The banging on the door woke me up early Wednesday, and it brought the morning in with a bang, and not the good kind.
"I'm coming, geez," I grumbled, shuffling my feet as I made my way there. Jude groggily made his way out of the spare bedroom as I passed. His hair was all a mess, as he wiped sleep from his eyes.
"Who's here?" he mumbled, a yawn breaking the last of his words.
"No clue," I shrugged. "I don't get a lot of visitors."
A look passed over his face, and I couldn't decipher its meaning before coffee. Peeking out through the peephole, I exhaled in relief at the person standing there. Before I could open it, Jude braced his arm against the door, halting me.
"Maybe I should open it?"
"It's okay, sweetie. It's just my neighbor." I smiled reassuringly, and Jude relaxed before nodding. When I smiled encouragingly, he stepped back to allow me to open the door. He turned back to his room. His protective nature was sweet and had a smile spreading across my face. Unlocking the locks, I smiled bigger as Monroe came into view.
"Hey, neighbor. What can I do for you this morning?"
"Hey, Lo. Can I come in? There's something I need to talk to you about, well, a couple of things."
"Yeah, sure. Come in."
Pulling the door the rest of the way, Monroe entered, taking in my state of undress. When he heard a noise coming down the hall, he got a funny look on his face.
"Oh, I can come back later if you have company."
"Huh?" I asked eloquently, scrunching up my nose, unsure what he was implying.
Monroe started to reply, his mouth making one of those fish impressions where he struggled to find words. As he finally started to gather himself, Jude walked out from the bathroom, his hair a little more controlled. When he noticed Monroe, he gave a shy wave.
"Jude, there's coffee and cereal in the kitchen if you want anything. Whatever you can find is up for grabs. Make yourself at home, hun."
"Thanks, Loren." He smiled before heading in the direction of the kitchen.
Motioning Monroe to follow me into the living room, I sat on the couch and waited for him to start. When he didn't begin talking after a few minutes, I decided to probe him.
"Um, Monroe? Is everything okay? You were banging on my door awfully loud earlier for there not to be an emergency or something."
"Oh, yeah, that. Sorry, I'm just processing. I didn't mean to get all weird. Jude just surprised me."
"Yeah, me too. It was a bit of a last-minute emergency. He called me from the police station and had nowhere to go, so I took temporary custody."
"Does Mitzi know? The Center?"
"Shit, it was so late, I didn't even think about it. I'll handle it today."
"If you need any help with it, just let me know. I can even help if you need a lawyer or something." He blushed, almost as if he was embarrassed about being a lawyer or offering to help. I wasn't sure which.
"Thank you, I appreciate it. I don't think he's being charged with anything, but I'll keep that in mind. Is that all, though?"
"No, it's not. I don't know why I'm floundering. It's just that I felt I needed to tell you something."
"Well, I've been told I'm a good listener." I smiled, making a lame joke at my job. Apparently, it was what he needed to hear as he relaxed and sat back on the sofa next to me. Taking his hand in mine, I squeezed it and linked our fingers together, the gesture feeling comfortable.
"It's just my ex is making things difficult for me at the moment. She has nothing to stand on, but it won't mean she's going to stop. Brittni brought you up again when I picked Levi up before school today. I thought you should know you're on her radar. She's vicious and simple minded. "
Thinking for a moment, I turned his words over in my head before responding. "I'm not sure what she could do to me, though. I have nothing to hide."
"Yeah, I basically told her the same thing. You know when we were at the art fair, and we ran into, um, yeah, well." He trailed off, and I swallowed the lump that appeared anytime I thought of him and nodded.
"Well, he was with Christina, Brittni's sister, so I guess it got back to her that way. Again, it's all hearsay shit, but I didn't want you to be blindsided with anything if she decided to push harder."