Page 15 of Secondhand Smoke
“Is there anyone else who can be with you?” he asked.
Her mouth shut, and he noticed her jaw clench.
He twisted his rings. “You can’t be alone for this, especially not the first time. Just come to my place so I can keep an eye on you. I won’t be responsible for letting my customers do something stupid. I’m not gonna do anything, I promise.”
She stared at him, long and hard, looking for honesty. Barrett couldn’t help what people interpreted of him by the way he looked, but his words were always one-hundred-percent honest. Sometimes too honest.
Whatever she saw or heard, she must have believed it. Or she was desperate.
“Fine,” she said, and reached into her pocket to pull out some cash. “How much?”
“Hold on now.” Barrett held out his hands and got her to pause. “I never ask for payment until the product has switched hands.”
Her lip twitched. “You sound like a businessman.”
“Iama businessman.” He smiled and ran to the driver’s side door to find something to write on and with. Quickly, he scrawled down his house address and ran back, placing it into her hand. “Come by my place around nine.”
She looked at the address and nodded. “I’ll see you at nine.” She swung her leg over her bike and pushed off without a proper farewell.
Barrett cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted after her, “Hey! You want a ride?”
With her back to him, she shook her head and waved her hand.
Barrett watched her until she was gone, then shut the back doors of his van and got into the front. As he was about to drive off, he glanced over at the passenger seat.
The warped beginner’s manual sat there. He’d completely forgotten he’d grabbed it on his way out of the house with theintent of giving it to her. As far as he was concerned, it belonged to her now.
Damn. Guess he’d have to return it to her later.
7 - Nell
Nell had passed the Meadow Drive Subdivision on the regular when she still had her car. Minnie grew up in a rundown small two-bedroom house half a mile down the same road, so Nell’d spent most of her life going past here. However, it’d been a while, and driving down the road again, more than three months since the last time, made her grip tighten on the bike handles.
Without many lights around the area, it was difficult to make out many details about the different houses. A couple of them had lights outside, but thanks to the white van parked haphazardly in front of a house with a light on, she knew she’d found her destination.
Being in an area like this would have made her anxious last year, but the disconnect of rational thinking was affecting her ability to deem what was worth avoiding or not.
As she approached, she flung her leg off the bike and walked it the rest of the way to the small house, and leaned it against the side paneling. Recorded drums and synth of some rock song thumped from inside.
She stuffed her hands into her jacket pocket and walked up the steps, until she could tap three hard knocks onto the door. Despite the loud music, she heard a clatter and the sound of hurried movement. She even thought she heard a curse right on the other side of the door. Seconds later, it flung open, and she was face to face once again with Barrett.
He looked down at her, panting a little like he’d been in a rush, and smiled. “Hey.”
“Hi,” she said.
They both stood, quiet, looking at each other. Nell raised her brows and waited patiently for him to invite her in, but he seemed like he was thinking really hard about something, and it was a bit rude to interrupt someone even if it was in their thoughts.
“Oh.” He snapped out of whatever he was doing and straightened, and finally stepped aside, gesturing politely for her to enter. “Come in.”
She nodded and walked the rest of the way up the steps into the house. She looked around, taking in the place. She wasn’t sure how to explain it, but it fit Barrett perfectly.
Lit by dying dim bulbs, the area had a softer feel to it and at the same time felt somewhat unsteady. Despite its rougher exterior, the interior wasn’t nearly as dirty and rundown as she’d expected.
Random baubles adorned the walls, and the TV tied the whole thing together, making it a full and comfy environment.
Barrett fidgeted with this and that like he was embarrassed by the state of the place. “Sorry, I didn’t clean much.” He ran a hand through his mane of hair and chuckled awkwardly as he led her further into the living space. He wasn’t looking to see the way her lips tilted up, amused.
Nell wasn’t oblivious to her privileged life—loving parents, an obnoxiously large house, and if she wanted something, she never had to worry about her ability to get it. Barrett’s place offered a nice break from that, the kind she’d been grasping for.
