All the Sauce (IceCats 4)

My heart shatters in my chest, and I know I’ve gotta get out of here. “And I wouldn’t if he didn’t talk to me like that. I have taken enough. I refuse—”

“You know what, I think it’s time you found another place to stay.”

I snap my mouth shut, and when the bastard starts to grin, my heart kicks up in speed. I want to scream, I want to cuss, and if Owen hadn’t spent so much on my plant, I’d chuck it at him. I look away, shaking my head. I don’t know how I stay calm or even stop crying, but I do. I close my eyes and say, “Rent has been paid for this month, and per our agreement, you or I have to give the other forty-five-days’ notice.”

“Then mark this as your forty-five-days’ notice. Half the rent will be expected if you aren’t gone by the first of the month after next.”

I can’t look up. I don’t want to lose my mind any more than I already have. I can fight her on the rent shit and I almost want to, but I know I need to get the hell out of here. I don’t trust him or her—or hell, myself. I need out of this fucking house. I turn and grab my plants since I will not leave these here. I almost want to go save all my babies, but again, I don’t trust myself to do so right now. I head to the side door and slam it shut, the house vibrating from the force.

It was childish and didn’t make me look good, but it was better than catching a charge for taking Leroy out.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Angie

* * *

I hate the tears that fall down my face as I buckle my plants into my car. I throw my purse down on the floorboard as a draft runs up the back of my dress. I consider going back to get another outfit, but I don’t want to face them. I walk around the car and remember I don’t have my scrubs or my shoes for tomorrow. Fuck me. Super frustrated, I grab my phone and head inside quickly. Thankfully, I don’t see London or Leroy as I go to my room and gather my things for tomorrow. A day away will give London and me time to calm down. If I don’t feel good about this when I come back tomorrow after work, I’ll stay at the hotel I plan to go to now. I glance at the phone and check the time, knowing I can’t call my mom. It’s too late.

I gather a bag with all the things I need and lock my door on the way out. I’m glad I listened to my dad when he told me to install a deadbolt on my room. I walk through the kitchen to the side door, without any run-ins with them, before heading back to my car. I throw my bag in the back and then get in, locking the doors behind me. I take my phone from my pocket and text my mom.

Me: Some shit went down with my roommate. Don’t send me any money for rent, and I may need to use my credit card again for upcoming stays at a hotel. Not sure yet.

I consider calling Owen, but he’s probably sleeping by now. I put the key in the ignition, but before I can start the car, my phone is ringing. It’s my mom.

“Are you okay?”

I hold back my sob. “I’m so pissed.”

“What happened?”

“My roommate’s boyfriend is awful to me, always calling me names. And after I confronted London about it, she brushed me off. So I stood up for myself tonight when he called me a cow—”

No. I. Did. Not. Say. That.

Fuck me sideways.

“A cow? What in the world? What is wrong with him? Who talks to people like that?”

Oh, thank you, Jesus. “I don’t know.”

“It doesn’t make sense. Who calls a skinny person a cow? Do you eat a lot of hamburgers?”

No, I’m the size of a cow. “I don’t know, Mom. He’s so mean to me, and he started saying my boyfriend only wants me for sex and all this other nasty stuff.”

“I’ll kill him,” she promises, and I shake my head. She’s so violent when it comes to the people she loves. “I’ll have to get help with the body if he’s big. We’ll need to hide it from Dad ’cause he’s a Johnny Do-Gooder. But Jude, Jace, and Jayden will bury a body. Shit, Grandma will help me.”

I love my mom. I smile, wiping away my tears. “I can’t even tell my boyfriend. He’ll lose his mind.”

“Sounds like my kind of guy. Protective.”

I think back to how he tried to protect me from his mom. “So much so. It’s sweet.”