Page 8 of Tainted

I sighed, relieved it was only Sydney, and set my gun on the counter.

“My bad. I forgot you were here.”

“You need to remember!” she groaned, rolling her eyes, visibly shaken. “Walking around like a fuckin’ power ranger pulling guns on people!”

Sydney lowered to the floor, trying to steady her hands to gather the cereal in a pile. She failed miserably because it reminded her why she had called and asked if she could stay here for a few days. Guilt filled my chest, squatting down to help.After all, it was my fault that sleep didn’t come easy, and our baby was gone.

“I can clean up my own mess,” she huffed.

You’re doing a piss poor job was the first thing that came to mind. Thankfully, it didn’t come out of my mouth, so I left Sydney to struggle alone, walking to the cabinet to grab a bowl.

“Those nasty ass Fruity Pebbles belong in the trash anyway.”

“Every time I come over here, there’s a fresh box in the pantry,” Sydney shoved me in the back as she went to grab the broom.

“Your greedy ass has to eat something.”

A giddy smile tugged at Sydney’s lip as she swept the cereal into the dustpan.

“Gee, thanks,” she finally rebutted.

“You’re welcome. What do you have planned? Laying around eating Fruity Pebbles.”

“No. I have class, thank you very much. Don’t talk about my cereal of choice when basic ass Frosted Flakes are your favorite.”

I knew asking had the potential to ruin her day, let alone the moment, but Sydney was my best friend long before we started bonding over fat asses in Spanish class. Some days she was more than that, so it fucked with me hearing her cracking voice asking if she could stay for a few days.

“You feelin’ better?”

Sydney adjusted on the barstool and cleared her throat.

“I’m okay,” but even a convincing liar like Sydney couldn’t fool me.

“Would you-.”

“Yes, Keyes,” she sighed, cutting off my sentence. “If I weren’t, I would tell you.”

Kissing Syd’s forehead to avoid saying the wrong thing, I walked upstairs to start my day, especially since I was running behind.

I hopped in the shower and recalled the morning she woke up with a flat tire because Sydney couldn’t drive for shit. It was a reason I never got behind the wheel with her, but she had a big presentation that she couldn’t miss.

Despite her terrible fuckin’ driving record, I gave her my car. I thought nothing of it until Kross called in a panic. My car was fucked, and Sydney miscarried our child, causing internal damage that would make it hard to conceive.

I pushed the images of my car, balled up out of my head, and climbed out of the shower. Sydney was slumped against the counter, staring at the tile in a daze. She noticed I was watching her and undressed to take a shower of her own.

“Don’t be in there all day playing with yourself. Otherwise, I’m going to start charging your ass for wasting my water.”

Sydney laughed dramatically before returning, draped in a gray towel.

“Put it on my tab, jerk.”

“The thing about a tab is you have to pay up one day.”

“I will.Oneday.”

She dropped the towel and peered over her shoulder, inviting me to join her. It would’ve been much easier and more direct to say the words, but Sydney didn’t have the courage today. Reliving the past had a way of sucking her dry.

As good as her chocolate skin looked stepping inside the shower, I had business to handle.

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