Page 25 of Semi Sweet (Working For Love #1)

I crept in the darkness behind the other townhouses until I was on the street.

I continued to check for any sign of Evan as I headed towards the train station.

It was after eleven and initially, I wasn’t sure where to go.

Not much was open besides It’s Never Too Late for Cake or bars, and I was too upset to eat and not in the mood for whoever would be hanging out at a bar on a weeknight.

Even walking around the city until the sun came up wasn’t the smartest idea.

Neither was the train, but that was where I was headed.

“Blue Line with a final destination of Lakewood now arriving,” an automated voice said over the platform intercom.

I exhaled as I pulled my bags onto my shoulder and headed into the closest car.

I held out my frequent passenger card for the conductor and paid him.

The first thing I did when I sat down was pull out my phone and transfer all the money in my joint account with Evan to a private account I hadn’t used in years.

It wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things, but it was enough for me to get by for the next few days.

Once that was finished, I started to take my names off of bills and accounts. I forgot to keep track of time.

“Next stop is East Lakewood.”

Crap. I’d meant to text well in advance. As the train came to a stop, I grabbed my bags and dialed the number. It was time to see if he was going to put his money where his mouth was.

“Hello?”

“I swear this isn’t a booty call,” I answered. “Does your couch offer still stand?”

It sounded like he was up and moving. “What happened? Where are you?”

“I just got off the train.”

“Don’t move, I’ll be there soon.”

***

About ten minutes later, Sean was walking up to the station with a large German Shepherd on a leash.

He looked a bit tired in his track pants and a long-sleeved shirt, but his eyes were concerned.

The dog, on the other hand, looked very pleased to be out and about.

It wagged its tail and kept looking up at its master like Sean had all the answers to the universe.

“So...eventful night?”

I shrugged, preferring not to cry on the train platform. “You could say that.”

Sensing that I was uncomfortable, Sean took my bags from me. “Let’s go back to my place.”

Dog and master guided me down a few side streets before we stopped in front of a utilitarian high rise.

It had to have been at least twelve stories, a stark contrast to my neighborhood where everyone lived in stately townhomes with balconies.

Sean scanned a key card to get access to the lobby and instead of heading up the stairs, he opened a door to a hallway and stopped at a door about halfway down.

“Please keep in mind that I’m not a rich Italian,” Sean warned as he turned the key in the lock.

“Thank God for that,” I muttered as I followed him inside.

The place was about what I expected a single, twenty-something man’s apartment to look like.

It was pretty simple, with one bedroom, a galley kitchen, and a bathroom off of a large room that could be called both a dining room and living area.

The dog curled up on a large cushion near a TV stand.

I felt like the apartment was too small for a dog its size.

As if reading my mind, Sean walked over to the animal and knelt down to give it a proper pat. “Not the best place for him, but I had to make it work. The Quitteros were willing to pay for my relocation, but the place they offered wouldn’t take pets. Leaving Bear behind was not an option.”

“Screw the Quitteros,” I spat, flinging myself onto a couch. “Every last one of them.”

Sean went to the kitchen and opened a cabinet.

“Something to take the edge off, perhaps? I’ve only been here a few months and feel skeevy drinking alone, so I can offer you the Shochu my grandparents got me when I graduated from Culinary School or the Moskovskaya Osobaya I bought the last time I visited my birth family. ”

The more I learned about Sean, the more questions I had. After the night I had, I didn’t want to think about alcohol sharpening or dulling anything. “Water is fine.”

After handing me a glass, he sat in a recliner looking ready to listen with a cup of his own. “What happened?”

“I finally snapped out of the delusional trance I was in,” I replied. “More like I was violently shaken awake.”

I told him how I’d come home to find my townhouse trashed. At the time, I’d been worried something had happened to Evan, but now that I thought about it, the fact he had been angry enough to destroy things like our plates and the TV was terrifying.

“He ripped up my clothes and smashed anything that was ever important to me. Things I’d had before becoming his girlfriend, even.”

Sean looked pale as he listened. “Did he find out about what we did?”

I shook my head. “No, that would have been an acceptable reason for the reaction.” Though now I knew I’d been wise in not saying anything, despite it not being the best moral choice. “He went through my mail and found my contract for the internship.”

