“Fine, I’ll charge you rent. One dollar a day.”
She playfully slaps my arm but winces as the movement strains her new injury.
I place a gentle hand over the bandage and look up at her thick black lashes framing her bright blue eyes. “Seriously, Rae. What is so wrong with me offering you a hand? It’s not a big deal. You stay here for as long as you need to build up your savings, then you can look for the place of your dreams.”
She doesn’t give me an answer to my question, so instead I say, “Just think about it, okay?”
She nods her head, and I’m shocked she’s actually considering.
“Deal.” I return to my feet and begin cleaning drops of blood off the linoleum.
Raegan goes to the refrigerator and grabs a fancy prebiotic soda that I only buy for her. She pops open the tab and takes a long sip, then she sits back down.
I toss the dirty paper towel into the trash and join her at the kitchen table. “How was the opening shift?” I ask, knowing she typically closes at the bookstore during the week.
“Slow,” she answers. “No one recreationally shops that early. Frivolous spending tends to happen after the sun goes down.”
I snort. “And why do you think that is?”
“The best bad decisions are always made after dark.”
“Buying a book is a bad decision?”
“If you’re like me it is. I was able to hide four new books I want behind a stack ofGuns Digestthis morning, and I already know there’s no more room on my shelves to put them.”
This time I let out a true laugh. “Guns Digest?”
“Ethan will never find them. Not his demographic.”
My laughter seems to be contagious as Raegan giggles in between sips of her orange cream soda.
“Do you have plans tonight?” I ask, a residual smile still on my face after thinking about Ethan reading a gun magazine. “Wanna do our Friday night movie ritual? The theater is still playingThe Breakfast Club, but we can watch something here.”
One of our favorite things to do is watch movies together. During this time of year, when the weather starts to cool and the leaves turn stunning shades of yellow and orange, we love to watch over-the-top horror movies, the more fake blood the better.
“I can’t. I’m going to break up with Patrick.”
My hackles immediately stand in alert. “Shit. You’re finally going to do it?”
Raegan shrugs as if it isn’t a big deal, but I’ve been dreading this for a month.
From the moment she started dating Patrick, I knew the guy was bad news. He is way too clingy, and not in an insecure kinda way. He’s possessive of her to the point that she can’t schedule anything with me before confirming with him first. They’ve only been dating for a few weeks, and somehow he’s already hooked his creepy little claws into her, treating her as if she solely belongs to him. Not to mention he’s disrespectful as hell.
Thankfully, Raegan is smart when it comes to detecting bullshit. She saw the red flags after the third date, but the guy’s scary personality has made it a bit difficult for her to bring up the ‘things-aren’t-working-out’ conversation. I’m all for double-teaming the prick and going with her to finish the job, but she insists it’ll be fine.
“It’s time,” she tells me. “My phone hasn’t stopped ringing for two days.”
“Where are you going to do it? You know Maurice won’t mind a public disturbance at Bones. You’ll serve as the evening entertainment.”
Raegan bites her lip and her shoulders raise to her ears.
“What?”
“I may have agreed to go to his house.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Jamie–”
