Page 30 of Unhinged

“Where would I live?”

“I have an apartment there. You can stay with me.”

“Separate bedrooms?”

“Of course.”

“Job?”

“I recently purchased a significant share of a local bar that desperately needs assistance. You will not need to pay rent or buy food, but if you so wish to secure additional funds, I may need your help at the bar.”

“Shit. Are you serious?”

“Therefore, there isn’t a downside to this. You will have your desired change and be helping your new friend—not spouse. Sound good to you?”

“Where is this?”

“Alas, my apartment is…outside Raleigh.” Amos doesn’t know where Greg is, either. What would be the point of him not telling me, anyway? “What’s holding you back, Simone? You said nothing is keeping you in Richmond.” North Carolina is a big state. And I doubt Greg would hang out in a flailing bar, so that’s a plus.

I wipe my silent tears as I remember Birdy’s cute face. I think I miss her more than anything, even if Greg created her with that whore tart. I don’t want to leave Birdy, but Shasta would never allow me to be a part of Birdy’s life. That kills me. If there’s one thing I’m sure about, it’s how much I love that baby girl. Her parents are my issue.

With my voice tight, I whisper, “I’ll get back to you,” and end the call to pull up my only picture of Birdy as I sob in my brother’s kitchen.

When I calm down, I hurry to the foyer, so I don’t hear sounds from their room. Before reaching the door, I notice a picture behind the half-round table on the floor. Bending to pick it up, I see the knick-knacks on the bottom shelf are tipped over or near the edge. How odd. I return the unbroken wedding picture of Finn and Hadley to the top and then rearrange the bottom shelf. At least I accomplished something here.

Before I attempt to open the door again, I hear Hadley’s orgasmic shrieks.

“Fuckers,” I grumble but then cringe as I slam the front door, forgetting about Finley sleeping. Oops.

They kind of deserve that.

“Good luck with the interview.”

Huffing in exasperation, I button and then unbutton the top two buttons of my gray blouse for the third time. “I don’t know why I’m even here, really, Amos. Maybe this is a mistake.” Looking into the mirror, I sniff as I try to forget what I’m leaving behind.

I hear him stifle a laugh. I whirl from the mirror and glare at him with my Sassy pink finger-nailed hands on my hips and a frown on my Starlet pink lips.

This time, Amos full-on laughs as he pets his gray-and-white French bulldog, Frenchie, who is now my new best friend. She even prefers to sleep with me at night, much to Amos’s chagrin. Shaking his head over the open dishwasher, he inserts a plate and shuts the door. “You know that’s not true.”

I jut out my chin so he can’t see my bottom lip tremble. “You know nothing.”

He narrows his eyes. “The night before you left, you threatened to burn Richmond to the ground.”

I shrug to lift the painful dark cloud hovering above, but it only crushes me more. “It was a bad day.” To say the damn least.

“A change of scenery will be good for you.”

“Temporarily.”

I finish my tea, hoping the happy vibes kick in soon, and then check the fancy gold clock in Amos’s living room. His rented house is simple yet screams expensive taste and disposable money. I have expensive taste, too, but my income is nonexistent, thanks to my mother coddling me.

Telling my mother that I was moving was no picnic, but she accepted it. However, my brother had a coronary.

“Why there?”

“That’s where my internship would be. Raleigh.”

“Or is there another reason Amos wants you to go there?”

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