I’ve made it to the closet now. Grabbing my jacket, I pull my keys, my wallet, and cell phone from the pockets. Taking the debit card Ronald gave me, along with the keys to my car, and the phone. I throw them down on a table in the entryway.
“There, now you can give it all back. I don’t want or need his handout. I’ll pay my own way.”
“Conleigh, don’t be ridiculous. Do you think Ezra will support you? What are you going to do—go get knocked up so he will marry you?”
“No, because I am nothing like you. I don’t need a man to take care of me. I can take care of myself. If I can borrow the phone though, I’ll call Bailey to pick me up.”
“Whatever. Do what you want to. You won’t last a week without our help.” She looks at me with that tired expression she always gave my father, shakes her head once, and returns to the dining room.
We’ll just see about that. I’d rather work at a fast food place than have to come to her or Ronald for help.
I send Bailey a quick message, begging her to pick me up, then I walk to the end of the driveway and wait for her by the gate.
————
“What’s wrong with your car? Bails asks, as I get in the passenger seat.
“My mother. You know how she is.” I sigh and bang my head against the window. I’m not really in the mood to talk about it right now.
“She giving you shit still for seeing your dad?”
“You could say that.”
She smiles, sympathetic. Bailey has witnessed many of the fights I have had with my mom.
“I hope Jim will give me some more hours at the store. I’m going to need them. I just gave up my car, my phone, and my allowance.”
“Holy shit! Are you insane? Conleigh, you need your car.”
“No. Bailey, I’m sick of her thinking she can control me with their money. I can make it on my own. I already moved in with Ezra. I don’t have to worry about rent or anything. If I drop out of school, I can work another job. I have the money my grandparents left me, I could use it for a down payment on a car.” I shrug as she drives.
“Drop out of school? No, sweets. No way. You need to finish school.”
“I don’t want anything they have paid for. I can re-enroll next year and apply for financial aid.”
“It’s your life,” she says.
“It is, isn’t it?” I grin and turn up the radio.
I can do this.
I don’t need them or their money.
My dad would be proud of me for standing up for myself and doing what I feel is right.
When Bailey drops me off at Ezra’s, him and Holden are just getting in, and I feel pissed all over again. He told me he didn’t want to go with me to my mom’s because he was too tired from his trip.
If he wanted to go out with Holden he could’ve simply said so. I wouldn’t have gotten angry had he been honest.
Bailey takes off after mumbling how Holden is the biggest prick in the world.
They had a short run of bad dates. Nothing serious. Bailey said she never slept with him. But she still refuses to be around him.
I follow the drunken pair inside and debate whether or not to tell Ezra about my fight with my mom.
Ezra is in the bathroom and Holden is stretched out on the couch smirking with his hand in his pants. He’s such a pig. “Wanna give me a hand?”
“Not on your life.” I shake my head. Holden is being too bold tonight. He has always teased me. Bailey thinks he has the hots for me. He only likes giving me a hard time is all. He’s always loved to make me squirm, nothing more.
I give up on any attempt to hold a conversation with him and go into mine and Ezra’s bedroom to wait for him. Stripping my sweater and skirt off, I toss on one of Ezra’s old hockey t-shirts. He used to play in high school, but he injured his knee and had to give it up.
I get into bed without brushing my teeth. I know I should go brush them, but I really only want to go to bed at this point.
Finally, when I am about nearly ready to pass out, my boyfriend emerges and flops down on the bed with a heavy sigh. “Why was Bailey dropping you off? Did you two have a girl’s night?” He props himself up on one elbow, still wearing his stinky bar clothes.
Rolling onto my side, I face him. He smiles at me and I can’t stay mad at him for ditching me for a night out with Holden. They don’t hang out like they used to. You’d think I would want Ezra to make new friends, but with Holden I know what to expect.
“Well, I was going to wait to tell you, but I kind of gave my car back to Ronald and mom. Along with my bank card and my phone. I don’t have my keys, so I will need a new one made for the apartment.”
