by Naomi Niles
“That’s Apollo’s food,” I told him.
Kameron acted as though he hadn’t heard me. He sniffed the inside of the bag and then he tipped some kibble into his open palm before tasting some. “The dog gets better food than I do.”
I didn’t say anything. I just focused on putting together a meal that wouldn’t give Kameron another reason to complain. There were days when I honestly couldn’t remember how I had ended up with him. Had he changed so drastically in the few years I’d known him? I wondered.
I thought back and realized that Kameron had changed very little. I was the one who had changed.
I wanted more out of my life now. I wanted to be surrounded by better people. I wanted to make better choices, and I knew that I would never be able to do that with Kameron around.
“How much is this shit?” Kameron asked, fixing me with those piercing blue eyes. It was hard to believe that there was actually a time when I had found him attractive. Now every time I thought of him, my stomach turned and all I felt was trapped.
“Ten dollars a bag,” I replied. “I get the cheap stuff.”
“Cheap?” he said incredulously. “You call that fucking cheap? You got too much money on your hands.”
He turned with the bag of kibble still in his hands and called to Apollo. “Here, boy,” he said, in a tone that suggested affection. I knew Kameron well enough to know that he was just playing a game because he was bored and hungry, and he wanted to distract himself. And whenever Kameron wanted to distract himself, he got mean.
“What are you doing?” I asked, turning around. “I just fed him.”
Kameron ignored me and continued to call for Apollo, who was looking tentatively out from under the desk. He was weary of Kameron, but he also loved kibble.
“Come here, boy,” Kameron cooed. “Come and try some nice, tasty kibble.”
“Kameron…” I said, but my words fell on deaf ears.
He managed to coax Apollo out from under the desk and just before Apollo was about to eat the kibble from his hand, he reached out and smacked him hard on the nose. With a yelp of pain, Apollo ran back under the desk.
I cringed at the sound, but I knew that if I said anything it, would only make Kameron worse. We’d already had a fight the previous week about Apollo, and I had spent the next few nights trying not to sleep because I was so scared that Kameron would take Apollo out in the night and then leave him in the middle of nowhere.
Quickly, I finished with the French toast and placed it on a plate next to the remaining piece of pizza beforeI handed it over to Kameron.
“There,” I said.
He eyed the toast suspiciously for a moment and then took an unnecessarily large bite. “It’ll do,” he nodded with his mouth full.
Then he fell back onto the ratty sofa that took up most of the space in our so-called living room and scarfed down the rest of his meal without so much as a thought as to what I would have for dinner. I tried to call for Apollo discreetly so that I could take him into the bedroom with me, but Kameron looked up at me.
“Come over here and give me a foot rub while I eat,” he said, with a smile that I had once thought was charming.
Suppressing the revulsion that overtook me, I went over to the end of the sofa and took his left foot in my hands. “Mmm,” he breathed, as I massaged him. “That feels fucking amazing,” he said, as his eyes closed in response.
Five minutes later, he was done with his meal. He wiped his hands on the side of the sofa and fixed his eyes on me. “You look hot today,” he observed mildly, as his eyes ran up and down my body.
I felt myself tense, but I ignored his lascivious compliment and continued massaging his feet as though he hadn’t said anything.
“Hey,” Kameron continued, when I didn’t respond. “Why don’t you come over here? I have a friend in my pants I want to introduce you to.”
I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. “I’ve met your friend before,” I said. “And to be honest, I wasn’t all that impressed.”
He laughed. “Really?” he said. “Well, I’ll bet he can change your mind.”
“I doubt it,” I said, feeling the patience drain out of me all at once. I dropped his foot and moved over to my desk to collect my laptop.
“Hey,” his voice hardened the moment I let go of him. “Where are you going?”
“I have some work to finish, okay?” I said. “I don’t have time to play the maid.”
“Who’s asking you to be the maid?” he asked, as he sat up. “I don’t need a maid right now. I need a whore.”
“Well, I’m sure there are plenty around the corner and down the block,” I said. “Maybe you should go and fuck one of them?”
I felt Kameron rise, and I turned around instinctively. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” he asked menacingly.
I felt fear rise to my throat, but I refused to let him see that. Instead, I took a deep breath and kept my tone calm and even. “It’s been a long day, Kameron. I’m hungry and tired, and I just want to get to bed okay? I’m not in the mood for sex right now.”
“What if I’m in the mood for sex?” he demanded.
“Then maybe you should think about treating me a little better,” I said, as the words exploded out of me. “So that I’ll actually want to have sex with you.”
“Look at you,” Kameron said, with narrowed eyes. “Is this you demanding respect or some shit? You think you’re better than those whores around the corner turning tricks for a living? I’ve got news for you, Maddie baby: you’re just a cheap, white trash whore from the gutter – and if it weren’t for me, you’d still be in the gutter. You treat each bitch the way she deserves to be treated: remember that.”
I shook my head. “Kameron, I can’t do this anymore.”
“Oh you’re going to have to,” he replied, with ice in his tone. “Because if you ever leave me, I will hunt you down and I will find you. That is a promise.”
