over, they did it two more times. Once in the broom closet and again in the back hallway beneath the red exit light. After the last time, she clung to his shirt, forehead resting against his chest, with her heart hammering at warp speed. One of his hands traced the curve of her spine and came to a stop on the swell of her ass. Drowsy from exertion and release, she sighed and mumbled into his shirt.
“This is the last time,” she told him.
He kissed her forehead. “I know, baby. I know.”
Chapter 7
Tasha met her mother and sisters the next day for lunch while her father moved out his things. Everyone spoke at once, competing to talk over each other. Their manicured hands waved in the air, voices carrying across the dining room. They were loud, chaotic, and completely hers. Afterward, they went shopping at the local mall. Tasha’s head ached from all the chatter. By the time they returned to her mother’s house, pain seized her temples. Her sisters scattered, eager to get back to their own lives, and left her to deal with her mother alone.
“Aren’t you coming inside?” Felicia asked. “I’ll get you an aspirin and you can lie down on the couch for a minute before you drive back home.”
“I’ll be fine, Ma,” Tasha said. Luke had loaned his car to her for the drive, and she needed to return it, but the ache in her head begged for some rest.
After a brief internal debate, she followed her mom inside and stopped short. Her mother sucked in a horrified breath. The house was empty. Scraps of paper and a few dust bunnies littered the floor. Bright squares shadowed the walls where the pictures had been removed.
“He even took the toilet paper,” Tasha said after a quick search of the house.
“Some of my clothes are gone, too,” her mother said. Tears glimmered in her eyes. “My grandmother’s necklace. The diamond earrings he gave me for our anniversary. The bed.” A violent sob wracked her body. “Where am I going to sleep?”
Tasha wrapped her arms around her mother, holding her close, feeling helpless. The sight of her mother, broken and alone, tore at her heart. After a few minutes, her mother straightened and wiped away her tears.
Anger simmered underneath Tasha’s calm. What kind of bastard took the toilet paper? The house seemed shabby and unfamiliar without decoration. While her mother wandered through the ground floor, lost and bereft, Tasha rounded up a couple of lawn chairs from the garage. They sat in the kitchen and drank water from the paper cups left behind.
“That wasn’t the agreement,” Felicia said, voice shaking with hurt. “He was supposed to take his clothes and half the furniture.”
When her mother had calmed down, Tasha arranged for her to stay with one of her sisters until something could be worked out. She tried to call her father but he didn’t answer. She left him a scathing voicemail then drove home in a fury. By the time she reached her apartment, the anger had dissipated into bitter disillusionment.
How could he do something it? No matter how the relationship had ended, they had children together and ties binding them beyond marriage. Was he so shallow and uncaring? She dropped her aching head into her hands and cried until there were no tears left. Her family was broken, and there was nothing she could do to fix it.
Chapter 8
Luke signed off his work computer and said goodbye to his boss the second his shift ended. It was a shitty, dead-end job paying minimum wage without benefits. Although running errands and updating the company website seemed like a waste of his graphic arts degree, he was grateful to have a job in a city rife with unemployment. Working at Felony provided enough extra income to keep him afloat while he looked for something else. He’d moved from Chicago last summer to help Jack with the bar and had never intended to stay more than a few weeks. Now, he couldn’t imagine leaving the bar or his new friends or Tasha.
“This is the last time,” she told him.
He kissed her forehead. “I know, baby. I know.”
Chapter 7
Tasha met her mother and sisters the next day for lunch while her father moved out his things. Everyone spoke at once, competing to talk over each other. Their manicured hands waved in the air, voices carrying across the dining room. They were loud, chaotic, and completely hers. Afterward, they went shopping at the local mall. Tasha’s head ached from all the chatter. By the time they returned to her mother’s house, pain seized her temples. Her sisters scattered, eager to get back to their own lives, and left her to deal with her mother alone.
“Aren’t you coming inside?” Felicia asked. “I’ll get you an aspirin and you can lie down on the couch for a minute before you drive back home.”
“I’ll be fine, Ma,” Tasha said. Luke had loaned his car to her for the drive, and she needed to return it, but the ache in her head begged for some rest.
After a brief internal debate, she followed her mom inside and stopped short. Her mother sucked in a horrified breath. The house was empty. Scraps of paper and a few dust bunnies littered the floor. Bright squares shadowed the walls where the pictures had been removed.
“He even took the toilet paper,” Tasha said after a quick search of the house.
“Some of my clothes are gone, too,” her mother said. Tears glimmered in her eyes. “My grandmother’s necklace. The diamond earrings he gave me for our anniversary. The bed.” A violent sob wracked her body. “Where am I going to sleep?”
Tasha wrapped her arms around her mother, holding her close, feeling helpless. The sight of her mother, broken and alone, tore at her heart. After a few minutes, her mother straightened and wiped away her tears.
Anger simmered underneath Tasha’s calm. What kind of bastard took the toilet paper? The house seemed shabby and unfamiliar without decoration. While her mother wandered through the ground floor, lost and bereft, Tasha rounded up a couple of lawn chairs from the garage. They sat in the kitchen and drank water from the paper cups left behind.
“That wasn’t the agreement,” Felicia said, voice shaking with hurt. “He was supposed to take his clothes and half the furniture.”
When her mother had calmed down, Tasha arranged for her to stay with one of her sisters until something could be worked out. She tried to call her father but he didn’t answer. She left him a scathing voicemail then drove home in a fury. By the time she reached her apartment, the anger had dissipated into bitter disillusionment.
How could he do something it? No matter how the relationship had ended, they had children together and ties binding them beyond marriage. Was he so shallow and uncaring? She dropped her aching head into her hands and cried until there were no tears left. Her family was broken, and there was nothing she could do to fix it.
Chapter 8
Luke signed off his work computer and said goodbye to his boss the second his shift ended. It was a shitty, dead-end job paying minimum wage without benefits. Although running errands and updating the company website seemed like a waste of his graphic arts degree, he was grateful to have a job in a city rife with unemployment. Working at Felony provided enough extra income to keep him afloat while he looked for something else. He’d moved from Chicago last summer to help Jack with the bar and had never intended to stay more than a few weeks. Now, he couldn’t imagine leaving the bar or his new friends or Tasha.
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