Ezra pops up. “You did what? I must have drunk more than I thought, because you couldn’t have just told me that you gave up everything. Why, Conleigh? Why would you do that? I just got my foot in the door with my old man.”
“This has nothing to do with you and everything to with the control they have had over me—my life.”
“Your choices affect me!” He jumps up off the bed and begins walking the length of the room. “You should have talked to me about it. Are they still paying for your tuition?”
Biting my nail, I go up on my knees as he stands in front of me. I shake my head.
“Jesus!” He shouts and returns to pacing.
“I don’t need their money, Ezra. I can take care of myself. I thought I would take a semester off and get a second job. I will get financial aid.”
“Maybe I can get a loan from my old man,” he suggests, but the look on his face tells me he would rather eat rusty nails.
“I wouldn’t want you to do that, Ezra. I would never ask you to.”
“I know, but if you drop out the chances of you going back are slim to none.” He drops down on the bed next to me and I rub his shoulders. “What goes through that head of yours…I’ll never know.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything, but I saw my father yesterday. And before you say anything. I don’t need another lecture. It was good for me.”
Ezra pushes my hands away and turns so that he can see me.
“Did he put you up to this?”
“What? No. I don’t know if I want to be a teacher anymore. I don’t know what I want to do with my life, and I feel so much pressure all the time. I mean look at you. Did you really want to fall straight into your father’s shoes before twenty-five?”
“Why would you even say something like that, Con? You know I have always wanted to take over the company one day.”
“I know but…wouldn’t you have liked to travel and experience life more before settling into the daily grind. I want to see the world. I want to try different jobs in new cities.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “Where is this coming from? I thought you were onboard with my plan.”
Ezra has a five-year marriage plan. A plan that I thought would change…maybe I was fooling myself; I feel sick to my stomach.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore tonight. I have to be up early and I’m exhausted.” He begins unbuttoning his shirt and kicking his pants off. “Suck me off,” he says with cold eyes.
Does he really think I want to give him a blowjob right now?
“Ezra, I’m not in the mood.”
“You’re my girlfriend and someday soon you’ll be my wife. I think giving me head should be at the top of your priorities.” He strokes his cock and grins. “You know what, if you want to quit school that would be okay with me, because once we are married, you’ll be staying home to take care of the kids. Mom has already been looking into a nanny like I had growing up. That way you’ll have help and can go to the gym to keep your figure.”
He can’t be serious. I don’t even know what to say to him right now. I hope it’s the liquor talking.
He grabs my hand and puts it on his hot flesh and leans into my neck and bites me. It isn’t a playful nip. It hurts and I don’t feel turned on at all. I feel confused.
“Come o
n, Con, time is wasting. I need you.” He reaches up my shirt and pinches my nipple, twisting it between his fingers.
Pushing his hand away, I tell him, “Stop that. It hurts.”
“When did you become such a prude?” He scoffs and tells me to never mind. I scoot up the bed and sit and watch as he pulls up a porno on his phone and jerks off in the bed next to me as though I am not even here.
I want to tell him to go fuck himself right now but that is exactly what he is doing.
I stay quiet and go to bed with our future heavy on my heart.
Maybe moving in with him was a mistake.
Maybe we should have taken a break.
Right now, I feel as though everything in my life is spiraling down the rabbit hole.
Screw it. I get out of bed once Ezra’s breathing has evened out, and I am sure he is asleep and unable to stop me. I log into my university email and type an email to my advisor letting her know that I would like to withdraw for the semester. Maybe I will take the money my Nan left for me and travel somewhere far away from here.
Already, I feel as though a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
Chapter 5
Conleigh
The next morning, I have an email from my advisor. She wants to meet with me to make sure I want to completely withdraw or apply for a deferment. With my grades, I could apply for a grant. Ronald will receive a portion of the tuition back. I schedule an appointment to talk with her and get ready for work. In the kitchen, there is a note from Ezra.
