I took a deep breath and silently cursed Tricia for not telling me his name. Impromptu interviews always made me nervous. I opened the door and walked in with my hand extended out to appear professional and in control. That was the last thing I felt as Craig took my hand. I was completely stunned and had no idea how to get my legs or mouth working to run or scream. I just stood there and gaped at him.
“Let me look at you.” Still holding my hand, he backed up a little. “You are still so beautiful. I didn’t get to see much with you sitting in that booth.” Craig kissed my hand. He had a suit on, obviously trying to play some part. He filled the suit, whereas before it would have just hung on him. He smiled and stood nose to nose with me. “Like what you see? I bet you’ve missed me.”
I smacked his hand away as he tried to touch my cheek. “Get out.” It didn’t sound as forceful as I would have liked it to, but at least I could speak again.
“We have a lot of time to make up for, and I haven’t had a woman for almost five years.” He put his hands on my hips and pulled me to him. “I’m sure you’ve had plenty of practice since I went in.”
“That’s none of your business anymore.” I flinched when he laughed. I no longer liked hearing that sound.
“I’m home now, baby. It’s all my business.” He shook his head. “I knew you wouldn’t wait for me. You never were patient when it came to sex, but I’m sure they haven’t satisfied you as I can.”
I shoved him as he tried to nuzzle my neck. “Let go!”
Craig backed up and looked at the door. “You need to calm down, Drew. I came here because I knew you wouldn’t want to scare the kids out there. Or have you stopped putting kids before me now?” He motioned for me to sit down, but I ignored it. “You and I are going to have a little chat.” He walked over and locked the door.
“Just tell me what you want, Craig.”
“I thought that was obvious. I want you.”
I crossed my arms as he walked towards me. “You’re never going to have me.”
Craig chuckled. “I already do.” He circled around me to walk up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close. “I know I’m in your head.” He put his chin on my shoulder and whispered. “I know you can’t stop thinking about me. Admit it.”
“I don’t have fond memories of you, Craig. Any thought is filled with hate and disgust.”
He dug his chin into my shoulder until my knees bent a little from the pain. “I have quite a few unpleasant memories of you, too, but let’s try to focus on the good ones. Those are the ones I’d like to relive with you.”
Just the thought of being with him again made my stomach churn. I stomped hard on the foot I remembered he broke once and ran to the door. I’d just opened it as he reached for me and Carl stood there, ready to knock. I never thought I would be that happy to see Carl again. He took one look at me and narrowed his eyes at Craig.
“Is everything okay in here?” Carl didn’t take his eyes off Craig.
Craig smirked as he sat down. I could tell his foot was hurting or he never would have backed down. “It’s all good. Now run along, Gramps, and get your grandkid.”
“Gramps!” Carl took a step forward, and I put my hand on his chest.
“Stop. Craig was just leaving.” I didn’t need another fight at the center.
Craig looked from me to Carl a couple of times and grinned big. “This is one of your monkeys you’ve been screwing while I’ve been away.”
Carl looked at me. “Who is this fucking guy?”
“I’m her boyfriend, and she won’t be needing your lame services anymore.”
“Craig, you are not my boyfriend. You shouldn’t even be here.” I picked up a business card on my desk, and then I picked up the phone. “You have until I can dial this number to get out.”
“I told you I’m a free man now, baby. I don’t think there’s anything you can do about it.”
“Actually, she owns this place, and if she wants you to leave, then you need to leave.” Carl sat on the corner of my desk, crossing his arms. “Or we can have the police arrest you for trespassing.” Carl smirked back at Craig. “It’s your call, big shot.”
Craig looked at me for a moment, but started to leave when I pressed the first number on the phone. “This isn’t over. You will be mine again.”
Craig left, and I slumped in the chair, dropping the card and the phone. Carl reached over and picked up the card. It was for Detective Jonahs. I hoped it didn’t take too much longer to get that restraining order.
“You really were going to call the police.” He put the card back on my desk in front of me. “What’s going on?”
I didn’t want to answer his questions, and I didn’t want to see him. I thought he was going to leave me alone. “Thank you for helping with him, but you know I don’t own this place yet.”
“He didn’t know that. Besides you should. Peggy shouldn’t still have a say in what happens here. Her ideas are outdated and—”
I was sick of listening him tell me what to do again. “What are you doing here, Carl? I thought you were on vacation with Amy.”
“I was. I took Amy to see her grandparents.” Carl got off my desk and moved to the chair in front of it. “Amy’s still there, but I have to get back to work.”
“Well, you don’t work here.” I started cleaning off my desk.
“I wanted to see you.”
“I don’t want to see you.”
“You looked very happy to see me a minute ago. What’s going on, Drew?”
“I was relieved to see you. I’ll give you that.” I stood up. “I’ve got work to do, Carl. I thought you were done with this.”
Carl stood up. “I’m done playing games.”
“I’ve heard that before.”
“You’re right, but I took Amy out of the equation so you would know how serious I am. I want to date you.” He came around the desk. “I think we could be really good together.”
“I’m moving in with Dennis.”
