"I need these filed away. And can you please make a call to the print company? We're going to need more signs," Mom said to Candice as she handed her the folder. Candice nodded and got onto the tasks from her place at the desk.
"And Lily," Mom continued. "The high school's annual summer fair is this Saturday. We needed more volunteers, so I put your name down for the ticket booth."
“Oh. Yeah, of course.” I forced a smile.
"Good. I would've done it myself, but one of the mothers pulled out of the raffle draw at the last minute, and now I have to cover for her. You didn't have anything planned, did you?"
“Nope,” I smiled tightly.
“Good,” she repeated, lovingly stroking a hand through the ends of my hair before she left for her office again.
It was true I probably wouldn't have anything planned this weekend, but it would have been nice if she checked first. That being said, that wasn't in my mother's nature. Everything always went her way, and if it didn't, bad luck because it would go her way anyway.
The rest of my shift was busy and slow, but eventually, I made it home. Dragging myself through the front door after 4 PM, I kicked off my shoes, dropped my bag and keys on the counter, and wandered into my bathroom to wash off the day.
I stood under the running water and scrubbed myself clean, paying extra attention to the back of my legs and between my shoulder blades. James might not have touched my skin, but I still felt dirty. Like his touch had seeped through my clothes.
Once I was done showering, I changed into a loose-fitting T-shirt and denim shorts, pulled my hair up with a claw clip, grabbed my laptop, and headed for the couch. I had another hour until Kira got home from her shift at the garden center, so I decided to check on the progress of those job applications.
I crossed my legs and grabbed a cushion to rest my laptop on. Sitting both in my lap before something on the seat beside me, where the cushion had been, caught my eye.
A black phone with a spider-web-like crack across the screen.
I sat staring at it for a solid 30 seconds.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I breathed.
I hesitated, hovering my hand above the phone as if touching it might make him appear again.
Drop it off to the police, was the logical thought. Let him deal with finding it. He was the one who lost it, to begin with. He wasn’t my problem anymore. Just someone from a weekend I was trying to forget.
Or.
I weighed the phone in my hand, chewing my lip in consideration.
Romeo wasn’t the type to walk into a police station looking to get his phone back. I imagined he avoided police stations, especially with his occupation. Which meant he would go searching in the last place he left it.
He would probably want it back soon. But I wasn’t particularly thrilled with the idea of going back to that club, let alone the basement if that was where I might find him. I also wasn’t thrilled with the idea of him showing up here again. Susan would have a field day.
That little voice in my head was back, subtly nagging me to do the right thing. So, I huffed upwards, lifting several strands of loose hair from my face, and got off the couch.
Chapter 7
Lily
I booked a ride on the way down to the foyer and waited out by the curb with nervous anticipation. The jittery feeling in my stomach only worsened during the drive into the city. The idea of meeting with Romeo again had set my heart racing, and not in a good way. He didn't come across as the nice to see you again type.
The Uber arrived at The Den much faster than I had thought the drive would be. Which hadn’t helped settle my nervous stomach. I climbed out of the backseat and thanked the driver before turning to look at the front of the building, squinting in the sunlight.
It looked so different during the day. No flashing lights or muffled music came from inside, and the front steps didn't have a long line of people heading to the front door, with no sign of Terry checking names off a list either.
I hesitated again, wondering if returning Romeo's phone was worth it as memories from the weekend flashed across my mind. Until the front door opened, and Terry appeared in the doorway, a puzzled expression on his face.
"We're not open 'til nine-thirty."
"Oh, no, I'm here to drop something off."
He looked me up and down quickly with suspicion. “Uh-huh?”
