“Dandy,” a woman yells before she bangs again, and that’s when I remember I put the couch against the door. I lift my arm and jump out of bed. She does the same.
“Coming, Mom,” she yells. She points at me and whispers, “You better not come out, you hear me?” She hurries out of the room before I can respond, and she slams the door behind her in a fit of rage.
Running my hands through my hair, I realize there’s nowhere for me to hide.
“Hold on, Mom,” she says. Then I hear footsteps, and the bedroom door bursts open. “Can you help me move the couch?” she whispers.
On autopilot, I follow her out of the bedroom and easily move the couch. She points back toward the bedroom. To irritate her, I make no moves to leave, and she widens her eyes at me.
I lift my hand and wipe some sleep crust out of her left eye. She tries to knock my hand down, but I stay in place.
“Dandy, do you have a man in there?” her mother asks.
“God, no.” She points to the back of the apartment, and after smiling at her, I return to the bedroom. I close the door, but I stay close so I can eavesdrop.
She finally lets her mother in.
“What took you so long?” her mother asks, then I hear a long whistle. “Did you clean?” she asks as if she’s shocked. “You even mopped the floor.”
“Oh, yeah.” Eden lets out a fake laugh. “I’m trying to do better. You and Daddy are so generous to let me stay. The least I can do is keep the place nice.”
I snort at the lie.
“Oh, okay. I was going to offer you a ride, but you’re not dressed. Do you need money for a cab?”
I press my ear to the door. Why would she need money for a cab? She works overtime, and I doubt they charge her rent. Then I remember her friend told me she was broke. I make a mental note to look into that.
“I’m good. Cori is picking me up.”
I hear footsteps and water running, and it muffles the conversation.I bet she did that on purpose. Moments later, the water goes off.
“You know you can stay here as long as you want,” her mom says. “There’s no rush for you to move out. And I know your dad says you want privacy, but you can move back to the main house. This place has no AC in the summer, and the heat is not that great in the winter.”
“I’ll get a portable unit for the AC,” she says. “But I’m okay. I like it here.”
“Whatever you want,” her mom says. “I’m just happy you’re home. And I’m here if you want to talk about anything. No judgment, and it will be just between us.”
“Okay, Mom. Thanks. Love you.”
“Love you, too, Dandy.”
I hear kisses. Then the door opens and closes. I hear her lock it, then rapid footsteps.
“What the fuck?” she asks when she gets back to the bedroom. She shoves at my chest and hits me a few times, but I shrug her off. “You need to leave.” She opens a drawer, pulls out a pair of wrinkled scrubs, and throws them on the bed. “Shit! Because of you, I overslept.” She swats and slaps my bare arms until I step out of her reach. “Your big ass must have been lying on my phone. You better not break it again,” she warns.
“I didn’t break it the first time.”
“This is what I’m talking about,” she says while pointing her index finger at me. “You can’t just break in here and scare the crap out of me.” She jabs her finger in my chest a few times.
When I wrap my hand around her wrist, she stops. She looks into my eyes, and some of the fight goes out of her. She’s still beautiful, but her hair is a mess. With my free hand, I run my fingers through it. She swats my hand.
“You don’t seem scared,” I whisper. She doesn’t need to be. Not of me.
“Go home,” she orders. “Let me go.”
As soon as I drop her wrist, she turns on her heels, goes out of the bedroom, and into the bathroom across the hall. She slams the door and locks it.
Once she’s gone, I pick up my phone and call my colleague.