A second later, the terrible silence was broken by the sound of Kameron’s cell phone. He answered it without taking his eyes of me.
“Yeah?” he demanded aggressively. “Oh Tucker… Yeah… Yeah… Fuck… Okay, I’ll be there soon.”
He hung up and glared at me a moment longer. “When I get back, I expect a better attitude. Don’t fuck with me, Maddie baby, because I’ll be forced to discipline you.”
The moment he left, I felt a tear slip down my cheek. My hands were shaking uncontrollably as I opened up my laptop and searched the Internet desperately. Apollo stuck his head out from under the desk, and I could feel his big brown eyes on me.
“Don’t worry, Polo boy,” I said, as my voice shook audibly. “Because I’m getting out. I’m getting us both out.”
Chapter Three
Peter
I woke up the next morning to find a note on the fridge from John. He had left early for an unexpected client consultation, so I settled in for a laidback breakfast by myself. I put together some eggs, sausage, and bacon for myself, and once I had cleaned my plate, I decided to make use of my day by going down to the hardware store early.
It was a fifteen-minute drive to the local hardware store, and given how early it still was, I found parking easily. I walked inside to the smell of rust and nails and realized that the store was virtually empty, save for one lone customer walking around at the back by the lumber section.
I walked over and realized that I knew him. He had lived in the house next to ours for years before he finally decided to put it up for rent to move into an apartment closer to the city.
“Andy!” I greeted.
He turned around and his eyes brightened with recognition as he saw me. “Peter,” he said. “How have you been?”
“Good,” I nodded as I came forward and shook his hand. “Very good, actually.”
“Well, you certainly look it,” Andy nodded. “I heard about the shooting. I sent flowers to the hospital.”
“I got them, thanks,” I nodded. “I probably should have
sent a thank-you note.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it,” he said, waving away my words. “You’ve had a lot to deal with lately. How’s the recovery been?”
“The doctors claim it’s been fast,” I laughed. “But to me, it has felt glacially slow. Still, I’m alive, so I can’t complain.”
“And, no one was charged after the shooting?” Andy asked with concern.
“No,” I said with some hesitation. “It all happened really fast.”
“I can imagine,” he sighed. “And at a carnival, no less.”
“I’m going back to work in a few weeks, though,” I said.
“Hey, congratulations,” he said, clapping me on the back. “You must be thrilled to get back in the trenches.”
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” I nodded. “I did appreciate the time I got to spend at home around the house, but…”
“It’s not the same,” Andy finished for me. “I hear you.”
“I haven’t seen you around in a while,” I said. “Have you managed to find a tenant for the house?”
“I have, at last,” he nodded. “That’s why I’m here so early. She contacted me yesterday in response to the online advertisement I’d placed. She seemed to be in a hurry to find someplace cheap to rent. It’s a good thing, too… I was starting to think no one would be interested in renting out that house.”
“You’re doing some work there before she gets here?”
“The house has been closed up for a few months now,” Andy replied. “I wanted to make sure everything was in order before she comes into town.”
“When does she arrive?” I asked.
“Sometime tonight, I believe,” he told me.
“Whoa…that doesn’t leave you much time.”
“No, it doesn’t,” he said, shaking his head. “But she needed a place as soon as possible, and I didn’t want to risk asking for more time. So, I figured I’d try to bang out all the little repairs today before she gets here in the night.”
“Well, I have a proposition for you.”
“Propose away,” Andy said willingly.
“I need to get some lumber over to the house,” I explained. “If you can help me unload the lumber, I’d be happy to help you with the repairs. It’ll go easier with two of us, anyway.”
“That’s an even trade,” he nodded, extending his hand out to me. “I accept.”
“Great,” I nodded. “Give me a few minutes to get what I need, and I’ll meet you back at the house.”
“See you there,” Andy nodded.
Forty minutes later, I pulled up outside the house with the back of my truck stacked high with lumber. The boys at the hardware store had tied it down with rope, and I unfurled the knots as Andy approached.
“I take it you’re doing some work on the house, too?” he asked, as he helped untie the rope that held the lumber in place.
“I thought I’d make use of my last few weeks of free time before starting work,” I explained. “So, I thought of building an addition to the house.”
“Wow, that’s a big project for one man.”
“Well, I have Sam and John around to help,” I said. “They’re busy with their own jobs, but I know I can count on them in their free time.”
“Still, those boys have stressful jobs,” Andy pointed out. “Will they really be able to help out that much?”
“Doesn’t matter either way,” I said. “I like the idea of working on the house with my own two hands. I don’t mind doing it alone.”
“You take after your father, don’t you?” Andy smiled. “He was good with his hands, too.”
“He was a carpenter,” I nodded. “And, he loved it. He taught me everything I know. I think I benefitted the most from his expertise. The others weren’t nearly as interested as I was.”
Once we had unloaded the lumber, I followed Andy into his house. I had been to the house a few times when I was younger, but I didn’t remember it being so small. The front door opened out into one bare room. There was a door to the side of the square room that led to the bedroom and a door just in front of the main entrance that led to the kitchen.
“Is she bringing her own furniture?” I asked.
