Stress does strange things to our bodies.”
I nodded.
“June, can I take you out for breakfast?”
“I’m not hungry,” I said sadly. “I don’t really feel like going out, Thomas.”
“Come on,” Angela interjected. “You’ve been moping around here all day, and I know you didn’t eat anything yesterday.” She raised an eyebrow at me. “Can’t have my bestie going and getting sick on me.”
“I already feel sick,” I said.
“Well, then you need some coffee and maybe a fancy doughnut,” Thomas said. He winked at me and I tried to smile.
“I don’t think so,” I said.
“June.” Thomas gave me a stern look. “I care about you. Angela cares about you. You can’t stay inside and mope just because the school fucked up.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Fine,” I said. “You want me to come out? I’ll come out.” I stomped across the room and defiantly pulled on a jacket. When I glanced up, Angela was staring at me in shock. Thomas merely looked bemused.
“June, I just—“
“No,” Thomas said firmly. “She’s coming with me and that’s that.”
I followed Thomas out of my apartment, down the stairs, and into a waiting car.
“Someone vandalized my Porsche,” Thomas said casually once we were settled in the back seat.
My jaw dropped. “Thomas! Why didn’t you tell me that? You know – like, sooner?”
Thomas sighed. “I didn’t want to add to your stress,” he said. He reached over and squeezed my knee. A warm, pleasant sensation floated through my body and I closed my eyes. Being with Thomas was making me feel better than I’d felt since before I’d gotten fired. But I knew that wouldn’t last – I knew that as soon as I was alone again, my anxiety would come trickling back in to haunt me.
“When did it happen?” I narrowed my eyes.
Thomas reached forward and tapped the back of the driver’s seat. “Café DeLuxe, please,” he said. “It’s in Bushwick.”
I narrowed my eyes. “That sounds trendy,” I said.
Thomas laughed. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard of it before.” He rolled his
eyes. “I’ll be the oldest one there.”
“You’re getting off track,” I said. “What happened to your car? When?”
Thomas looked guilty. “Yesterday, when I was upstairs with you,” he said. “I came back down to the street to find my tires slashes. Someone shattered the windshield, too.”
Guilt surged through my body and tears welled up in my eyes. This is my fault, too, I realized sadly. Thomas may be having a good effect on my life, but I certainly can’t say the same about my effect on his!
Thomas cupped my chin in his hands. “No,” he said firmly. “Don’t get upset. Don’t blame yourself, June – you had no way of knowing.”
I bit my lip. “I feel like such an idiot,” I said softly.
“Why?” Thomas snorted. “It’s not like vandalization like that happens on the regular, does it?”
“No,” I admitted reluctantly.
“See? It wasn’t your fault at all. Don’t worry about it,” Thomas said firmly. “I want you to concentrate on feeling better, you understand?”
All I could do was nod. The car slowed to a stop and Thomas climbed out before walking around and opening the door for me. Café DeLuxe was just as I’d pictured it from the name. An open-air bistro filled a large space that was easily four times the size of the apartment I shared with Angela. Outdoor heaters were placed strategically between the tables and people sat with coffees, papers, and the occasional laptop.
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