Daddy Next Door

by Tina Lee

  “Then go out. You can't come with when it's just the boys. Don't make me be that guy.”

  “Fine,” said Jenna. Secretly, she was perfectly fine with staying at James's while he went out. She liked the idea that she would know when he got home and sleep in bed with him. She was getting rather used to it.

  Home Alone

  James's apartment seemed so different when Jenna opened the door. Everything was dark and quiet. It was like a different world without James there. She didn't know what to do at first. She put her purse down on his chair in the living room, and she immediately started to clean up the things James had left in the kitchen. He had a plate and a cup in the sink, and he was apparently very bad at shutting cabinets. She would've kept cleaning, but the silence was starting to get to Jenna, so she decided to turn on the TV. Hopefully, having the TV on would make the place come alive. She wondered why she never had this problem when she was home alone at her apartment.

  Jenna quickly got lost in a marathon of Nip/Tuck which she hadn't seen in years and years. She didn't want to impose too much, but she needed snacks, so she started going through the cabinets to find out if James had popcorn or chips or something for her to munch on while she watched TV. Luckily, she found plenty, and she was soon as comfortable as anywhere else with her hand in a can of Pringles with a glass of orange soda and her feet up on the coffee table. Before she knew it, it was already past midnight, and Jenna was finally starting to get tired. Jenna looked at her phone and saw a couple of messages from James asking her how her night was going, but Jenna was so into her show that she didn't even notice her phone had gone off. Jenna responded back that she was going to get ready for bed and she'd be waiting for him.

  To be sexy, Jenna decided to find one of James's tee-shirts to wear to bed. She'd wear the tee-shirt and nothing but the tee-shirt. She found a Harley-Davidson shirt in James's dresser drawer and decided that would work. A bit of scented lotion on her neck and thighs wasn't going to hurt anything, either.

  Jenna snuck under the covers and got comfortable, getting ready to fall asleep until James got back home and woke her up. It didn't take her long to fall asleep.

  Jenna was abruptly woken up by a loud noise. She was tired, but it sounded like broken glass. What type of crazy night did James have? Jenna rubbed her eyes and slipped out of bed to see what was happening in the other room, but she immediately stopped when she heard people talking.

  “Where the fuck is he?”

  “Are you sure this is his place?”

  “This is his place all right. It smells like the traitor.”

  It sounded like three people, and Jenna stood in the bedroom paralyzed. She recognized the voices from the other night at the bar. These were the same people that were looking for James before he disappeared. She had to do something. She had visions of getting caught and being immediately shot or stabbed. She couldn't take on three people all by herself, especially not without any witnesses. She saw the closet and hid inside of it behind some coats and quietly as she could. She did everything she could to not breathe and not move. She wasn't sure what the men wanted, but she was sure that if they found her they would not be happy.

  Jenna could hear a large amount of noise from the kitchen and living room. It sounded like they were tearing absolutely everything apart. She could hear plates being thrown onto the ground without care, and she could hear the men knocking things off of the counters and tables.

  “Did you find anything yet?”

  “No. Nothing. Just this crap from the Home and Garden section of Walmart.”

  “Well, it has to be here somewhere.”

  “He's not home. Maybe he brought it with him. Or maybe we have the wrong place.”

  “This is not the wrong place. We got the address from a very good source. “

  “Well, we'll keep looking.”

  Jenna could hear them getting closer and closer to the bedroom. When the door opened, she didn't know what else to do but suck in her stomach, stay as still as possible, hold her breath, and closer her eyes.

  “Look it. This is where he gets it on with that bartender chick,” one of the guys laughed.

  “I wonder if the bed smells like her pussy.”

  “It probably smells like his ass and nutsack you dumbass.”

  “Look under the bed!”

  “Look in the dresser!”

  Jenna tried not to cry as they tore through the room. She could hear the drawers being pulled out and the contents being tossed on the floor. She could just feel them getting closer and closer to her.

  “Check the closet!”

  Jenna closed her eyes even more tightly as she heard the door in front of her open. She could feel someone brushing against the coats that she was hiding behind.

  “There's nothing in here but some crappy clothes.”

  “The shit isn't here.”

  “Maybe he was telling the truth when he said he didn't have it.”

  “I don't know, but let's get the fuck out of here before someone calls the cops. You assholes made a lot of noise.”

  “I kinda wish that bartender was here. It would've been fun to fuck with her.”

  “Come on. Hurry up and let's get the fuck out of here. We'll start looking at Rock and Country again.”

  Jenna slowly made her way down the wall to the floor as she heard the men leave. Tears started falling down her face, but she couldn't allow herself to cry audibly yet. She silently sat there and wouldn't come out of the closet for fear that they would decide to come back for whatever reason. Jenna waited and waited for James to come home and make everything feel alright, but she realized that he was the reason that she'd been in danger.