“I mentioned that the house was bare, but she didn’t seem to care,” he replied. “So I assume she has her own stuff.”
“Where would you like to start?” I asked.
“The bedroom has a small leak that I’ve been meaning to take care of,” he said, as he led the way. “Maybe we should get that out of the way first.”
It was nice working with Andy, and I realized that as much as I liked working on my own, sometimes it was nice to alleviate the silence with some conversation. I was starting to think that he felt the same way.
For as long as I’d known him, Andy had been a bachelor. I’d gotten used to seeing him tottering about the house alone. I had always assumed that he enjoyed the solitary life, but now I wasn’t so sure.
“I remember when I first moved into this house,” said he recalled fondly. “The house was a dump and needed a lot of work. Your father was the one who helped me out.”
“Really?”
“I was only twenty-four years old and didn’t have a clue what to do with the house,” Andy reminisced. “But your dad was kind enough to lend me a hand whenever he could. Sometimes he’d come home from work and walk around to the house to ask if I needed help with anything. Your mother was always around, but I never spoke to her very much. She had her hands full with you boys.”
“I must have been really young when you moved in.”
“You were only a year old,” he replied. “I remembered seeing you, bouncing away on your mother’s hip while that brother of yours tore around the back yard. He was a handful when he was younger, that one.”
I laughed. “Ironic now that’s he’s the quietest out of the bunch of us.”
“He takes after your mother,” Andy said unexpectedly.
I glanced up at him. “You think so?”
“She was quiet, too,” he nodded. “There was a faraway look about her, like she didn’t quite belong here. I’m not afraid to admit it now, but I always had a little crush on her. She was a beautiful woman, your mother.”
I smiled, but I didn’t reply. My mother was and always had been an enigma to me. Growing up, I’d always had the feeling that she wouldn’t be around for long. In my mind, I had assumed I was just afraid of her dying, but I realized later on that I had always been scared of her leaving.
“How are your brothers?” Andy asked, cutting through my thoughts.
“Everyone’s doing great,” I said, even though I was just making an assumption in Talen’s case. Talen had been around a lot during my recovery in the hospital. But the moment I’d moved back into the house, he had become reclusive and distant once more.
“I watched Alan at the Olympics,” Andy said. “That was an amazing victory to watch. For weeks, I told everyone I met that I had watched that kid grow up.”
I smiled. “It was pretty amazing.”
“There are rumors floating around that he’s dating some pretty gold medalist,” Andy said with interest.
“He is,” I confirmed. “Her name’s Jessica Winters.”
“Well, well,” he smiled. “Alan’s done well for himself. All you boys have, come to think of it. Your parents would be proud.”
“I know my dad is,” I said, purposely avoiding involving my mother in that sentiment. I knew she was out there somewhere, but I had no idea if she cared enough to even think about the five sons she had left behind.
Andy and I spent the next few hours in companionable silence, working over the little repairs in the house. We took a lunch break around mid-day and then continued on till dusk. With the sunlight fading, we stepped outside and shut the door behind us.
“That front door is-”
“An eye sore,” Andy agreed. “And, it’s rotting at the edges. Unfortunately, I don’t have the extra cash to replace it. She’ll just have t
o make do.”
Andy thanked me for my help, we said our goodbyes, and I walked back into my house to prepare for dinner. I had just finished the pumpkin soup when I heard the sound of John’s car outside on the drive. Moments later, he walked through the kitchen door.
“Hey, Pete,” he greeted. “Sorry I missed breakfast this morning.”
“No worries,” I nodded. “Nothing serious, was it?”
“No,” he replied. “Just a rushed appointment. You look beat.”
“I spent the whole day working on Andy’s house,” I said, as I set the bowl of soup down in the middle of the table next to the bread.
“Andy’s house?” John repeated. “I thought the addition was for this house.”
“It is,” I nodded with a laugh. “But I needed some help with the lumber in exchange for some manual labor on his place.”
“Does that mean he finally found a tenant?”
“Yup,” I nodded. “And, she needed a place in a hurry, hence the rush.”
“It’s a woman?”
“Apparently,” I nodded.
“Hmm…”
“Hmm?” I questioned.
“Nothing,” John said, with a laugh. “I was just thinking about what Sam would say if he were here.”
“I know exactly what he would say.”
“What if she’s hot?” John and I said together, at the exact same time and then laughed.
“She could be hot,” John nodded. “And if she’s not, then I might score myself a new client.”
I rolled my eyes at John and sat down at the table. “I think you’ve been spending too much time with Sam.”
He laughed and nodded. “I think so, too.”
We settled down to a nice, quiet dinner and afterwards, we sat in front of the television to watch a game. By the time eleven o’clock rolled around, I said goodnight and retired to my bedroom in exhaustion. Before I drew the curtains to my window, I looked outside searchingly, but there was still no sign of the new neighbor.
Chapter Four
Madison
It was almost two o’clock in the morning when I drove into Fort Collins. The town was steeped in the silent restlessness of sleep. Polo slept next to me in the passenger seat, but the moment I came to a stop outside the gas station, he perked up and looked around curiously.