Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 65862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
“Chicken,” he says, and I hand it to him.
We open the boxes and start eating. I tell him about my day and he tells me about his. I always worry about him. A few times I’m pretty sure he slept out here. He always tells me he gets into a shelter at night, but I’m not so sure he does. I’ve stopped asking because I know it makes him uncomfortable. I may not be able to do much for him, but I can always get him a warm meal. It’s the least I can do for a man who fought for our country. Johnny can talk for hours about his time in the Army. I love listening to his stories. He reminds me of a grandpa that I never had.
“I better get inside. I need a hot shower and my bed.” I stand, and a yawn leaves my mouth. I glance up at the window of my living room. The light is on, so I’m guessing Roxy is home. Lovely. I hope that he’s at least alone tonight. His bandmates are creepy. They like to stare a little too much. I hide out when they’re around, not even going out to the kitchen. I’ve got a mini fridge in my room to keep stuff for when I get hungry and I’m barricaded in.
The women he brings home aren’t much better. I’ve tried to make small talk with a few of them, but they ignore me for the most part. I walked in on him having sex on the sofa over the weekend and that image will forever be branded into my brain. He lost his shit on me after the girl left. Not that they stopped going at it when I walked in. Nope they kept on going, like it was totally fine. I stood there shocked for a good ten seconds. It was like a train wreck and I couldn’t look away. All those years in college and I never walked in on two people doing it.
The girl he was with asked me if I wanted to join in. That’s when I came back to reality. I shook my head then ran to my room. Roxy started calling me a voyeur after that. I naïvely had to look up what that meant. I’m still a little unsure if he was pissed I walked in on them or that I hadn't joined them. From the look of the women he’s been with, I’m so not his type in any way.
“Roxy’s home,” Johnny says as if reading my thoughts. “You let me know if he’s giving you trouble again.” My eyes meet Johnny’s dark blue ones. I swear the man has a sixth sense sometimes. It’s like he knows what I’m thinking. I smile at him. At least someone cares.
“Nothing can be worse than last weekend.” I let out a forced laugh.
I try to lighten the situation, because I don’t want Johnny to worry about me. I told him everything that happened, and I might have dumped more on him than I should have. But my roommate is super crappy, and I don’t have anyone else. Fritz is too busy, and I’m still kind of upset that he didn’t mind my roommate was a man. When I asked Fritz about staying with him only for a few days while I tried to find another place, he looked at me like I was crazy and I didn’t bring it up again. So I moved in with Roxy and tried to make the best of it.
I hadn’t even told Fritz about what happened. Sadly, I think I’m telling myself I haven’t because he’s been so busy, but the truth is I’m scared that he won’t care. I can almost hear his voice in my head saying, “just ignore him, Blair. Stay in your room. You’re an adult, these things happen. It’s no big deal.” I didn’t want to hear that from him. I wanted him to get mad and come to my defense. Should a boyfriend do that? Get jealous? Maybe punch him or something? I shake the thoughts, knowing I’m being juvenile. Hit him? Really, Blair? Still the thought lingers.
“See you tomorrow, Blair,” Johnny says, giving me a wink.
“Later.” I give him a small wave before grabbing my leftover container and tossing it into the trash can.
I scan my card, and the gates to my complex open. I make my way inside and up the stairs to my place. I slip my key into the door and listen for a moment before I open it. I don’t hear anything but the television, so I turn the key and go inside.
When I open the door, Roxy jumps off the couch and sits up. Our eyes meet, and I see his face is swollen like he ran into a wall or something.