I laugh in his face. “No way in hell was there five hundred dollars worth of crystal in that bag.”
“Call it interest for being a pain in my ass.” He smirks, his teeth stained and cracked.
Did I look and smell that disgusting when I was on drugs?
“You know, I’m not afraid of you and your scrawny ass, right?” I gradually inch toward him, deciding it’s time to intimidate him because there’s no way in hell I’m giving this asshole five hundred dollars. Nor do I have that kind of cash.
“I’m sure you’re not,” he sneers, “but it’s not me that’s asking for the drugs back or the money.”
“And who the fuck is asking?”
“Ever heard the name Skullman?”
“No, but it sounds like a stupid fucking name.”
He laughs cynically. “I’m going to give you three days to give me the money and then I’m going to tell Skullman you have his drugs and to collect from you.” With that, he spins on his heels and staggers back to his room.
Part of me wants to chase him down and beat his ass, but I’m too sober to react so irrationally. So I just watch him walk away then lock myself in my motel room, wondering how I get myself into these messes even when I’m blackout drunk.
Chapter 20
When it storms, I want to curl up and cry my eyes out with the rain.
Avery
The evening after I made the weird friendship pact with Tristan, I ride the bus home from work, feeling out of my element. I’ve spent so much time alone and now I’ve welcomed someone into my life and I feel… weird. Anger, I can handle. Confused, sure. Stressed, of course—I’m that every day. But weird just baffles me because it isn’t even a real emotion. It’s like a placeholder for how I really feel.
“What do you do when you feel weird?” I ask Jax as I enter the house and toss my bag onto the end table. It’s just after ten o’clock and I reek of beer and hot wings. There is grease in my hair and I have double vision from my drowsiness. It was a long night at work. Really, really long.
Jax looks comfortable as he lounges on the sofa in his pajamas, watching the television. When I shut the door behind me, he picks up the remote and turns down the volume.
“That’s a random question,” he says as he sets the remote down on the armrest.
“Yeah, I know.” I kick off my shoes in the foyer, pick up the small stack of mail from the coffee table, and sink into the armchair across from him. “But I’m feeling weird now and I don’t want to feel weird.”
“Weird over what?” He yawns as he stretches his arms above his head. “Does it have anything to do with that guy you want to help?”
“Maybe.” I sort through the envelopes, frowning when I come across one stamped with a bright red URGENT. I grind my teeth as I tear open the envelope. I already know what it is, but reading it still feels like a kick in the stomach.
During the last few months Conner and I were married, he took out a couple of credit cards in my name and maxed them out. I tried to contact a lawyer about it, but that had gone nowhere and by the time I started paying off the debt, I was already behind. Interest and fees had been tacked on and while I’ve been on top of paying them off, I missed a payment last month because the Jeep needed new tires. I wince when I see that on top of two twenty-five dollar monthly payments, I now have to pay a thirty-five dollar late fee and the interest has gone up.
“Everything okay?” Jax asks with concern.
I distractedly look up from the bill. “What? Yeah? Huh?”
“You look like you’re going to be sick.” He points at the papers in my hand. “What is that?”
“Nothing.” I tuck the bill back into the envelope and move it to the bottom of the stack. “Just a bill.”
“What kind of bill?”
“Just a regular one.”
Shaking his head, he slumps back in the sofa. “Avery, I thought we talked about this. I can’t help you unless you tell me what it is you need help with.”
“Jax, I swear it’s nothing,” I tell him because I don’t want to talk about bills with him.
I sift through the water bill, electric, insurance, and only relax when I reach the last envelope, open it up, and find that it’s a birthday card for me. My birthday’s not for a week, but this card is probably the only one I’ll get.
“Oh, lookie.” I wave the card around in the air to be silly. “The dentist sent me a birthday card. I feel so special.” I get up and cross the room, placing the birthday card on the shelf next to a portrait of Mason, Jax, and I hanging out at the beach.
“Avery, you know they send those out to all their clients, right?” Jax reaches for a can of soda on the coffee table. “It’s almost like getting a flier in the mail.”
“Hey, why are you raining on my parade?” I fake frown. “This is probably the only card I’ll get and I want to appreciate the fact that someone took the time to send it, even if it was part of their job description.”
“You’re so weird sometimes.” He swallows a gulp of soda then fiddles with the tab. “But while we’re talking about birthdays, what do you want to do for yours?”
“Watch television in my pajamas,” I reply thoughtfully as I return to the chair, “and eat nothing but ice cream all day.”
“Well, you can do that.”—he puts the soda can between his legs then sits back—“but Mason and I want to do something for you too.”
“Oh, you and Mason have been plotting, huh?”
“Yes, and we’ve come up with all sorts of ideas, including kidnapping you and forcing you to go out to dinner with us.”
“Sounds treacherous,” I joke as I glance at the stack of bills on the table. “But honestly, if you want to have dinner, I’d way rather have it here.”
He briefly contemplates my awesome, money saving idea. “That’s fine as long as I get to cook, and you’ll let me cook something other than soup and grilled cheese.”
My lip juts out. “But those are my favorite.”
“Avery,” he warns, sternly pointing at me. “I’m not going to have this. You will have fun on your birthday or you won’t get any ice cream.”
I heave a dramatic sigh. “Fine, but only because you threatened me with ice cream.”
He smiles then stands up. “Now make a list of all the stuff you want so that Mason can pick from it.” He starts toward the hallway then halts. “Just make sure it’s stuff a five-year-old can give you.”