He slides it between his lips.
Without lighting it up, he shoves his hands into his pockets, waiting for me to move out of his way.
I stare at the cigarette and then at his lips as they curve slightly around the filtered end.
It wasn’t easy having him around and not being able to touch him. We slept in different rooms and tried to keep ourselves occupied.
I worked.
He read a lot.
We never talked about the night I found him bloodied or about Sara and Emma. I never asked because I didn’t want to pry, and he never offered me an explanation.
He talked to Sara on the phone several times but never shared a thing with me.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“Home.”
“Where’s that?” I hurl at him, barely containing my fury.
“Where you delivered the money.”
My jaw clenches as tears wash my eyes.
“Who are they?”
My voice trembles.
My shoulders quiver.
He locks my eyes–– cold and distant––the sadness I have seen in him so many times dripping in his gaze.
That’s a bad omen.
“That’s not your business,” he says curtly, his words tearing into me.
Breathing out a long exhale, I slowly slide my hand off the doorknob.
He pulls the cigarette out of his mouth, the tension dissipating from his features.
“Listen... I’m grateful for what you’ve done for me, and I know why you did it. I know you’ve risked a lot. Of all the people know, you are the only one I’d ask for help. Although I didn’t want you to see me down. It wasn’t my choice.”
He pauses, the tears in my eyes registering with him.
“I’ll pay for my stay and my clothes,” he says in a softer voice.
“You need the last check-up. You’ve heard my doctor,” I say, foolishly hoping I can make him stay.
“He gave me a clean bill of health,” he says, his lips curved into a smile. “I don’t need that last exam as much as you don’t need those hot dicks doing work for you.”
His burst of frustration brings a grin to my lips.
“No way… You’re jealous.”
“I’m not,” he says, wiping the smile away from his lips. “I need to leave. It doesn’t have anything to do with you,” he says as if that makes me feel any better.
“What are you going to do?”