Sean had been mid sip and now he looked like he might choke. “Are you kidding me?”

“Granted, I got out of there in a hurry, but I really only salvaged enough for one bag. I didn’t even get to the part where he lit shit on fire.”

This time Sean all but spit his beverage out. “Fire?”

I showed him the back of my hand where my burn was still an angry wound. “I had to intervene or the whole block would be up in flames.”

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered, getting up. “Lucky for you, I am an expert at nursing burns. I get burned at work at least once a day.” He must have headed to the bathroom because he returned with antibiotic cream and gauze. “I’ll leave it to you.”

“Thanks.” A few minutes later, my hand was wrapped and stinging slightly less. “I’m sorry to do this to you.”

“I wish you’d come sooner, and not for personal reasons,” Sean assured me. “Don’t tell me he put his hands on you next, because then I will have to punch him the next time he’s in the store.”

“He tried to grab my arm. That was when I told him to leave.”

Sean shut his eyes and exhaled sharply. “Olivia, you cannot go back there.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not. It’s done. It’s over. It should have been years ago,” I replied. I didn’t have the strength to go any deeper than that right now.

“So I take it you will be a no call no show tomorrow?”

I hadn’t even thought about the fallout of this choice until he’d mentioned it. A grocery store job wasn’t worth putting up with Evan anymore, but calling out made it real. There would be no turning back.

I nodded. “Yeah, I think it’s safe to say you need a new clerk.”

Half smirking, Sean said, “I didn’t need you as bad as I made Russel believe.” He shook his head to get us back on track. “What do you need?”

I looked at the two bags over by the door.

“Well, most of my stuff was damaged, destroyed, or left behind. So pretty much everything. But to get through the next few days I’ll need to eat, sleep, and shower.

Oh, and probably see about getting a new phone number.

I turned it off once I got a hold of you.

I’m sure Evan knows I’m gone by now and is blowing up. ”

“We can take care of that when I get back tomorrow,” he assured me.

“We can sort it all out then, but I should probably go to bed.” He pulled a blanket out of a closet and handed it to me.

“I have fallen asleep many a night on that couch so I can swear to its comfort level.” He whistled at Bear. “Come on, buddy.”

The dog didn’t move, its dark eyes still on me.

“It’s fine, I could probably use the company.”

Sean shrugged. “Good night, then.” He began to walk toward the bedroom.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to do this,” I said. “I promise I’ll do my part.”

“The only thing I want you to promise to do right now is to rest.”

I nodded. “I will do my best.”

This time when the door shut, the silence that followed felt like an offering. I got up to hit the light, but not before giving Bear a nice pat.

***

I woke up to light streaming in through a small window in the kitchen, but I couldn’t tell if my ordeal had caused me to sleep past noon or if it was early morning. I jumped when I noticed Bear had his head resting on the couch down by my feet like he was waiting for me to wake up.

“Hey there,” I whispered and reached over to scratch behind his ears. I’d never had pets, even before I’d met Evan. My mom had very sensitive skin and some allergies. “Let’s be friends, okay?”

I noticed that there was a piece of paper stuck to the refrigerator with a magnet. Sean’s sloppy handwriting was on it.

Help yourself. I’ll be home around 6:30.

I opened the door to find that the fridge was moderately stocked for one guy. If I were a braver person, I’d venture out to find a smaller store myself. I wasn’t going to a Cash Value Market anytime soon.

I found the bowls and spoons and helped myself to some cereal, realizing I hadn’t had anything to eat since before my class the night before. I ate two bowls before I looked through my bag for what was left of my wardrobe, found a change of clothes, and went to take a shower.

After standing in the warmth longer than I probably needed to, I decided I’d put off the inevitable long enough.

I changed, wrapped my hair in a towel, and got my phone.

I tried to have patience as it booted up.

Then the notifications started to explode.

Fifty text messages. Twelve voicemails. Sixty something missed calls.

I groaned and opened the message folder.

It was not pretty. I wasn’t sure if Evan had gotten more drunk or sobered up, but things went from bitter to upset and back again, several times. The voicemails were not much better.

Where the hell did you go? What the hell do you think this is going to solve?

Really? You think you're going to leave me over this? You have nowhere to go.