Page 39 of Spyder
“Yeah. I lost my job recently.”
“Oh, that’s terrible,” I say.
“It’s shit,” he replies. “Lost my place to live too. Been staying with friends.”
Why he’s choosing to tell me all of this, I have no clue. But he does. For the next forty-five minutes, he tells me all of his life’s woes. And even though I have work I need to be doing and getting ready to see Derek tonight, I don’t have the heart to tell him to stop or that I’m not interested in hearing it. After what happened last night, I almost feel like I owe it to him to listen.
“That sounds like a really horrible run of luck,” I say. “I’m really sorry that you’re going through as much as you are.”
He looks at me for a long moment. “Hey, would you be interested in gettin’ a cup of coffee with me by chance?”
That’s the last thing I expected him to ask, and for a brief second, I’m left speechless. But I need to be honest and not send off any mixed signals. I get the feeling he’s somebody who reads pretty deeply into things and might see things that aren’t actually there. And I’d rather not take that chance with him knowing he’s got a quicksilver temper.
“I’m actually seeing somebody,” I tell him. “I’m supposed to be meeting him for dinner soon, actually.”
His face darkens, but he manages to control his scowl. He just nods.
“Of course, you are. A pretty little thing like you. I’m not surprised,” he says as he gets to his feet. “Anyway, I think I’ve taken up enough of your time. I actually just came down here to apologize.”
“Well, I thank you for that... What do I call you, anyway?” I ask.
“Pet—actually just call me Jacob,” he says. “I’ve always liked my middle name better than my first name.”
“Well, Jacob, I appreciate your coming down here. And like I said, I’m sorry for my part in this mess. But we’ll get it straightened out soon,” I tell him.
He nods. “Yeah. We will. Anyway, have a good night, Bellamy.”
“You, too.”
He leaves the room and only when the door clicks shut do I let out a long breath of relief. He wasn’t the same boorish and threatening man who’d made me feel so fearful and unsafe last night, but there was still something unsettling about him. Although, I will admit that perhaps I’m still just on edge being around the man. It’s hard not to be given his size and demeanor.
But maybe, just maybe, I’m doing what I always accuse Ruby of doing, and I am being a little judgmental myself. The man is having some issues and a difficult time with things in his life. And for that, my heart goes out to him. I truly do hope he gets it turned around sooner rather than later.
But right now, I need to put all of that aside, as well as the papers I should be reading, apparently, and get ready for my date.
***
“You’re kidding me. He tracked you down out of the blue?” Derek asks.
I shrug. “Well, yeah. He wanted to apologize.”
“And you’re not disturbed at all that he put in the effort to track you down like that? I mean, that’s kind of… stalker-ish.”
I laugh. “You’re being paranoid.”
“Am I?”
“Very. He felt bad and just wanted to say he was sorry,” I tell him. “He knew he freaked me out, and I thought it was a sweet gesture.”
Derek leans back in his chair, a small frown on his lips. “And it doesn’t bother you or strike you as odd that he just showed up at your school like that?”
“You just showed up out of the blue like that, too, you know,” I tell him with a sly smile on my face.
He sits forward and picks up his chopsticks again, grinning to himself. He nods as he picks up a piece of sashimi into his mouth and chews on it. I can tell he’s still bothered by it, though.
“It freaked me out at first, I’m not going to lie,” I say. “But then, he apologized and honestly, he looked genuinely remorseful.”
“They say sociopaths can mimic emotions flawlessly.”
