Page 94 of Ordinary Secrets

“Um, the guy who owned the music store in my hometown used to pay me under the table to help around. Does that count?”

“No. My director said that I need a doctor’s note if I’ll be out for more than three days in a row. Company policy.”

“No problem. I can write you one.” I stick another plate into the dishwasher.

“No! I need arealdoctor’s note. Do you even care that I could lose my job?”

“You won’t get fired, babe.” Even if she did, I’d take care of her. She has nothing to worry about.

While Arella goes off to make a few more calls, I head upstairs to work out. I’m in the middle of my weight-lifting routine when Arella peeks her head through the door. I pause the rap music that’s blasting over my speakers.

“My landlord said she’ll get it taken care of immediately.”

“Perfect.” The weights clank as I set them back onto the rack.

Arella hugs herself, staring at the carpet. “Sooo... where do you think all those spiders came from?”

I did some research last night, while she was asleep. According to the Internet, it was either an infestation through a hole in the wall or a spider egg sac that hatched inside her apartment. What confuses me, though, is the number of spiders. The infestations I saw online were much smaller. More like ten to twenty at most. If a spider egg had hatched inside her place, it would have only been a few hundred little baby spiders. What I saw looked like thousands, and those fuckers weren’t babies.

“Have you ever seenCharlotte’s Web?” I ask. “There’s a scene in the movie when Charlotte’s egg sac hatches and all her little babies come crawling out.”

“Those things were too big to be babies,” Arella says. “Is it possible that this was Nathan’s way of getting back at me for you beating him up?”

I pause to think about that. Is that hairy-balls-eating douchebag capable of pulling off a spider infestation that big? Maybe, but would he do it knowing I have those reputation-destroying photos of him? Perhaps he thinks we can’t prove he did this. Arella has mentioned that his dad’s got money. For the right price, you can hire someone to do anything.

I make a mental note to look into it later. Maybe I’ll pay Pencil Dick a visit. With my mind power, I can usually tell if people are lying. In the meantime, I’ll keep focusing on taking Arella’s mind off the whole thing. Last night, she woke up from a nightmare about being attacked by furry arachnids the size of her face. It broke my heart to see her cry like that.

After I finish my workout, I rummage through my drawers to find the clothes Arella left here that night we threw flour on each other—the night we had our first kiss. I still think about that heated moment whenever I have a date with my right hand.

Once Arella’s dressed, we climb into the car to go run some errands.

As I back out of my garage, Arella asks, “Do you think there’s a chance all the spiders have left?”

“I think there’s a higher chance that by tonight, you’ll be shooting webs out of your wrists.”

She chuckles, shaking her head at me. “If I were to have superpowers, Spidey webs would not be my first choice. Now where are we going?”

“Target.”

“What for?”

I press a button to shut my garage as we pull out onto the street. “To get some things you said you need—clothes, shampoo, makeup... a flamethrower.”

Her mouth pops open with a gasp. “Flamethrower? We’re not setting my apartment on fire!”

With a wink, I say, “At least you wouldn’t have to pay rent anymore.”

28

ARELLA

I’ve gota full belly as we leave the restaurant in Long Beach where Trey took me the first time we had dinner together. We slow-danced as a female duo sang perfectly harmonized love songs accompanied by their keyboard.

A dark sky stretches above us as we head to my thinking spot for another evening of stargazing. It was Trey’s idea, and I didn’t hesitate to say yes. I love being able to share the place that used to be my safe haven with my new safe haven.

“I liked waking up next to you this morning,” I say with his hand in mine. It’s rare for us to be in the car without holding hands.

A quick “same” is his response. He doesn’t even look away from the road.

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