Snookem’s,
I’m sorry about last night. I had too much to drink and I was an insensitive asshole. I should have said, I’m sorry your mom can be overbearing and I love you. Your mom loves you. So does Ronald. We all only want the best for you. We’ll talk later and Holden will bring a key by your work at lunch. I am leaving you the spare key to my car. You can drive it to work today. Holden is giving me a lift to the office and I will get an Uber home. I left you one of my old cell phones on the dresser, I already had it added to my account and programmed important numbers for you.
All my love,
Ezra
I groan. He must have spoken to my mother. I don’t know whether to choke Ezra or forgive him.
When I get to work, I am stuck tagging the sales racks. I hate working retail. I despise all the rude people who shop here, but I guess it pays and I should be happy I’m not working fast-food, yet.
The one perk of working here though is the employee discount. I eye the spring arrivals, daydreaming about being on a beach somewhere with a cocktail and a book while sticking red and green stickers on price tags.
“Excuse me, Miss. Do you have this in an extra-large?” The busty blonde who reminds me a lot of Mimi from The Drew Carey Show questions, her vibrant purple eyeshadow and pink lipstick exaggerating her facial expression holds up an electric blue sequined dress.
“Not in this section. Have you checked in the plus size wear?” I don’t mean my suggestion to come off as rude, but there is always a customer who thinks she can still fit into the junior’s clothing like she did before kids and ten years of marriage.
“I’m not plus-size. I have wide hips.” She twists her nose and mouth up at me.
“Ma’am, this is the junior’s section. The sizes are tailored to fit teen girls.”
“Well, I have never.” She mocks a face of horror as though I have insulted her beyond her belief. “I want to speak to a manager,” she demands, storming off toward the perfume counter.
I sigh and go back to my task. There is no making some people happy.
Moments later, I see the woman fake crying to Ted. He’s the department store manager and I swear the guy hates me. He is always writing me up for something.
He talks with her for a moment and leads her away.
Great.
I don’t see any sign of the crazy lady or Ted before or after I return from my lunch break. Maybe I will get off with a mild warning or escape a talk with Ted completely.
By the end of my shift, there still isn’t any sign of Holden or my new key for the apartment for that matter. At least I was able to drive Ezra’s car today. He had Holden drive him to work and said he’d catch an Uber home, but he took his keys with him. I am using his spare car key. Which means I will have to rely on Holden to let me in.
When I go to clock out Ted calls me into the office. “Please, have a seat.”
“What’s up?”
“You called in Saturday and didn’t file the proper paperwork. You were out of days and today with the customer you upset that’s too many marks against you and I have no choice but to let you go.”
“What? You’re firing me?”
“Afraid so. I’ll need you to turn in your name tag.” He gives me a fake grimace. I know the jerk is enjoying this all too much.
I rip it from my shirt not caring if I tear a hole in it.
——––—
Holden James is a jerk with a capital J. I wouldn’t be surprised if the dude counts the notches on his bedpost by actually carving them in the wood with a knife. I’m not sure what he does when he isn’t driving me mad other than play cards, and shooting pool in the back of some dank bar, Big Mike’s Grill.
I’ve only been here a few times, and the times I was here, I wasn’t impressed. I could’ve sworn a guy was pissing in the corner; it was so gross. A couple was dry humping on a couch, and a huge fight broke out. One night, a guy was stabbed in the parking lot. After that incident, I swore I’d never go back, and Ezra promised me I wouldn’t need to. The only appeal of the place is the Saturday night open mic. It always draws large crowds, or so I have heard. My best friend, Bailey, likes going to the open mic nights. Well she used to until she kept running into Holden.