  Unwelcome Home

  “What the fuck? Jenna?” James screamed when he walked into his apartment. Jenna had been wide awake hiding in the closet waiting for him to get home. She finally got out of the closet still in his tee-shirt with tears and mascara running down her cheek. She ran to James and was immediately wrapped up by his big arms. That's when Jenna was able to see exactly what had happened while she was hiding in the closet. The entire apartment was destroyed. The floor was filled with broken glass and ceramic. It seems that they went out of their way to make things as inconvenient for James as they could. They even punched holes in the wall.

  “Are you OK? What the hell happened?” James asked.

  “It was horrible. Those people that came to the bar looking for you that day came back. How do they even know where you live?”

  “I don't know. God. And you were here? Did they touch you?”

  “No. I was hiding in the closet. I guess the corner is pretty dark because they didn't see me when they looked in there.”

  “They were in my room, too?”

  “The entire place is pretty much trashed.”

  “Jesus Christ. I thought I was done with those guys.”

  “What the hell is going on, James? I can't live like this. I was terrified.”

  “I know. I know. You shouldn't have to go through this. I'm sorry.”

  “They were looking for something, James. What the hell were they looking for? What do you have of theirs? Just give it back!”

  “I can't do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don't have it anymore. They are bad guys, Jenna. I wanted to get them out of my life. The stuff they're looking for isn't even theirs. I bought it. It's mine. They're trying to collect it to receive some imaginary tax for leaving them. They wouldn't stop even if they did steal that from me.”

  “Well, you got yourself into this mess. I'm sure that you knew how bad these guys were when you started working for them. Suck it up, make amends with them, and let's get on with our lives.”

  “I wish it was that simple, Jenna. They aren't exactly the most understanding bunch of guys. I can't just call them and give them some money to make them go away. They will never stop. I broke a rule of theirs, and they will not stop until I am completely out of resources.”

&n
bsp; “What the hell are we going to do?”

  “Well, why don't you relax and take a bath? I'll bring you a glass of wine, and I'll give you some candy I was hiding from you in the fridge. We'll put on some music for you, and I'll clean everything up while you just enjoy yourself.”

  “I can't enjoy myself right now. What happens if they come back and I'm naked in the bath?”

  “They're not going to come back, and if they did for some reason, I'm here.”

  “Not making feel too much better.”

  “What do you want me to do, Jenna? Go get some extra locks for the doors and windows right now? I'll go to Walmart and see what they have right now.”

  “They aren't going to have anything strong enough. And what about while you're gone at the store? I'm going home. I can't sleep here tonight after what happened.”

  “Jenna, please relax. I won't let anything happen to you.”

  “Relax? Relax? While you were out with 'the guys', I was hiding in a fucking closet because of your shady past. And you want me to relax? Can you just think of what could have happened to me?”

  “You are safe. Nothing did happen. I'm going to clean everything up, and we're going to go to sleep. You'll be safe in my arms.”

  “Take me home.”

  “But Jenna-”

  “Take me home. Now.”

  The motorcycle ride was much less magical than any of the others. Jenna couldn't enjoy the breeze or the night sky. She was blinded by rage, and she had no intention of enjoying herself.

  “I'd ask if I could come in, but I think I know the answer to that. I have a window to fix and an apartment to clean anyway,” James said.

  “Uh huh.”

  “Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow. We'll figure this out.”

  “You'll figure this out.”

  “I will. I don't want to lose you. You've made my life so much better in so many ways.”

  “Then don't mess up.”

  Jenna walked back into her apartment. Mandy wasn't there and suddenly her apartment felt just as dark and quiet as James's felt earlier in the night. She got ready for bed and got under her covers to feel extremely lonely. She was used to James holding her almost every night, and she didn't realize how much she was going to miss him. Still the events of the night scared her, and she still found herself wondering if the men might have followed her home. She couldn't sleep that night. She knew that she was most likely safe, but it didn't matter. How many times was James going to put her in danger? How many times was his past going to come up to haunt them again? Jenna really wanted to build a life with James, but she was starting to realize that it might not be possible in the long run. What would happen if they had children together? Sure, putting her in danger was bad enough. There was no way that she could ever tolerate her child being in that situation. Jenna fell asleep listing the pros and cons of dating James. As much as she didn't want to put herself in danger, she had to admit that the biggest pro was that she was falling in love with him.

  Consequences

  “What the hell happened?” Mandy screamed. “Where is he at? He will not get so lucky with a couple of broken dishes when I'm done with him.”

  Jenna unwillingly told Mandy everything the next day when she came home. She knew that Mandy would have this reaction, but she didn't have anyone else to talk to. Plus, she almost got murdered. Was she not going to say anything?

  “Please, Mandy. It was bad enough. I don't need you lecturing me.”

  “He's not welcome here anymore,” Mandy said.

  Jenna didn't feel good. She felt hurt and physically ill. How could she deny the truth? She knew that what happened was unacceptable, but she also knew that she loved James.

  “I'm sure he'll take care of everything, Mandy.”

  “Well, you can't count on that. I can't count on that. What if the guys come looking for you to get to him? What if they come here and try to hurt me?”

