The Last Time (3 page)

“Which I never will,” I said immediately.

Sean and Mike both laughed.

“Wow, you got played,” Sean said, still laughing.

“They totally took you for a ride,” Mike said.

I glared at them. “Well, next time you want me to watch them, forget it.”

“Let’s do his toes next,” Scarlet said.

“Yeah,” Cassandra said with wide eyes. “That would be cute.”

“Fuck all of you,” I snapped.

Andrew kept smiling. “In their defense, the color really brings out your eyes.”

I turned around and stormed off, hating my family for being a bunch of assholes.

“You really aren’t mad, are you?” Jani
ce said when we got home.

I glared at her. “You tell me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Stop being such a baby.”

“A baby?” I asked. “You three gained up on me.”

She shrugged. “It was fun.”

I grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator and downed it. “We have nail polish
remover?”

She smirked. “I’ll give it to you…if you do something for me.”

“You’ve got to be joking.”

“Nope.” She lay on the couch then extended her arms to me.

“I can’t get in the mood when my nails are painted. Sorry.”

“You didn’t have a problem last
night,” she snapped.

“Get this shit off
and maybe I’ll consider it.” I stared her down, telling her I meant business.

“Fine.” She sighed then headed to the bathroom. When she came back, she held the bottle and cotton balls. She kneeled at my feet and scrubbed the paint off. “Better?”

“Much.”

She finished then patted my hands dry. “Now you’re a man again.”

I sighed in relief then leaned back. “I’m so glad that fiasco is over.”

“Shut up. It was fun.”

“Maybe for you.”

She sat beside me then rubbed the back of my neck. “I’m sorry I teased you so much.”

“You’ll have to apologize a lot to get me in the mood.”

She turned on the TV then kept rubbing the back of my neck. It felt good so my eyes started to droop. “For what it’s worth, even when your nails are painted, you’re still the hottest guy I’ve ever seen.”

“Hotter than Ryan Gosling?” I jabbed.

“Way hotter.”

Okay. This was getting better
.

She pushed my forward gently until I was on the floor in front of the couch. Then she came behind me and rubbed my back and shoulders. “You want another beer?”

“No,” I said with a moan. “This is good.”

Janice kept rubbing my back, massaging my sour mood out of my skin.

My phone rang so I glanced at the screen. It was a number I didn’t recognize but I took it anyway because it was probably related to the shop. “Hello?”

Silence stretched on the phone for a few seconds.

“Hello?” I said again.

“Ryan.” The female voice drilled into my ear and painted a perfect picture. The huskiness of the voice reminded me of winter days when her lungs were more congested than usual. I actually smelled the cigarette smoke in the air. I suddenly felt the throbbing pain of my skull where an ashtray
landed years ago. My heart raced and my fingers became damp. I’d recognize that voice anywhere because it was the subject of my nightmares, my terrors.

“Sarah.”

A light chuckle played over the phone. “A child never forgets their mother’s voice.”

Why the fuck was she calling me?

Janice picked up on the tension because her hands stopped massaging me. “Everything okay?”

I ignored her, too absorbed in the conversation. What the hell did she want? How did she get my number? I realized I needed to respond. “Nor does he forget the sound of the devil.”

The scent of alcohol moved through the receiver. It was all in my imagination, but I swear I smelled it.

“How are you, Ryan?”

I wasn’t going to play catch up with this life-sucking bitch. “What the fuck do you want?”

Janice stilled at my roar. I’d never spoken that way to her, even when I was boiling in rage. I could only reproduce this voice with one person—my mother.

“Did I call at a bad time?” she asked with an amused voice.

I said nothing, too angry
to speak. I should just hang up.

“I heard you have a shop in New York. It sounds like it’s doing well.”

Was she stalking me? “What do you want?” I repeated.

“I’ve recently fallen on hard times. Since a child’s duty is to their mother, it’s your obligation to help me.”

Money. It was always the same thing.
“No.”

“No?” she asked, laughing. “You never say no to me.”