Carl’s face fell, and I’d never seen him look more defeated. “But we—”
“But nothing. I love Dennis. I want to be with Dennis.” I backed up when Carl took a step towards me. “You’d better be wearing a cup if you take one more step towards me.”
Carl stopped. “Drew.” I shook my head. “There’s nothing I can say?”
“No, Carl. I’m in love with Dennis, and he’s already asked me to move in with him.” I walked to the office door and waited for him to follow. “Please leave. I’ll miss having Amy here, but it is best that neither of you come back. Thank you for the names of potential clients to fill the vacancy, but our time together is done.”
Carl didn’t say another word. He just left the office sulking and headed straight to his car. I took a few moments in my office just to breathe. I knew I needed to report Craig’s appearance and threats in my office. I just didn’t want to deal with it right then. I laid my tired head on my desk.
“Drew?” Tricia walked in slowly.
I didn’t lift my head. “What?” I really didn’t want to be bothered.
“He wasn’t here about a child, was he?” Tricia’s voice was kind of shaky.
I lifted my head to look at her. “What’s wrong? Did he do something?”
“No, he didn’t do anything.” Tricia sat down in the chair Carl just left. “He mumbled some things on his way out.”
I waited a moment for her to continue, but she never did. “What did he say?”
Tricia looked very uncomfortable as she looked out the window. “He said . . .” She cleared her throat. “He said he should have killed you before the baby.”
~*~
Tricia and I spent most of the afternoon talking to Detective Jonahs. He said he hoped to have the restraining order done that day or first thing in the morning. Craig’s latest threat jumped it up to emergency status instead of just harassment and would make it easier to obtain.
Dennis was furious that I hadn’t ca
lled him right away. I told him that he had already been up for over twenty-four hours and that I wasn’t going to add this stress while he was working. I hated fighting with him. I wouldn’t have even told him then if he hadn’t called to say he was heading home early to sleep. This wasn’t something I wanted to discuss over the phone. I told him that we would discuss it after he had a nap and calmed down. I found myself saying that a lot to the kids throughout the day. Maybe I was the one who needed a nap and to calm down.
~*~
It was a long and exhausting day, and it was finally over. It seemed that everyone wanted to challenge me or complain about something. I should’ve been doing the expenses for the center, but I was too worn out. I’d regret it the next day, but the need to relax was clouding my give-a-shit side.
I just wanted to get my mail and pick up a few things to start my trial run of living with Dennis. That thought made me smile. The cautious and play-it-safe side of me couldn’t let go of my apartment yet, but the completely-in-love-with-Dennis side couldn’t wait to wake up next to him every morning.
I walked in, looking at my mail, and I heard a noise in the bedroom. I didn’t remember seeing Dennis’s car in the parking lot, but I was so preoccupied I could have parked next to it and still not seen it. I placed my mail, keys, and purse on the kitchen counter and took my shoes off. That alone made everything feel a little better.
Dennis still hadn’t come out of the bedroom, so I decided to go in there to see what he was doing. The closer I got, the louder the sounds of sex become. I slammed open the door, hitting the wall, and expected to see Dennis having sex with God knows whom, but it was Craig.
“What the fuck are you doing in here?”
The act of getting caught pushed him and the woman he was with over the edge, and they climaxed just before Craig rolled over. I was about to yell again and saw that it was Deb in bed with him. She was just as shocked to see me as I was to see her, and she quickly covered up. No wonder she suddenly moved out on Tom.
“You have got to be kidding me!” I looked back and forth between the two of them. “I want you both out. Now!”
I started to leave the bedroom, and Craig ran after me. He grabbed me and turned me around. “Where do you think you’re going? You know what they say: two’s a party, but three’s more fun.”
I tried to jerk my arm away from him. “No one says that, but you. Let me go.”
He pulled me close to his face. “Oh, I’ll never let you go.”
“Craig? You knew she lived here?” Deb apparently had no clue this was my apartment.
Craig turned to her with a smirk. “Of course I knew. How the fuck do you think an ex-con could get an apartment like this so soon after getting out?” He turned back to me with a pretend whisper. “I’m not keeping her around for her brains.”
Deb got out of bed with the sheet wrapped around her and picked up her clothes. “You’re an asshole, and you two deserve each other.”
Craig pulled me with him as he stormed over to Deb. “Who the fuck told you to get dressed?”
Deb dropped the sheet. “I did.” She reached down to put on her underwear, and Craig backhanded her. She lost her balance and hit her head on the night stand. Deb landed on the floor and didn’t move.
Other than pushing me down the stairs, Craig had never been that violent with me. He would shove me or let me go and cause me to fall back when we were struggling, but he never outright hit me. It was always difficult to talk him down when he was that upset, but sometimes I got lucky and was able to calm him a little. Seeing him hit Deb without warning told me that it would be nearly impossible to calm him and that I wasn’t going to be able to go back to my old tricks.
I used annoyance to cover the nervousness in my voice. “She better not stain my rug.” I pointed to the blood coming from her head.
Craig turned to me with a question in his eyes, but when I didn’t falter, he smiled. “We’ll get a new one.” He put his arms around me with his face in the crook of my neck and pulled me close. “I’ve missed you.”
