Before long I’m thinking I can kill two birds with one stone here.
I can move a little closer, hear what’s upset Tasha, and get to hear and hopefully see my Abby.
My big, heavy foot on a branch in the undergrowth cracks through the night like a gunshot.
A neighbor's light comes on and I dive headfirst over the low gate to take my way around the back.
Trespassing, stalking, peeping tom… What will you do next?
All this runs through my mind, and it’s all perfectly logical to me at the minute. If I want to see and hear better I need to get close. And although I could just knock and invite myself in, it’s easier to hear things as they’re naturally spoken from out here.
Tasha has never been one to open up to me about certain things, for whatever reason.
And Abby might not tell me everything just yet either.
“…Did you hear something?” Tasha says, lowering her voice to a whisper.
“I didn’t,” Abby says firmly. “And stop trying to scare me, Tasha. Tell me about what happened with Brad, the kids are asleep now.”
I can only hear them, but I can’t see them. Then they drop off my radar completely, moving into a different part of the house. I try to follow them but have no idea in which direction they have gone.
I should call it quits. Just go knock on the door.
But it’s too late for that.
My cell rings.
Loudly.
It's Tasha’s number.
Fuck, I’m less than ten feet away from her, and Abby’s with her too.
Fuck.
CHAPTER NINE
Abby
I guess it’s the same thing that prompted me to expose myself to Slade that makes me kiss his cheek.
It might seem innocent enough, but I sense somehow that if he really does want to kiss me, and we really do kiss, neither of us will want to stop.
And neither of us would want anything less than a hundred percent of the other.
That’s what I’m telling myself anyway, and time will tell whether this fantasy is gonna last all the way through a night of sleep.
It really feels like I could wake up tomorrow and all this would have just been a dream.
My legs are shaking by the time I get inside, and I don’t even remember what I said or even did after kissing Slade.
I snatch up the note from the table I wasn’t expecting to see either.
Abby,
Kids are getting dropped off at five.
I’ll be late, got offered an extra shift so I decided to take it.
Leftovers are in the fridge.
Mom
PS: Talk later
It could be shorter, but I get the message.
Loud and clear.
She could’ve texted me about the babysitting, and what’s in this note. But a handwritten note is all the silent treatment will allow.
I groan loudly, remembering how Slade called out down the phone to her. My mom is not well known for her sense of humor.
I tell myself I will cross that bridge when I come to it.
When we come to it…
I choose to busy myself with changing and getting ready to babysit kids who frankly, could look after themselves if my aunt wasn’t so paranoid.
They arrive sometime later, and I slip into automatic mode. Fixing them a meal I know they'll only pick at. But all I can focus on is Slade.
It’s almost like I can feel his presence with me.
Tasha is next on my list of interruptions. Calling in tears, and I know before she even tells me it’s because of Brad.
She’s a mess, not making any sense so I tell her to just calm herself down enough until she can drive, then to get herself here.
Waiting for her to get here, I do the dishes and set the kids up in front of some movies I know they like.
I try my best to ignore the pang in my chest. But I miss Slade. A few hours together isn’t enough.
It’s unmistakable, I must be losing my mind.
One peck on the cheek does not mean anything but a strange anxiety creeps in at the prospect of a whole night without him, after the closeness we shared.
“Men are pigs, Abs… Fucking pigs!” Tasha practically shouts as soon as she walks through the door. I try to quiet her down, hoping the kids or the neighbors don’t hear her.
She settles down after a proper hug and some hot tea. Plus a half a pack of cream-filled biscuits I know I can only have one or two of.
“Sorry Abs,” Tasha sniffs, dabbing at her swollen red eyes with a tissue.
“It’s okay. I can’t eat them anyway,” I remind myself.
“I mean about turning up here. About being so upset,” Tasha corrects me.
I’ve seen Tasha upset before, but nothing like this.
“He didn’t?” I ask. I have to.
“Oh god no,” Tasha assures me. “He’s just so… I dunno. Hot and then cold. One minute he wants me over everything else, then he’s telling me I’m too clingy and he needs his space.”