“Fuck you.”

“Ryan, I need it for medical bills.”

“I hope you have lung cancer.” I meant it. I didn’t give a shit if she was my mom. She was an evil person.

“I know you don’t mean that, dear.” She kept her cool over the phone. “Now please help me.”

“When your body goes in the ground, that will be the greatest day of my life.” I hung up then turned off my phone. I tossed it on the ground then breathed hard, unable to control my anger. No one pissed me off like my mom. She tortured me during my childhood, and she treated Scarlet even worse. Just when I thought I was free of her, I wasn’t. Until she was in a coffin, I’d always be looking over my shoulder. I wouldn’t give her a dime. I worked hard for that money, and I wasn’t going to give in. Even if she was telling the truth about her medical bills, that wasn’t my problem.

Janice moved to the floor beside me then held my hand. I knew she heard the conversation since she was so close to the phone.

I stared straight ahead, replaying the conversation.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“Why?”

“You don’t deserve that.”

I breathed through the pain in my heart. When I thought about how horrific my childhood was, it made me depressed. When I remembered Scarlet’s scars, I wanted to cry. But I refused to let it bring me down. I stood on my own two feet and became an adult as soon as I hit puberty. Now I had a life anyone would envy. I made my own family and I had the most amazing woman as my partner. In that respect, I was very fortunate.

She ran her fingers through my hair. “You did the right thing.”

“I know I did. I’m not giving her shit.”

Janice rested her head on my shoulders. “I’d kick her ass if I ever saw her.”

“And I’d know you would win.”

She kissed my ch
eek and continued to comfort me. “Are you going to tell Scarlet?”

I should. What if my mother hits her up next? But then again, why didn’t she go to Scarlet first? She was the one who was rich. My mom probably kn
ew she wouldn’t get anymore out of the Prestons. “No.”

“Really?”

“I can’t stress her out. Now that she’s pregnant, I can’t do anything to upset her or make her lose the baby. All it will do is make her feel scared and unsafe. And if my mom wanted money from her, she wouldn’t have asked me at all. I don’t think it’s necessary to say anything to her.”

“Okay.”

I shook my head. “I’ll never be free of her.”

“That’s not true.”

“I’d kill her if I could get away with it.” I meant it. And I wasn’t ashamed to admit that.

“And I’d help.” Janice kept holding me close, acting as my crutch. She was always the rock I needed when times got rough. When I couldn’t take care of her, she took care of me. That support meant the world to me.

I wrapped my arms around Janice’s shoulder and held her close, knowing she was everything I’d been missing my entire life. I’d get through this. I always did and I always would.

3

Flynn

“So, did you tell Hazel?” Johnny asked while we sat on my couch and watched the game. Hazel wasn’t around, so it was just me and the guys.

“About what?” I asked.

He popped a chip into his mouth. “About that producer wanting to sleep with you.”

“Oh yeah. I did.” I remembered the way she flipped out. But at least she calmed down afterwards.

“What happened?” Ian asked.

“She was upset and I ended up hitting
the bar. After I came home, she calmed down and said she was overreacting.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Johnny said. “That’s better than you expected, right?”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “Hazel is still wounded from her last boyfriend. It’ll be a while before she can completely trust me. It used to offend me but now I try not to let it bother me.”

“Did she freak when you told her about Zahara?” Ian asked. He was on his third beer.

“I didn’t tell her…” After her reaction to Carly, I knew Hazel would be a million times worse if I told her about my ex.

“Seriously?” Johnny asked. “Why?”

“I know she would run out on me again. I just don’t want to dump two big things on her at one time. I’ll tell her, but I’ll wait a while. I don’t want her to panic. That’s enough to give her a heart attack.”

Johnny nodded. “I guess I see what you mean. And you didn’t do anything wrong anyway. You told Zahara to fuck off, right?”

“In so many words,” I said.

He shrugged. “I wouldn’t tell her at all. There’s nothing really to tell anyway. Women are always going to want you. You really think she wants to hear about every single interaction?”

