“I need you to look after the dog.”
She shakes her head. “And you really had no one else to ask other than me?”
“You just so happened to be there, so I figured—”
“No, you did not figure. You hardly thought.” Her head won’t stop shaking as she processes what just happened, and I smile.
“You’ll love her.” I offer her the dog, and she takes her easily. Immediately, the dog starts licking Simone, and she smiles. “See, you love her already, don’t you?”
“I thought you invited me back because—”
“I never brought you here,” I remind her.
“Yes, true…” She looks down at the dog again, pursing her lips. “I always thought that something more would happen between us, but I knew you were always waiting for her,” she whispers. “You said the first night, ‘one day I will be married. This can be nothing more than fucking.’”
“It was some good fucking, Simone.” I smile.
“Yeah, it was. But you never really tried with me. I wonder, did you try with her?” She walks to the door, the dog cradled in her arms. I don’t respond.
“I can only watch her for the weekend. I have plans next week.”
I nod. “I can pay you,” I tell her.
“No, it’s okay. You know I don’t mind at all.” I hand her the bag I had packed, and she takes it.
“My car will take you home.”
“Joey.”
“Hmm…”
“You should try. Adora cares for you. And you care for her. Just try.”
I lean in and kiss her cheek. “Goodnight, Simone.” She walks out with the dog, waving to me once she’s getting into the car to leave.
“Who was that?” Abigail asks, walking up the stairs. She looks up at me and glances at my towel. Her hand holds heels, and her face is smeared with makeup.
“You’re moving out,” I tell her, and her mouth drops open. “I’ve packed your things.” I hand her a bag, but it falls to her feet when she fails to grab it. “That car…” I nod to the car waiting at the curb, “… is ready to take you. You are staying at a hotel for a month. After that, you will have to work it out. You are not my responsibility any longer.”
“You can’t just kick me out,” she screams. “You took me. You said I could stay with you.”
“Maybe you should have stayed with Scott.” I turn to walk back inside, and she follows.
“You can’t just dispose of me like I’m your wife. She may be easy to kick over, but I sure as shit am not.”
I smirk, thinking of my wife’s leg up on my shoulder. Should I even call her that anymore? My wife? When really, she isn’t. But I just can’t separate the two.
“I want you to understand something, Abigail.”
She crosses her arms over her chest.
“Your sister is more of a woman than you will ever be. She cares even when she shouldn’t. She didn’t have to put you in a school where you were protected and no one could find you. She didn’t have to save you. But she did.”
“She didn’t save me.”
“She did, you clueless little girl.” I shake my head at her, irritation flaring in my chest. “That there shows me you need to go out into the big world and mature. Because right now, you are a dumb little high school girl who uses her body to get what she wants and doesn’t know what to do when she doesn’t get it.”
“How dare you.” Her arm rears back to slap me, but I capture her hand in mine.