Not too sure how I arrived at the point in my life where I’m separating my brain from my vagina, but here I am, doing it anyway. Listen, when I passed thirty-five, I stopped getting menstrual cramps in my lower belly and started feeling cramps in my calf muscles, so I attest that anything is possible.
Or maybe I’m just fucking desperate and as dull as Sergei said I was. He said I was boring. He said that waking up next to me had become a chore. And that man hated chores, let me tell you.
My dad, in the nicest way he could, because he loves me, said that when it came to Sergei, I was far too gullible. I believed Sergei when he said Ashley was here taking a shower while I was at work because her boiler broke. I believed the story he spun after Chi-chi told me she saw him with Ashley at the coffee shop out of town. He didn’t know Chi-chi’s girlfriend worked next door, or he wouldn’t have exposed himself that way.
I believed Ashley had my best interests at heart when, two years ago, she advised me to leave Sergei.
My dad is probably right. I am gullible. But I am who I am, and I can’t be who I am not. And I am not a horrible, vindictive person. I want to help and believe the world is a great place with many wonderful people in it. Bad apples shouldn’t be allowed to ruin everything.
“You’re in my way,” the man says.
Ha! “My ex-husband said that before he moved in with my best friend.”
“Ouch.”
I stand at the door to my daughter’s room so I don’t rub against him as I squeeze past him. In fact, I don’t think my ass can pass. Honestly. I’m pear shaped and carry most of my weight in my bottom and my thighs. The space is too small to fit two people at the same time.The shower isn’t, though.
My vagina is having intrusive thoughts.
“What do I call you?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Whatever you want.”
“I mean, what’s your name?”
“I know what you mean.” He unbuckles his pants and starts to undress.
That’s my cue. I close the door and lean against it, hearing his buckle hit the tile when he drops his pants. The glass door creaks as he opens it to enter the shower. Naked. There’s a naked man in my shower. This morning, my horoscope said something about Venus in retrograde. Is that why he’s here?
I’ve got no idea.
I double-check that the bedding in Chi-chi’s room is clean for him and step onto the terrace. The helicopters still circle above. They’re news station choppers. Not only local, but international. Whatever happened at the Crossbow mansion garnered international attention.
Maybe they finally arrested Massio Crossbow. Inwardly, I snort. I doubt that very much since everyone knows he funds the police department. Those poor men and women have no choice but to look the other way when it comes to him.
I should check the news and find out what happened at the mansion. The men at Crossbow gate turned me around and wouldn’t let me pass, and my client was inside waiting for me. I called her to tell her I couldn’t get in, and she said she would speak with them. Nothing came of it. Their orders not to admit anyone onto the property came from Crossbow himself. I left. I hope my client is okay.
In the living room, it takes me ten minutes to find the remote since I never leave it in the same place. My dad’s been telling me to designate a space for my remote since I was a little girl. I find it on my vanity in the bedroom and turn on the news in the living room.
The helicopters flying over the mountain show us an aerial view of a sprawling mansion and all surrounding properties enclosed within the walls that Crossbow built as if he were a king inside a fortress.
The police swarm the place. Not only locals. Federal and international agents too. They’re guarding men in handcuffs who are kneeling on the grass.
I wonder where the man in my bathroom belongs. On his knees or in uniform, executing justice? He said he wasn’t one of Crossbow’s men, but he’s dangerous and capable, very calm and collected when dealing with a crisis. I ran him over, and he hijacked my car and is now in my apartment. That’s a capable, dangerous man, I’d say.
He could be an undercover cop, for all I know. If their cover is blown, they risk their lives and the lives of their families.
Is he married? Does he have children?
I sit on my couch and have a think. Do I really want to know his name? Or if he’s married? Nope. I shake my head. I do not. If he’s connected with what’s going on with Crossbow now, I want to remain in the dark. I should heed what he’s telling me, which is to give him any name I want and help him get better as fast as possible so he can leave my apartment, never to return.
Chapter 5
But he can’t leave
Dina
Ichange into my scrubs because I bet the hospital will call me in this evening. I work an as-needed shift in admission in the ER. Tris got me the job when I told her about my divorce. She’s twice divorced, so I didn’t need to explain why I need the extra cash.