“Well, I’m trying to gain her trust right now. I thought if I was honest about everything, she would slowly start feeling secure.”

“But, that applies to you doing something, right?” Ian asked. “Now if you kissed a girl, that’s something you should fess up to.”

I glared at him. “Never gonna happen.”

“It’s just an example,” Ian said quickly.

“So, I’ll keep it to myself for a while. After I tell her, I’ll ask if she wants me to keep everything to myself from now on,” I said.

“It’s your funeral,” Johnny said with a shrug. “Where is she anyway?”

“Rehearsal,” I said. “It went late tonight.”

“You don’t have to stay?”

“No,” I said with a sigh. “That’s the director’s job, which is why my job is so much better.” I picked up a slice out of the box then scarfed it down. We settled back into watching the game.

A knock on the door interrupted us.

“Expecting someone?” Johnny asked.

“No.” I left the couch then headed to the door. When I looked through the peephole, I stilled. “What the hell?”

Both of the guys turned around.

“Who is it?” Johnny asked.

I turned back to them, eyes wide. “Zahara.”

Ian did a double take. “How does she know where you live?”

“I have no fucking idea.” I turned back to the door. “What do I do?”

Johnny shrugged. “Don’t answer it?”

She knocked again. “Flynn, please open the door.”

“Shit.” I ran my fingers through my hair.

Ian gave me a sympathetic look. “Just tell her to leave and never come back.”

Why the fuck was this happening to me? Thank god Hazel wasn’t here
. I opened the door, a pissed look on my face. “What the fuck are you doing? It’s one thing to speak to me at a bar, but it’s an entirely different matter to come to my home. Get the fuck out of here or I swear to god I’ll call the cops.”

She stilled at the venom in my voice. “I’m sorry…I just need help.”

“Help with what?” My suspicion would never die.

“I got into a fight with my…friend. He broke my phone and took my keys. No
w I have no way to call my roommate.” She looked like she was about to burst into tears.

Oh. I wasn’t expecting that at all. “I’m sorry…”

“I’ll just call her really quickly then be out of your hair.” She was breathing deeply and her face was slightly blushing.

Now I felt like an ass. “Sure. Come in.”

She came inside then nodded to my two friends. I grabbed my phone and handed it to her.

“Can I take this in the other room?” she asked.

“Sure.”

She walked down the hall and disappeared. Her heels echoed against the ground then stopped.

I came back to the guys. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Well, at least she didn’t want to start any drama,” Johnny said.
“That’s a relief.”

“Phew,” Ian said. “Now if Hazel were here she couldn’t
get mad at you. If you threw Zahara on her ass, you’d be a jerk.”

“Yeah,” I said in agreement.

The game was over so both of the guys stood up.

“We’re going to head out,” Johnny said.

“Could you stay until she leaves?” I asked. “You know, as witnesses.”

“Sure,” Ian said with a laugh.

We moved to the door and waited for Zahara to return. She was only gone for a minute.

She came back to me and handed me the phone. “Thank you so much. I’m meeting her at our apartment.”

“I’m glad it worked out.”

She nodded then stepped out of the door.

“Zahara?”

She turned around. “Hmm?”

“That friend of yours…he isn’t hurting you, right?” I felt protective of all women. It had nothing to do with her being my ex.

“No. It was just a fight.”

“Okay.” That made me feel better. “Bye.”

“Bye.” She walked off.

Johnny and Ian waited until she was out of sight. “Looks like we’re clear,” Johnny said.

“Yeah.” I opened the door wider and let them walk out. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Sure thing,” Ian said. “Tell your woman we said hi.”

“Her name is Hazel,” I snapped. “She’s not my woman.”

Ian rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

They left the apartment and I started cleaning up. I was fairly tidy in general, but now that I lived with a girl, I tried to be better at cleaning up mess
es. Hazel didn’t seem like she cared, especially after living with a bunch of cockroaches, but I still gave my best effort.

I settled back onto the couch and drank a beer, watching TV until my girl came home.