Anyway, I don’t have a key of my own still, since Holden neglected to bring one to me today. I am technically moving the last of my stuff in tomorrow. Holden was supposed to get a key made for me and bring it to me at lunch. Of course, he was a no show. I should’ve known better than to depend on him. Holden isn’t known for being dependable. I’ve never known him to keep a promise, and I gave up setting him up with my friends forever ago. I set him up with my cousin, Whitney, when she came for a visit and he took her to a strip club. Who does that? Holden James, that’s who. My friend, Carissa went on one double date with us and Holden, and she swore she’d never do it again. She said she wasn’t looking to join the long line of one-night stands that plague that man.
After three ignored text messages and thirty minutes of standing in the cold, I give in and drive to the Grill. It isn’t a shock to my system seeing Holden’s rusty tin can he calls a truck sitting in the lot. Stupid jerkface. I’d kick his ride if I weren’t afraid it’d fall apart on impact. I swear that thing is an accident waiting to happen.
I lock Ezra’s car and head inside. Once I’m through the doors, I’m hit with the wave of stale smoke. I’ll definitely need to wash my hair tonight. There’s no way I can show up to meeting my advisor smelling like ass in the morning. The Grill is your basic rundown bar that has music, cheap beer, and burgers.
As soon as you walk in the bar, there’s an ATM to the right. The middle of the room serves as the seating area and a few booths line the opposite wall of the bar. In the far back corner is a stage and small dance floor. To the left is a hallway that leads to the bathrooms and the pool hall that is in the basement where the poker games happen.
“Welcome to ladies’ night. What’s your pleasure, doll?” The man behind the bar calls in my direction as I scan the room in search of Holden. The Grill is as dirty and crowded as I remember. The appeal is all the cheap drinks. Peanut shells crunch under my heels as I step forward. The bar top is dark and that’s probably a good thing. I don’t want to think about all the germs it holds.
I really don’t want a drink, but find myself in need of one just by being here. A couple of rough looking bikers are eating a pizza, smiling in my direction. I ignore them and search the booths. I still
don’t see my roomie.
“Screwdriver,” I shout over the blaring of the jukebox as I Love Rock ‘n Roll starts to play. “Is Holden here?”
The guy shakes his head with a laugh as he pours my drink. “Yeah, he’s here.”
“Thanks.” I don’t bother asking what he finds so amusing. I lay three ones on the bar and take my drink.
With my drink in my hand, I sip it through the tiny red straw and continue to walk further to the back and down the hall to the basement. There’s a game of poker happening but my elusive roommate isn’t sitting in any of the chairs. The guys playing don’t give me a second glance and return to their game. No one is playing pool, so I head back upstairs. I turn toward the stage but that area is empty.
Maybe he isn’t even here. Wouldn’t be the first time he’s gone home with a stranger. Maybe he is off somewhere getting laid.
I’ve witnessed too many of his walks of shame, especially when we went on spring break together. Cancun was amazing. Other than the girls, Holden was actually kinda fun on that trip. He came to my rescue and took me swimming with the dolphins when Ezra was too hungover to get out of bed. He said it was food poisoning, I beg to differ. Not that it matters now.
I guess Holden has his moments. Right now, however, as I am walking to the bathroom isn’t one of his finest ones. As I am walking toward the ladies, he walks out of the men’s room, zipping his pants with a floozie following close behind him wiping her lips.
He brushes a hand through his sandy hair and smiles at me. Holden is gorgeous in that rough lumberjack way. His hair is never styled, but the chunky pieces that lay in misdirected sections, make it appear as though he puts in a lot of effort to get it that way. He stands over six-feet two-inches tall and is a wall of muscle. He has a face you don’t forget, a strong jaw that is shadowed by his five o’clock shadow. The man looks as if he were carved from stone by the God’s themselves. He’s truly an Adonis, until he opens his mouth.
“Con—lee,” he draws out my name in greeting.
“Key, please.” I hold out my palm only for him to lock his fingers with mine and push me back in the direction of the bar. His white tee stretches across his chest and I have to look away from his brute like muscles as they flex with the movement. I’ve known the man for a few years and still, he makes me flush at times.
Stealing Conleigh: Part 1 Page 3
