Page 19 of The Art of Deception

“I bullshit you not. C’mon, it’s gonna melt.”

She leans up on her toes and rushes with me toward her home. I love how excited the little things make her. She has such a unique personality. That’s why I’m so attracted to her.

She doesn’t take shit, and her no-holds-barred attitude is second to none.

She’s straight up.

It’s fantastic in a woman, and I am attracted to it more each time I see her.

I’m glad the emails haven’t affected her mood as much as they have mine.

She leads me through the front door, shutting it behind me. Her arm grazes mine, and my hairs stand on end. Tomi’s body ignites something inside me. I want more.

As I take in the entry of her home, it’s just as I’d imagined, with pictures of her family littering the walls—her parents, her sister, all of them together. You can tell this was a family home. It has the feel to it, the warmth, the energy as soon as you enter the front door.

It feels likehome.

The carpets are a little worn, but they’re still plush. The white walls have faded to a creamer color, and the wooden baseboards have a few nails missing. It’s not rickety or broken down, it’s just lived in. We enter to the left then veer off to the family room. It’s dimmer than the hall and the living room we just came through. The curtains are drawn, and only a side lamp is on, giving out a dull glow across the space. There’s a singular sofa facing a television with a screen light that’s quite dim.

Then it clicks into place—this room is specially designed for Levi’s sensory issues.

The lights have been dulled for him.

Tomi’s done well to make this area safe for him.

I spot Levi on the sofa playing video games on the television.

Over to the right is the kitchen. Tomi leads me as we slowly walk through without disturbing Levi. I watch him engrossed in his game. It’s good he’s found a way to function in this crazy thing we call life.

I step into the kitchen, placing the bags on the counter, and turn to see Tomi moving about at the dining table, trying to clear away some things. I stop her so I can examine the artwork. Shehuffs, glancing up at me like she wants me to let it go, but I’m not that guy. I pick up one piece of paper. It’s a tattoo design of an intricate butterfly.

She moves off to place the ice cream in the freezer.

“These are great.”

She shrugs, closing the freezer door. “Meh, just doodling—”

“No, this…” I pick up a design of a Trojan warrior and show her. “This is great stuff. No wonder Hope & Faith Ink is so popular.”

She slumps, her happy demeanor all but vanished in an instant. “Well, we won’t be around much longer if Alex-asshole-Scott has his damn way.”

I tense all over, lowering her stencil to the table, giving her my full attention. “What’s going on?”

“I got another email fromhimtonight,” she huffs. “He commands us to vacate before the end of the month…fucker.” She blinks her eyes a few times but keeps her control. The sheer hatred she shows for him is plain for everyone to see in her eyes.

A cold shudder runs over my spine, seeing her so uptight. She obviously hates Alex. The contempt she holds is clear toward me because I’m the one who sent that email only a mere hour ago.

Judging by her expression, she would slit my throat while I slept or maybe even while I am awake, I’m sure.

I’m not even joking.

She’s feisty enough to do it.

I need to change the subject, my guilt is eating me alive. So I turn toward the family room and pop my head out. “Levi, you want some ice cream?”

Levi glances up from his game, pauses it, and races over, kind of wobbling about like a giddy child. He’s tall, a little stocky for his age. I’ve researched Klinefelter Syndrome, so I know what I’m dealing with—hips are larger than a normal male’s at sixteen, his chest being slightly more pronounced is also asymptom of the syndrome. I don’t know a lot about it, but his autism is more prominent than anything else he has going on right now.

Levi rushes to the table and jumps onto the seat. He sits, his eyes down, not making eye contact as Tomi moves about the kitchen, getting the bowls and then the tubs out of the freezer for him. I move to the donut packet to open it, the aroma of peanut butter floods the kitchen with its delicious nutty smell as I place the donuts in front of Levi.

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