“Hey!” I feigned insult. Everyone knew I didn’t have friends, but that was beside the point.
“I don’t think I should answer that,” Dannie laughed, his eyes telling a much different story. I could tell he wanted to say something, but I also knew he wouldn’t.
“Who’s your friend, Zeek?” Mom questioned. Before I could say anything, she continued. “You know, you’d probably make more friends if you’d go out more often. Perhaps start dating again?”
“Uh––no, thanks.” Dating sounded like pure hell. Been there, done that, and I didn’t fancy returning anytime soon. “To be fair, I didn’t know Judah worked there.”
That’s when realization struck.Theo probably knew he worked there.It was probably in the papers he gave me a few weeks ago.At the time, I didn’t really care to know anything more than Judah was safe. Now, I was half kicking my own ass for not looking into all the information Theo had gathered. Who knows, perhaps today would have gone much differently.
“Hey, wait a minute, Theo mentioned someone by that name not long ago. Judah, I mean. It thought it odd because it’s not a name that’s heard all that often these days.” Mom rattled off, none the wiser to the storm that was building inside of me. “He was looking into him or something. Perhaps he’s not the best person to be spending time with, dear. Especially if he causes trouble.”
“Mom,” Dannie interjected, his voice firm. I could only assume he saw the fear that crossed my face. “Judah isn’t a concern. I promise.” Thankfully, she dropped it.
After my dad came home and got cleaned up, we sat down to eat some sort of casserole dish that I’d never tried before. According to Dannie, Mom had been on a kick to find new and improved meals. And if this one was any indication of what the others were like, I felt bad for Dannie having to deal with the outcome of them.
My parents kept the conversation going well enough, but halfway through dinner, I felt my phone vibrate with a text. I was tempted to check it, but I knew how my mom felt about phones at the table when we ate. It had always been one of her pet peeves.
Curious to see if it was from Judah, I decided to fake needing the bathroom, excusing myself from the table. Of course, I regretted that decision the moment I saw who the text was from.
Mistress Destri.
Ignoring her text just as I’d done all the others since that night at the bar, I decided to send a quick message to the kid. I knew I should have left him alone, but it was nice to have just one person in my corner that understood everything I was going through. Even if it was only for a moment.
ZEEK:I’m so glad I live by myself.
Not even a minute passed before he replied.
JUDAH:Yeah. But it’s too quiet here.
Judah
With more bounce in my step than I’d had in a long time, I hummed along to the music as I cleaned my apartment. Which had been ignored for way too long. I couldn’t begin to tell you how long some of the food containers had been inside the fridge. All I knew for sure was that there had been some sort of an odd smell coming from it for the last month or so. Yet, despite that fact, nothing motivated me enough to want to clean it out.
Until I saw Zeek again.
Moving from one corner of my tiny apartment to the next, I began cleaning every surface. Thanks to Eli, most of the kitchen was already taken care of. He hated coming over to a mess, so he was always cleaning up. It drove me crazy. Unfortunately, that meant I’d gotten better at shoving things just out of sight.
I couldn’t be sure if I was tired of my life being a complete mess, or if I was just tired of the mess in general. Regardless, I figured this was at least one part of my life that I had complete control over and could begin to clean up.
One song changed to the next and before I knew it, I found my head bobbing along to the music as I finished tying off the third bag of trash to be taken out. Despite the fact that the song reminded me of my childhood more than I cared to admit, my parents’ actions and feelings toward me were their own and I refused to allow that to ruin my day.
Seeing Zeek again and getting to spend time together, just the two of us, was more than I could have ever dreamt. That’s not to say I didn’t have concerns. I definitely did. The fear that he’d cut me out of his life or run once he discovered the truth about my inner demons was right there on the surface, ready to escape. I wasn’t going to let them. Yet.
It might only be a matter of time before things came to a screeching halt, but I was going to do everything in my power to keep Zeek in my life for as long I could. I needed him and I wanted to think that he needed me, too. The moment I saw him, I could see the all-consuming sadness reflected in his eyes. Every fiber of my being screamed to help him, but I wasn’t entirely sure he would allow me to, or if I would be overstepping. Not that I knew how to help him. I mean, I couldn’t even help myself.
So many thoughts ran through my head and before I knew it, I felt lost all over again, the happiness draining out of me just as quickly as it had appeared. Once again, I felt utterly defeated with no relief in sight.
Slumping against the counter, I slid to the floor that desperately needed to be mopped. Eyeing the trash bags, I was suddenly no longer in the mood to make my place feel cleaner in case Zeek decided to stop by. Not that I expected that to actually happen anytime soon.
What the hell could he possibly think about me?We’d just reconnected and already I was being too needy, expecting things that a normal adult shouldn’t want or need from another person. Especially someone they barely knew.
The buzz of my phone distracted me from my thoughts and the tears that now threatened to fall. And just like that, the tears were replaced by a very small smile.
ZEEK:Thanks for today. I needed it.
Debating for a moment, I held a breath and pushed the call button.Will he answer? Does he even want to talk to me?
All of my thoughts were silenced when I heard him answer. “Hey, Kid.”
