Page 58 of Unbelonging
I glared at him. "You know, I don't appreciate the interrogation."
He gave me a hard look. "Yeah, that's about what I expected."
Without my even noticing, we'd already made our way back to where we'd started, directly in front of the Parkers'. I glanced at their house. I couldn’t invite him in, and I couldn't stay out here arguing all day.
"I'd better get back inside," I said.
"Yeah," he said. "You do that."
I thrust out my hand toward Chucky's leash, and Lawton gave it to me without comment. Clutching it with a death grip, I turned and stalked back to the house, taking Chucky with me, and refusing to look back.
Chapter 32
I'd been unemployed for only a couple days when I started seriously climbing the walls. The whole dynamic was stupid really. Even before the blowup with Keith, I'd had the past two days off anyway, so it shouldn't have been a big adjustment.
Besides, tomorrow I'd be signing the paperwork for my new job. I wouldn't be starting for a while yet, but at least I had something on the horizon.
Still, I couldn’t stop obsessing over everything. Days off when you actually have a job are a lot different than days off when you're wondering how you're going to pay your bills.
And then there was the thing with Lawton.
I'd gone back to walking Chucky alone, and Chucky didn't seem much happier than I was. I kept telling myself that our falling out was for the best. Except it didn't feel like it was for the best. In the two days since our argument, I'd been replaying the whole thing over and over in my head until I was literally sick of it.
Maybe I should've been more honest with him. Maybe I should've confronted him about that awful conversation between him and Bishop. Maybe I should've demanded to know how he'd magically opened the Parkers' locked front door with no apparent key.
But those were a lot of maybes, and I had no time machine to take me back, so what did it really matter?
When not walking Chucky, I either slept, read, or worried about money. I still hadn't called Erika to ask for a loan. In fact, I hadn't called Erika, period. I desperately wanted to talk to her, and not because of anything to do with finances.
Mostly, I wanted to tell her about Lawton, and cry on her shoulder.
But I knew that once I started talking, I wouldn't stop until I'd cried her ear off, and she had enough to worry about with mid-terms. Plus, I still hoped that I'd miraculously solve everything before talking to her at all. It would be nice to give her good news for a change.
Sprawled in a recliner in the Parkers' living room, I thought of Lawton. The guy was giving me mental whiplash. I went from missing him to hating him, and then back full-circle.
I'd been sleeping more than normal the last couple days, but I was still exhausted. Probably, I hadn't been sleeping all that well. When my eyelids fluttered shut, and I felt myself drift, I didn't bother to fight it. It had been forever since I'd given in to a nap, as decadent as it sounded.
I drifted off thinking of Lawton and all the things I should've said to him, followed by the things I was wishing I'd done with him. Some of those things were family-friendly. Others, not so much.
When the sound of my cell phone jolted me awake, the house was dark. How long had I slept? It had to be at least a couple of hours.
I fumbled for my phone and answered without looking. "Hello?"
"Listen, your shift started thirty minutes ago. Are you coming in or not?" It was Keith, and he sounded beyond irritated.
"What? Huh?" I stammered, trying to clear the cobwebs from my foggy brain. "I don't have any shifts."
"That's not what the schedule says."
"What are you talking about?" I said. "I don't work there anymore. Remember?"
It was true that Ihadbeen scheduled to work tonight, but that was before I'd quit. Or been fired. I still wasn't sure how to classify what had happened.
"All I know," Keith said," is that your shift started at seven, and you're not here. You think it's fair to make the other girls cover for you? Fine. Go ahead, play hooky. But they're drowning out there, so if you can find it in yourself to waltz in here any time soon, I'm sure they'd greatly appreciate it." And then, he disconnected.
I was still holding the phone, not sure what to think. Was the guy serious? Or was it some kind of ruse to drag me in there, so he could have the pleasure of firing me in person?
I shouldn’t go. But I so needed the money. And what if Keith were telling the truth? What if the other girls were swamped? I'd been in that position too many times to count, with too many tables and not enough time. Before I knew it, I was pulling on my spare uniform and reaching for the eye shadow and hairspray.