I didn’t want to get physical with Craig, and I didn’t want to end up on the floor next to Deb, so I blurted out the first thing that I knew Craig couldn’t handle. “I’m on my period.”
“Oh hell.” Craig backed up and sat on the bed. I thought about running out, but I knew he would catch me. Plus, I didn’t want to leave Deb alone. She didn’t deserve my protection, but Dennis would never forgive me if I left her. “Tell me you’re at the end of it.”
“Nope.” As long as he was around, I would constantly be on my period.
“You’re lucky she’s decent.” Craig flipped his thumb toward Deb. “She’ll do until you’re ready.”
I shook my head and grabbed the throw at the end of the bed. I started to take it over to cover Deb up, but he stopped me. I glared at him. “It’s just a blanket. I don’t want to look at that.”
He shrugged and let me go then sat further up in bed. As soon as I figured out how to get rid of him, I was burning those sheets. I covered Deb and made sure she was still breathing. I wasn’t sure how hard she hit her head, but when she flinched, I knew she was awake. I rubbed her arm through the blanket, hoping she would know I wouldn’t leave her. The last thing I needed for her to do was panic.
“What do you have to eat? I’m famished.” Craig was sitting against the headboard with his knee pulled up to rest his arm on it. I rolled my eyes. It didn’t matter how many ways he displayed his nakedness, it wasn’t going to make me want him.
“Craig, get dressed. I don’t want to look at that, either.” I started to walk out to the kitchen. If I kept him thinking I wasn’t trying to get away, maybe he would let down his guard so I could find a way out of this.
I was pulling out everything I had to make sandwiches and was surprised when Craig emerged from the bedroom with boxers on. I was also surprised to see a gun tucked into the waistband. I tried not to look at it. “What do you want on your sandwich?”
“Whatever goes with the taste of metal.” I stopped with bread in my hands and looked at him. “If you so much as try anything, I will make you suck on this,” Craig put the gun on the counter, “while I blow your brains out.”
I rolled my eyes and went back to making the sandwich. “Always dramatic, Craig. Have I tried anything since you broke into my place?”
“I didn’t break in.” Craig reached over and picked up his jacket. He pulled out a set of keys and swung them around his finger before throwing them in front of me. They belonged to Dennis.
He laughed at the look on my face. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to take the knife I was holding and stab him repeatedly. I had no idea if he hurt Dennis to get the keys or if he simply just took them. I tried to think back to when I’d last heard from Dennis. I wasn’t sure if I’d heard from him since our fight on the phone.
“At first I was angry with you for filing that restraining order, but then it listed the places I wasn’t allowed to go.” He winked at me. “I have to say I was a little surprised you’ve been dating such a boring guy. You don’t have to worry about him anymore. I’m back to make your life worth living again.”
I tried to control my shaking as I cut the sandwich diagonally—the way Craig liked it. I shoved the plate towards him. He picked up one half and acted as if what he’d just told me hadn’t destroyed my world. “You eat the other half.” He slid it towards me.
“I’m not really—”
“Do you remember when we first started dating? We used to share a sandwich because neither one of us could finish a whole one before we started going at it again. We got tired of wasting them.” He took a bite and pointed to mine. I reluctantly picked it up and took a small bite. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to keep it down.
Craig got up and went to the refrigerator. He took out a beer and opened it. “Is this yours?”
I was still trying to swallow the one bite I managed to take, but couldn’t. I just shook my head. Craig took a big drink and
handed it to me. “It’s pussy beer. I can’t believe you were dating a pussy.” He took another bite. “After this and after the bitch in there wakes up, we’re going out for real beer.”
I kept staring at the gun, just waiting for my opportunity to take it, but he kept close by. “I need to go to the bathroom.”
I started to walk away, but stopped when he yelled. “Hey!” I turned around. “You cover that shit up or flush it. I don’t want to see any of it in the trash.” I nodded before heading back down the hall, while he mumbled behind me. “Only good thing about prison—no PMS.”
I made it to the bathroom and leaned on the door after I locked it. How the hell was I going to get out of this without a huge fight? Then to have Deb thrown into it. What was she doing with him, anyway? I couldn’t believe she had sex with him in my bed. Forget the sheets—I would burn the whole damn bed.
I knew I would only be allowed a few minutes. I reluctantly walked back out so I could keep him calm. Craig moved to the sofa and was flipping through channels. I started to head to the kitchen, but he motioned for me to sit next to him. Wanting to keep him calm, I obeyed.
I sat on the edge as far away as possible, and he just looked at me. “No, Craig. I’m still pissed at you.”
“Come on. You can’t blame me for having sex with her. I did it for you.” He started to scoot closer.
I stood up. “What? How could you possibly turn that into a benefit for me?”
“I’m out of practice.” Craig stood up and pulled me close. “I want to make sure I’m in my zone when I have you again.”
I shoved him away from me. “You’ll never have me again. And for the record, I’m not pissed at you for that. You tried to kill me, Craig.” I knew I needed to keep my anger in check, but he was so infuriating, and I really couldn’t stand the sight of him anymore.
Striving for Normal (Striving Series) Page 26
