“Hey, good lookin’,” he said with a wink.
I frowned. “What do you want?”
He dropped the act and motioned over my shoulder. “Look, can we talk?”
I stepped aside and let him in.
“So what do you want to talk about?” I asked, crossing my arms.
“I was getting worried. You weren’t returning any of my texts anymore...”
“Maybe because the last time I texted you, asking for help, you shot me down without so much as anare you okay?” I didn’t mean to sound so angry, but apparently, it was still a sensitive topic.
His eyebrows shot up. “It wasn’t personal. I just said I couldn’t, and then I went to sleep almost right after. It was late.”
I scoffed. “Sure. And the next day, you couldn’t pick up your phone to make sure I was even still alive?”
“You’re being a bit dramatic, aren’t you?” Sarcasm dripped in every word. “You’re acting as though we’re in some kind of relationship?”
“I thought we were. You know... friends?” I shook my head; how had I never realized until then just how one-sided this was. “That’s where the fuck-friendbit comes in.”
He raised his hands. “Okay, okay. I screwed up. I should’ve checked on you. But the longer I waited, the weirder it got, so I just?”
“Waited until you were horny enough to finally have a reason to check on me? Yeah, thanks.”
“Don’t act as though having sex isn’t what you wanted out of this too. I was horny, so I contacted you just like you text me when you want some.”
More like when I needed favors. “Well, there won’t be any more texts from me. I’m with someone now, and?”
“Found someone who could do more things for you?” His smile had turned cold.
My hands curled into fists. “It isn’t like that.”
He took a few steps closer. “You look me in the eye and tell me this isn’t another one of your transactional friendships, as you call them.”
I opened and closed my mouth, wanting nothing better than to scream at him. Tell him to go to Hell. Instead, I opened the door and pointed at it. “Get the fuck out of my place. And never contact me again.”
“Fine.” He marched out, glancing over his shoulder. “Stupid fat cow,” he muttered under his breath as he went down the corridor.
I slammed the door before the tears fell. I didn’t care what he thought of me, but it still hurt. He’d been a friend for a long time, and to know this was how he’d really felt all those years... No wonder he always closed his eyes when we were intimate in any way; he couldn’t stand to look at me. I locked the door, then trudged to my bed as I continued crying. I hated him.
His words repeated inside my mind; transactional friendship. Was that all I was to Jack, too? Someone he kept alive to keep his secrets from coming out? I asked questions, and he got something in return. We both benefited in our own way, but it was an exchange nonetheless. Is that all I’d ever be good for?
I sobbed into my pillow, exhaustion lulling me to sleep.
A beeping noise woke me up, and I squinted through one eye, trying to find the source of the noise. I grabbed my phone, staring as the security camera app popped onto the screen. My heart picked up speed as I tapped it, trying to make sense of what was happening. It didn’t help that my eyes burned from crying myself to sleep.
Jack walked into frame, and I sat up, watching intently. I glanced at the time, noting he must’ve just gotten back from work, and there was a text notification at the top of my screen. I lowered it just enough to read and grinned when I read his reply to my earlier message.
Jack: Not a chance.
We’d see about that.
He opened the top drawer on the right and then the two bottom ones to the left. I frowned as I watched, but when he opened the middle one, I realized that’s how it unlocked. Smart.
Whatever he pulled out wasn’t very clear at the angle, so I moved the arrows, trying to get a better view. The zoom in function wasn’t great, but it looked as though he’d taken out a red binder. I held my breath, watching as he flipped through it, but before I could adjust the angle, he put it away.
It didn’t matter; I knew where it was. All I had to do was go back to his place tomorrow while he was working to check it out. I’d take a few photos of whatever the content was, excited at the prospect it might be notes. My cheek muscles hurt with how much I was smiling. Maybe it wasn’t the trophies I was hoping for, but whatever that thing was, it was important enough to keep it hidden.
