Page 66 of Only You
Jack’s face reddened. ‘Let’s go already,’ he gritted out, ego bruised as he stomped outside.
Selene stayed behind while Demir slowly counted the money he’d earned, ignoring her completely. She couldn’t think of anything to say. After another moment of quiet, she slipped out and caught up to Jack.
‘Don’t ever do that,’ he demanded when she slid into the car.
‘Then, stop pushing money on me,’ she shot back. ‘You know I hate when you do that.’
‘You go on and on about people treating you fairly. I give you money for your work and you have an issue. You’re always doing this. Always looking for all these other people to treat you right but got an issue whenIdo it…’
Selene tuned him out but made sure to respond every now and then. She knew it was better to let Jack vent. He would calm down later, and they couldactuallytalk then; they were similar that way.
In the meantime, she contemplated how grateful she was that Demir had decided to be selfish.
‘She’s more stubborn than a mule and twice the headache,’ Jack declared. ‘Pass me the wrench, will you?’
Demir handed it over, looking around the garage for a moment. He heard the other grease-covered workers shouting, their backs bent and faces dog-tired, and Demir was glad he didn’t have to do work like this. He would gladly take a fight over fixing engines in a hot garage any day. Honestly, it was surprising Jack still worked here.
‘Sometimes, you can’t beat an honest living,’ he’d told him once.
Demir wouldn’t know much about that, and he highly doubted he wanted to.
‘You wanted Selene around,’ Demir reminded him lazily. ‘Should’ve known it would be too much to work with her.’
‘You don’t get it, D.’ Jack wiped off his fingers, eyes suddenly dazed. ‘She’s not one of those ditzy chicks. She’s not just going to school to find a husband, you know. She wants to do something, which is crazy as hell to me but—’ He shrugged. ‘I’m crazy, too.’
‘I don’t get you two,’ Demir confessed. ‘You argue like cats and dogs, and she flirts with every guy walking around when she’s with you. Seems like she’s here for more than just a favour.’
‘Hey, calm down with all that all right?’ Jack lifted his wrench, and Demir held up his hands in surrender. ‘Look, I know it doesn’t look like we’re going steady but she’s different, D.’
‘Of course, she is,’ Demir said. ‘She looks more like me than you.’
Jack shook his head. ‘Not just that. We make sense together even if the whole world doesn’t know it yet.’ He looked at Demir with renewed confidence. ‘That’s why when we get enough money, we’re all going to New York. I heard it’s wild out there and that’s just what we all need. We can go and have more than this shit. Me and Selene… we’re soulmates, you know. She sees the ugly in me. I see the crazy in her and we just make sense together. No one gets me like her. You ever feel that, D?’
Demir thought back about the brief moments when there was a body next to his, but that’s all he could recall. Bodies, bright red lips, and disappointed eyes when he wouldn’t give more. Everything was always so fleeting… his mind shot back to Selene leaning her head on Jack’s shoulder, her smirk softening into a smile. ‘No,’ he answered. ‘Nor do I care to.’
‘I know.’ Jack smirked. ‘You are an island, my friend, and not even the prettiest dame is allowed on shore.’
Maybe not. But he liked the image of himself on a lush island, somewhere no one could find him. Yet, he couldn’t shake the image of a sailboat miles away, always floating in sight, a moment away from drifting closer.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Detroit
April 1946
Demir never knew why he woke up before sunrise. He just knew that no matter how little sleep he got during the night, he was always awake just as the sky turned red, signalling the start of a new day. It was also the only time he felt comfortable smoking.
He had grown up with his aunt, a woman with a warm heart but high standards. She always hated the smell of cigarettes, forcing his uncle to smoke outside. Demir had picked up the habit when he was fourteen but didn’t have much time for it between work, running around with his friends, and the fights he would get into. So, he took to doing it in the morning, when the world was still asleep, just for something to do, and carried it to adulthood.
His apartment was nothing nice. It was a small, one room studio that held the kitchen, his bed, and there was a toilet down the hall, but it was good enough. He didn’t need much, just a space to call his own. The one good thing about it was the fire escape. It was the only place he could just breathe and take in the day.
It was his favourite tradition.
Demir was cooking eggs on the stove when someone banged on his door. He never had company in the morning. Cautious, he stepped out of the kitchen and grabbed his bat on the way.
‘Who is it?’
‘D, it’s Jack.’
