Page 70 of Sweet Shots

“Sure.”

“What had you so desperate to knock on my door that first night?” I blink a few times, shocked. I’m not sure I want to admit that to him. He continues. “You talk about fear holding you back, but something was worth coming to me. What was it?”

It was… whatever the hell is wrong with me. If I were him, I never would have been so desperate for that money. I would have been fine waiting until my next payday. I would have made more content. Bonus content. Had a sale. There are so many things I could have done to slowly gain that money back, but I panicked. Put my pride aside to feed into my fears. I sigh, bringing my gaze to the floor. Dominic squeezes my hand.

“You can tell me, Mikah. I won’t judge you, no matter what it is.”

I believe him. Why do I believe himso easily?

Why does it matter? Shouldn’t I just go with it?

Because I can get hurt in the end…

Fuck off.

I don’t want fear to keep controlling my life. I’m tired of it. Tired of letting all my trauma and worry control everything I do. So, I put my mug down and turn to face Dominic more fully.

“Someone stole my identity and wiped my bank account.” Dominic’s eyes widen, the shock clear on his face. “And… the way I grew up? I have this thing with money. I need it, need to know I have it for whatever I may need like food, bills, emergencies. Waking up to my account negative, after years of saving, had me in one of the worst panics of my life. Coincidentally, it was when my boss offered the calendar job and the video. Then that guy offered the money for the video with you, and I would have done just about anything to feel the safety net of that money in my account. Well, not my account, because I had to open one in my friend’s name, but you know what I mean.”

Dominic gives me a sympathetic look, and I am so relieved there isn’t anything in that look that says he thinks I’m crazy. I think that would have killed me.

“Have you applied for a new social security number?”

“Have I what?”

“You know you can do that, right? If you can prove someone stole your info, and has been using it—”

“It’s stopped since I alerted the security app I use to monitor it. Though, they still never emailed me back.”

He shakes his head. “That’s fine, but whoever has your information still has it. You’re going to live the rest of your life not being able to put anything in your name because they fucked up your credit? What if you want to move? Get a new car? Go back to school.” He shifts on the couch to face me. “You need to apply for a new number to fix this.”

I hadn’t considered that a possibility. I never thought this far into it because I couldn’t get past the money thing.

“I guess I was so worked up over the money I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Hey, I actually know someone who works at the social security office. I’ll take you.”

He’s going to help me get this fixed, just like that?

“Okay,” I say, proud of myself for so willingly letting him help me.

But there’s a new question lingering in the back of my brain now.

Had I known I could do this, would I still have gone to him? Would I still have been so desperate? I guess it doesn’t matter, because he’s here now, and I don’t want him to leave.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Dominic

The fire is going strong; the flames dancing along the fence and illuminating the small area of my backyard. I’m fine with the space I have back here. It’s just enough to have a comfortable area to relax in. There’s a grill on the opposite end with a small picnic table, and the four chairs round the fire pit here.

The old lady who lives on my other side has tall shrubs so we can’t see into each other’s yards, and the house behind me is empty. Has been for a while. Not really sure why. I’d gone by on a run one day and didn’t see aFor Salesign, so I’m not sure what’s up with it. The yard is tended to, so at least someone is taking care of it.

Mikah was the only neighbor I needed to worry about, and when I realized how much he hated me, that only fueled me to do things to annoy him.

“Do you need another beer?” I ask, reaching for the cooler between us.

“Sure,” he says before finishing what’s in his bottle.

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