I nod.
“Holy shit.” He fumbles for his pack of smokes. “Didn’t know he’s batting for my team.”
“Maybe he isn’t. See, it’s about control and dominance, or some shit like that.” I googled it on Gage’s laptop one night when I woke up drenched in sweat, my mind playing the events of that night in a never-ending loop of horror.
Suddenly Jason grabs my arm, his eyes round as saucers, and he looks sickly pale. “Dammit, J, he didn’t… He didn’t manage to force you, right?”
“No.” I shake my head. “Shook the motherfucker off and kneed him in the balls. Could be why he went into a rage and broke a fucking bottle on my arm.”
“Christ, J.” Jason snorts, shoulders shaking, then releases my arm and glares at me. “It’s not funny.”
“Never said it was.”
A beat of silence.
“Is that why you left right after?” Jason asks.
“I went to a group home for a while. I didn’t feel safe here.”
His turn to nod, gaze turned inward, and I really hope he isn’t reliving some dark memory of his own. “And now?”
Now… I glance around in the gathering darkness. “He only has to make one wrong step, and they’ll take him in. Meanwhile… Watch your back, Jason.”
“You, too, baby. Take good care of that gorgeous body for me.” He winks at me, gives me one of the lazy grins that nets him both men and women, and turns to go. “See you around.”
***
Although in front of Jason I pretended not to give a shit, on my way to work I jump at shadows and imaginary footsteps. I arrive at the taco joint out of breath, my heart slamming against my ribs as if trying to escape.
Jesus Christ, man. This shit is really getting to me.
“Ho, boy.” Mel scowls at me as I grab the baseball cap with the joint’s logo and ram it on my head. “Slow down. Someone after you?”
“No. No one’s after me.” I grab the bags of greens and start tearing them open, pouring them into a bowl. “How’s business tonight?”
It takes Mel a long moment to reply, and when I look up, my brows draw together, because he’s sweating, his face red as if with fever.
“Business’s fine,” he finally says. “Isn’t it your night off tonight?”
I shrug. Better working than having time to think. “You okay, Mel?”
“Sure I am. Too warm tonight.”
Well, he has a point. Inside the joint it’s pretty hot. “Why don’t you go sit outside? I’ve got this.”
“I’m sure you do.” He chuckles, but doesn’t get up. “Said I’m okay, boy. Make sure there’s cheese and chilies ready in the bowls.”
“Yessir.”
“Hey, you know how I ended up here? Did I ever tell you the story?”
I glance back at him, surprised. I’ve never heard him talk about his past. “No.”
“Ah, well, it’s a long one. To keep it short, I used to live on a farm, back when. My family owned cattle. We grew up there, my brothers and I. Those were good times.”
“Didn’t know you had brothers.” I pretend to check the chili bowl, curious to hear more.
“Two of them. Howard and Dale.” He wipes at his brow with a big, gnarled hand, and for the first time ever I wonder how old he is. I thought maybe he’s in his sixties, but he looks older tonight. “We inherited the farm when my parents passed away, one after the other. Heart attack, and cancer.”