“Never mind,” she says.
I groan and storm out of her bedroom and head across the hall, opening Krow’s bedroom door as I knock.
I shouldn’t be surprised to see her sitting at the edge of her bed, her knees up to her chin, and a pile of tissues tossed to each side. I could try to be a little more compassionate about what she’s going through, but I’m having a hard time caring about anything more than the situation I’m living in here.
“Why are we living in an all-man community?” I ask her.
“Man,” she says, choking up again. “Richard loved the word ‘man.’ Do you know he would walk by me and say, ‘Hey, man, what’s happening today?’”
I’m not getting anything out of her. “Sweetie, you might want to go get laid by someone else at this point. There are plenty of options out there, trust me.”
I know it’s terrible advice, but seriously, it seems like it might be the only way to make her feel better right now. “I can’t do that,” she says.
“What, why not?” I question.
“Because, they aren’t mine to sleep with,” she says.
“Whose are they to sleep with?” I press.
Another sniffle and a quiet blow of her nose into a new tissue. “You, silly. You’re the only one who can choose to sleep with any of them.”
I close my eyes and hold my hands up. “Okay, that’s ridiculous, and I will not be sleeping with any man who lives in this development. I can assure you.”
“You know?” she asks.
“I know what?”
Krow’s gaze drifts past my shoulder, and I turn around, finding Kricket in the hallway, waving her hands in a negative formation.
“Tell me,” I demand.
“We can’t,” Kricket says. “Sorry, Ash.”
“Great, well, I’m leaving tomorrow. I’d rather live in a one-bedroom condo in a retirement community.”
“You can’t leave,” Kricket says.
“The hell I can’t. I didn’t agree to be a prisoner of this villa.”
“Well,” she drones. “You kind of did agree.”
“No, I assure you, I did not agree to this unknown psychotic situation.”
“Okay, well, you can’t leave,” Kricket says, tucking her hands into her back pockets.
“Is someone going to arrest me if I try?”
Kricket shrugs. “I’m not sure what will happen, but I don’t advise it.”
“Well, thank you for your concern. I’ll be sure to consider that tomorrow.”
“Don't do it,” Kricket says again. “Just hang in there.”
“Why?” I yell, slapping my hands against my cheeks. I’m seriously losing my damn mind. “You two are batshit crazy, and all those men out there, I’m not even sure they’re human.”
I choose to have the last word as I close myself in my bedroom once again, like a child, slamming my door to further highlight my point.
Chapter 11