  “That's not going to happen.”

  “You don't know that, though. Open your eyes. You could have been killed if they found you. Or worse. You don't know what those creeps are capable of.”

  “Whatever. I'm going to make some tea and chill out in bed. I don't even want to think about this right now.”

  “It looks like you might have to deal with it sooner than you realized. Look who's here.”

  Jenna could hear the sound of the motorcycle in her apartment's parking lot. She sat on the couch in a blanket waiting for him to get to her apartment door. The knock on the door stung her when she heard it.

  “Come in. It's open.”

  “I didn't expect you to leave your door open after last night,” James said.

  “Mandy heard you pull up.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Do I look OK? I'm terrified. What if they find out where Mandy and I live? Am I going to have to move?”

  “No. Look, I didn't think that they would be so persistent. I will take care of it today. I don't want you to feel afraid. I want you to feel safe.”

  “What are you going to do?” Jenna asked.

  “I'm going to tell them that I don't have their shit. End of story. I'm going to handle everything tonight so that they don't feel the need to come back.”

  Jenna was starting to feel worried. She watched James take on four guys at the bar, but this was different. What was he going to do against three guys with weapons and no common decency?

  “Are you going to be safe?” Jenna asked.

  “I don't think that they're going to just let me leave with a handshake. It'll be fine, though.”

  “Let me come with you!”

  “You're insane. I can't bring you with. What if they decide that they want to do something to you to get to me? Absolutely not.”

  “I just want to make sure that you're OK.”

  “I'll come back immediately after and tell you everything that happened. We can have dinner and stay here tonight.”

  “I'm not sure how Mandy is going to feel about that.”

  “I'll talk to her. I can understand why she wouldn't be especially trusting of me of me right now.”

  “You're going to have a lot of explaining to do!” Mandy screamed from her room.

  Jenna lifted her eyebrows.

  “I think that if you make everything better today then I can forgive you. Mandy might be a little harder to convince.”

  “I know. Well, I'll be back a little later tonight.”

  James bent over to kiss Jenna on the forehead. Jenna felt the tenderness of his kiss, and she hoped that he was able to handle those men without too much struggle. Her heart hurt when she watched him leave.

  “You're not feeling bad for him are you?” Mandy asked.

  “I can't help it. I know that this is going to be hard for him. What if they really hurt him?”

  “Better him than you,” Mandy said. “This is the least he can fucking do after what he put you through. What's wrong with you? You always go for the bad boys who put you in these bad situations. What's wrong with you?”

  “I don't know. All I know is how I feel. And I know that I love him.”

  “Well, at least he's taking care of everything. This doesn't mean that he's off the hook, though. Not after all that.”

  “I'm going to sleep and try not to think about it,” Jenna said. “If I'm lucky he will get out alive.”

  The day went by and Jenna stayed in bed and tried not to cry. Why did he have to get involved with those horrible people? Everything would be so much easier if he was a regular guy with a regular job. He was getting there, but Jenna couldn't erase James's history. The day seemed so long as Jenna waited for James to get back. Her head started to fill with possible scenarios. What was taking so long?

  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, there was a knock on the door. Jenna jumped out of bed to open the door, and she saw Phil standing there.

  “Oh, it's just you,” Jenna said opening the door.

  “Well, it's good to see you
, too.”

  “Sorry. I was hoping that it was James.”

  “Mandy told me what happened. Why would he be coming back here?”

  “You don't know the entire story. You don't know how hard he's working to be better.”

  “Okay. Okay. You have to admit that it's fucked up, though.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Mandy! Let's go!”

  “Where are you guys going tonight?”

  “We're headed to the bar.”

  “Have fun.”

  “We'd invite you, too, but it seems like you are going to be in for the night by the looks of it.”

  Jenna scoffed and went back to her bed. Finally, about an hour later, she heard another knock on the door.

  The Break-Up

  James stood at the door. His face was bloodied and bruised. His clothes were cut and dirtied. He also wore a big smile. Jenna immediately embraced him and gave him a huge hug.

  “Oh my God, I'm so happy to see you!” Jenna said. She started to kiss on his lips and neck and chest over and over again. “Look at you. You poor thing. Come in and let's get you cleaned up. Tell me everything.”

  “There's not a lot to say. I resolved everything. We won't be seeing any of those men ever again.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Trust me, I’m sure.”

  “It doesn't look like there was a lot of agreeing going on. Are you okay?”

  “They were a little rough, but that was part of the agreement.”

  Jenna could see James limp a bit as we walked into the apartment.

  “Do you have a towel? I wanna take a shower and clean up,” James said.

  “What exactly did they do to you?”

  “I don't really feel like going into all the details. It wasn't exactly pretty.”

  “Oh, baby. I'm so sorry. Here, take this towel.”

  Jenna waited as James got cleaned up. When he got out, she helped bandage up his face and body. There were a couple of wounds that were still slightly bleeding. James cringed a little bit when she put disinfectant on his cuts.