Page 1 of In the Lonely Hour

(The S is silent)

Jaw locked shut, Andres’s teeth gritted against one another. His parents had raised him to never put his hands on a woman, but Veronica was trying his patience. If she grabbed one more thing and tossed it across the living room, Andres was going to fold her up and carry her out. His eyes narrowed at the sight of Veronica grabbing the gravy bowl from the small crystal set he’d gotten after his grandmother passed. Along with a pair of her reading glasses, it was the only thing he had to remember her by outside of memories and old pictures.

Scratching the top of his head, Andres released a shaky breath. “If you break that, I’m going to slap the shit out of you,” Andres warned, stepping on broken pieces of glass that she’d already shattered during her rage.

It hadn’t been Andres’s intention to break up with Veronica at his apartment. He was fully aware of how violent and volatile she could get—that’s why he was calling things off in the first place. But, this wasn’t how their afternoon together was supposed to end. Veronica only got like this when she couldn’t get her way. Otherwise, she was the sweetest, softest woman he’d ever encountered. Their date was going well until he had to cut it short for work. As usual, his commitment to his job led to an argument. This one, though, had been the worst of them all… and Andres knew they couldn’t spend another day in each other’s life.

Veronica’s head flung back as she cackled. “I wish you would put your hands on me,” she taunted, slamming the gravy bowl against the wall. “I’ll air this bitch out with the quickness.”

His eyes widened as he watched the bowl shatter. Pulse quickening, Andres chuckled. Closing the space between him and Veronica, he gripped her neck before she could get away. Veronica yelped, clawing at his hand as he held her against the wall.

“Le—” The tightening of his hand around her neck cut her words off.

“When I let you go, you need to get your shit and get the hell out, Veronica.” His grip tightened more, and her mouth opened as she struggled to breathe. “Do you understand me?”

“Andres!” The sound of his name being called didn’t break Andres out of his spell.

It wasn’t until several pairs of hands pulled him away from Veronica did he release her. Looking toward the front door, Andres exhaled a heavy breath at the sight of his property manager, Sole. His eyes shifted to the two police officers that were holding him. Normal reaction meant bucking against them to loosen their grip, but the last thing he wanted was his faceon the news as the last murder victim because those that were supposed to serve and protect felt threatened.

“That is it!” Sole yelled, stepping around glass and broken paintings to come further into his apartment. “You have got to go. This is the last complaint and call to the police, Andres. I’m sorry, but you have to find another place to live. You have six weeks.”

“Do you want to press charges, ma’am?” One of the officers that were holding Andres asked Veronica as she gripped her neck.

“No,” she answered quickly, softly. Like she wasn’t the one raising hell.

“I do,” Andres countered. “Not that either of you would have asked.”

The second officer chuckled. “What would we ask you for? You’re the one we found assaulting her.”

“You don’t see how my house looks? She did this shit. And look at my fucking face and neck. You don’t see all these scratches her crazy ass put on me while I was trying to get her out? Take her the fuck to jail.Now.”

“Andres!” Veronica’s fists balled as she charged toward him, forcing one of the officers to release him to grab her. “Are you fucking serious right now! You’re the one breaking up with me and now you want me locked up too! I swear to God if you press charges against me…”

“Aye,” the black officer yelled, turning her away from Andres. “Cut that shit out before you make this worse than it already is.”

A small smile spread Andres’s lips. He was finally about to be free of Veronica. This moment had been a long time coming. Admittedly, he hadn’t tried to call things off when he should have out of pride. What was he supposed to say? He couldn’t control his girlfriend’s emotions and outbursts? Who would believe him if he ever said she was the abusive one? Who wouldbelieve he’d never put his hands on her in return? In his mind, it was best if he let things happen organically, but Veronica hadn’t made any moves to leave him.

Realistically, why should she? Not only was Andres attractive, affluent, and stable… he was a genuinely good man with great dick. She’d have to be a damn fool to walk away from him, and an even bigger one to risk losing him.

“Let me get a restraining order too,” Andres requested. Because if she came back, there was no telling what they would do to each other. “And you can let me go now.” Andres finally jerked himself out of the white officer’s grip. Smoothing his shirt, he felt his face settle into a frown as he gave Sole his attention.

Her head lowered as she licked her lips. Shoulders caving, she slowly lifted her eyes back to him. From his move in date, Sole had always had a crush on him. They would flirt, but nothing came of it. Every time one of his neighbors complained about him and Veronica’s arguments, she’d show him grace. With this being the third time the police had been called, he wasn’t surprised that her grace and mercy had run out. She wasn’t just helping him keep his apartment; she was risking her job too.

“I’m sorry about this, Sole.”

The genuineness of his tone caused her to bat her lashes as she softly nodded. “Me too. Be on the lookout for my email in the morning. Take care, Andres, and let me know if you need anything.”

As the black officer cuffed Veronica, the white one asked Andres for an account of what had transpired from the beginning. His nerves were rattled, but he’d wait until they left to indulge in some weed and wine. For now, the quicker he closed this chapter of his life with Veronica… the better.

Layla’s eyes kept shifting up. This had been the most awkwardly silent dinner she’d had with her husband, Carlos, in a while. Usually they would at least make small talk, but this evening, he hadn’t even tried. In fact, his face had been buried in his phone the whole time he ate… making it clear that he didn’t want to be bothered. That didn’t stop Layla from trying to think of things to talk to him about though.

Dinner, from the first week of their marriage, had been their time to unwind and connect on a daily basis. Their ambition had their schedules packed. To ensure their career goals and school didn’t cause them to neglect one another, they promised to eat dinner together and get in bed at the same time no matter what. It was funny how things changed with time. Now fifteen years later, they weren’t even sleeping in the same bed.

“Um…” Layla wiped the corners of her mouth. Carlos released an irritated breath as he picked his glass of red wine up and took a large gulp. As if just the mere thought of what she was about to say had already annoyed him. Pressing on, Layla sat up slightly in her seat. “Dior shared some exciting news today.” She paused, wanting to give him time to show interest in his thirteen-year-old daughter. When a few seconds passed and he remained silent as he stared at her, Layla shook her head as her nostrils flared. “She wants to make a friend when she starts high school in the fall. When I was asking her what she wanted to do for her birthday since it was the first week after her ninth-grade year starts, she said she wanted to have a friend by then so they could do something together.” Layla’s smile widened, heart filling with pride at the recollection. “Isn’t that great?”

Carlos shoved a fork of mashed potatoes into his mouth, nodding. “Yeah.”

“I was thinking we could maybe try and find some programs for her over the summer to help her open up and get more comfortable socializing before she starts school. I’m excited that she’s coming out of her shell a little, but I don’t want her to be overwhelmed. High school will already be a huge adjustment for her.”

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