Ve returns with my phone, hands it to me, and I text Mandy that I’ll come to hers tomorrow evening after work because something came up today.
“Care to join me, Ve?”
I put the phone down, stand up, and pull him closer by his shirt, giving him a hug and making him all wet in the process. He throws off his clothes and steps into the bath.
Today, I have the afternoon shift. I start at two. Ve has been at work since the morning, so I decide to visit him on my way.I enter the store where he works and survey the interior. It’s empty. However, I can clearly hear strange laughter from the end of the store. I approach, and as I emerge from behind the last shelf, I see my Ve with that fucking skank blonde hanging on his arm. Ve doesn’t see me, but she does. My gaze must be deadly because she immediately steps aside and disappears in the back. Ve turns towards me.
“Hey there, honey bear.”
“What the fuck are you going on about? That’s what you do at work?! Why the fuck was that bitch hanging onto you? How the fucking hell can you allow that?!”
“Jesus, Abby, it was nothing.”
“Sure, goddamnit, maybe for you. Because if she could, she’d have spread her legs for you! Unless she did that already. Fuck!”
I spin on my heel, but Ve grabs me by the wrist.
“Wait.”
“Listen up: if she puts her filthy hands on you one more time, I swear I’ll fucking break them.”
“You’re overreacting, Abby.”
“Okay, then I am overreacting. See you around.”
On my way to my store, I decide to walk outside and smoke. Larry’s there, sitting on a bench and smoking too.
“Hey there, babe. What’s with the pouting face?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“It definitely is. Especially since you’re usually a volcano of energy and joy. Sit down.” He pats the space next to him.
I don’t feel like talking. I finish my cigarette, and we go inside. I change, put on my badge, and enter the store.
I remain stubbornly silent at home. Connor is pretending like nothing happened. I wonder if he’s fucking her in the backroom. I hate that feeling. It’s overwhelming. My thoughts are so intrusive, I’m seriously starting to treat them as the truth. This day was a mess.
In the evening, Ve tries to make love to me, but I’m not in the mood. For the first time since we have known each other.
“What’s the matter with you, lying there like a plank? That’s bullshit.”
“Excuse me?
“You’re lying like a plank, I said.”
“You know what? Leave me alone.”
I pull away, cover myself, and try to sleep. Maybe it’s those thoughts that make me so disgusted, but I can’t fight them. I do fall asleep finally, but only with the greatest effort.
Chapter 79
Abby
The coat Mandy gives me is awesome. I say goodbye to Ve, leave him the car keys, and drive off with people from work.
The party is stretching on. Intent on releasing some of the bad emotions that I have been struggling with lately, I drink too much. Then we go clubbing in Cape. The group is getting smaller by the hour. Some people have to go to work tomorrow, but I’m so hammered, I don’t care. I want to have fun and stop thinking. I get another shot. Eventually, we end up at someone’s home. I’m so wasted I don’t even recognize these people. The only ones I know are Larry and a girl from the store in Cape. I like her, but I don’t remember her name. Marcelline, I think? I black out after having some more vodka. I wake up in a bed. Next to me lies Larry. And there are another twenty people or so sprawled over the furniture and floors throughout the apartment. Fucking hell. Where the crap am I? What did I do? Snippets and images are racing through my head. One hits me like a ten-ton truck. I’m in the bathroom. Larry enters and locks the door. He steps closer, runs his fingers through my hair, and pulls me in.
“You don’t have the slightest idea how much I want you. You’re so sexy, Abby.”
