Page 130
Story: Protecting Dallas
Now we did have an audience. Half the diner was staring at us, like the bloodthirsty crowd of a gladiatorial coliseum. Waiting for whatever entertainment came next. Hoping for me to slap him, or throw a drink in his face, or—
“What do you mean this ‘isn’t working out’?” I yelled. “How long have you known? And you take me here? To the shittiest diner in all of Manhattan?”
The waitress topping off coffee halted mid-stride. She glared at me angrily, one dirty pot clutched in each of her hands.
“You break up with me today of all days? And now you’re taking my car?”
“Not your car,” Malcolm repeated simply. “It’s—”
“I KNOW WHAT IT IS!”
A thousand different emotions went surging through me at once. Heartbreak. Rage. Remorse. Stupidity, at not having seen this coming. Embarrassment at having to do it in a room full of strangers.
Malcolm pushed the keychain back across the table, minus my car key and remote fob. He also pushed something else: a pair of what looked like pamphlets or brochures.
“What the hell are these?”
“City bus schedules,” he offered helpfully. “And subway maps, for all the lines near—”
“You brought me bus schedules?” I growled.
“Mmm-hmmm,” he said, almost cheerfully. “And subway maps. Look, if you leave your apartment ten minutes earlier each morning, it’s real easy to just…”
His voice droned on, but I was no longer listening. My shoulders slumped. My head hurt. I couldn’t believe any of this was actually happening.
Malcolm laid his hand over mine again, but now I was repulsed by it. I jerked it back like I’d just gotten bitten by a snake.
“Holly, I want you to know—”
I leapt up and threw my napkin down on the table. The tears were coming again. There was no way to stop them this time, and I didn’t want anyone else to see.
Especially him.
The diner’s bathroom was just as tiny as the rest of it. I spent two minutes bawling my eyes out, another minute feeling sorry for myself, and another staring into the dirt-streaked mirror while telling myself to buck up. By the time I finished washing my face and putting drops in my eyes, I was ready to go out there and give that piece of shit a piece of my mind.
But when I returned to my table there was just one problem with that plan: Malcolm wasn’t there.
Son of a bitch!
Silently I kicked myself. I really should’ve known. My boyfriend was never good at conflict; he usually dealt with problems by ducking out and skulking away.
Like a coward.
I grabbed my keys, which were the only thing still on the table. They felt much smaller now. Lighter and emptier. Like my life.
I stomped past the front counter and toward the exit, wondering if my now ex-boyfriend were already on his way to repossess my car. If I knew him he probably was. Or better yet, he’d get someone else to do it. That seemed more like—
“Miss?”
The word came halt
ingly, almost meekly, as I pushed on the glass door. I turned around.
“You still have to… well…”
I knew the answer before even asking the question.
“Don’t even tell me he didn’t pay.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130 (Reading here)
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142