Scanning the living room for the first time after I flew out of here two weeks ago, everything looked the same but unfamiliar. I glared at my once beloved couch, angry I couldn’t lie on it without being disgusted.
“Well, look who decided to come home.”
I swiveled my head toward Trent, leaning against my living room wall.
“Ugh, I’d forgotten about you.” I kicked off my sandals and plopped into the recliner. The furniture needed a good cleaning, followed by some holy water. Thanks to Trent, I had a long afternoon of tossing sheets and scrubbing, and just looking in his direction exhausted me.
“Well, that’s pretty obvious. I’ve been ready to talk, and you’ve been gallivanting at the shore.”
A humorless laugh tumbled from my lips. “Ready to talk? Not entertaining more houseguests?” I raised an eyebrow and leaned back. “I told you to get out. I gave you plenty of time to pack your stuff and leave by the time I got back.”
“I said I was sorry.”
“No.” I shook my head slowly. “You didn’t.”
“That’s because you didn’t give me a chance.”
Rage boiled in my gut at how, even now, he was blowing off what he’d done as a flippant mistake, not a deliberate act of blatant disrespect.
“Look, Cat, we can make this work. I’m headed to the Mets game tonight with some clients, but we can talk about this when I get back later.” He grabbed his keys off the rack before pausing to search my gaze. “What were you doing there after your friends came back? I figured you went to your mother’s house, but she said you were still on vacation.”
He didn’t believe me when I’d left or when I’d stayed or that I’d really meant to get the hell out of my apartment. To him, I was good old reliable Cat. The woman who’d never push him or make a fuss about anything. I was a doormat and an easy means to an end.
I replied with a shrug as he looked me over. Little did he know about the glorious loophole I’d found, thanks to his indifference. His name was on the lease, but he’d never made it to the landlord’s office to sign it. With the absence of a signature or security deposit on his behalf, I could legally throw him out.
I was almost glad he wouldn’t leave on his own. For the first time, being underestimated was fun.
“I enjoyed myself so much, I decided to use my mountain of earned vacation time and stay for a few days longer. Nothing like a little ocean air and sand to give you clarity.” Or a beautiful man with a huge heart to open your eyes to all that was missing—and wrong—in your life. But I wouldn’t give Trent the satisfaction of knowing about Joe. Like everything else about me now, it was none of his business.
“Knowing you, a vacation by yourself would be a dream.” I swore I caught an eye roll as he unlocked the door. How long had he been a dick, and how stupid had I been to stay?
“It was. Have fun at the game.” I crossed my legs and waved. Trent shut the door behind him without another word.
I pulled my phone out of my purse and dialed my cousin.
“Cat? You have some explaining to do, little cuz!”
“What the hell are you talking about, Pete?” He owned a hardware store down the block from my apartment and worked as a locksmith after hours. All of my family was scattered around Brooklyn, mostly in Bay Ridge, which had its great points and its awful points. For the quick favor I needed, it was great, but the way extended family immersed themselves in my business, not so much.
“Running away on vacation by yourself was enough of a shock, but I saw Claire in the store the other day, and she told me you shacked up with some guy you met over there. No one could believe it. Did you get drugged or something?” I bristled at his hearty laughter.
I cringed at the universal reputation I had for a boring existence. This also meant my mother had found out I’d been staying with a strange man before I’d had the chance to explain. She couldn’t ground me in my thirties, but I was still in a load of trouble. None of us in this family ever grew up to the point of escaping our crazy parents’ rage.
Claire and her loose lips were dead.
“I promise, I’ll tell you all about it, but I need you to do me a solid first. How fast can you come over and change the locks?”
“What’s wrong? Did that douche hurt you?” Pete roared so loud I had to stretch the phone away from my ear. My family had never been crazy about Trent. He had this dry sense of humor that sometimes came off as arrogance, but I used to think he was cute and funny. How long ago that was, I couldn’t recall, but I’d beat myself up about it later. I had more pressing matters at hand.
“Before I left for the shore, I caught him with another woman in our apartment. I told him it was over and to get out, but he won’t leave. He just went out for the night, and I’m stuffing his clothes and whatever else he has into garbage bags to leave in the lobby. While he’s out, I need a quick—”
“Say no more. I’ll be there in twenty.”
“Wait, can you ask Aunt Nancy if she has any of that homemade industrial strength cleaner and an extra pair of gloves? I need to scrub down my furniture.” I peeked into the hallway closet and thanked God for the new bedding I’d bought last month that was still in the packaging. The sheets were going down the trash compactor, but I would salvage my furniture.
“You got it. And you better start talking when I get there.” Pete hung up. For a forty-three-year-old married man with two young kids, he loved gossip a little too much.
I made my way into the kitchen to gather some garbage bags when my phone buzzed in my hand.
