Page 16 of Sinful as They Come
“You got the money, right?” the guy asked impatiently.
“I got it, I got it.” Handing over the heap of dollar bills and the coupon, I awkwardly held the box and garlic bread with one hand while trying to keep Summer steady. “Thanks.” I nodded at him, kicking the door shut. “Alright, time to eat.”
Setting the pizza down on the kitchen table, I let the kids go at it. They could see the TV from the kitchen, so I switched it on to some dumb cartoon – nothing scary – and sat down with a sigh.
“Mom told us to make sure you ate too,” Caleb called out to me.
My head shook. It was a large pizza, but I couldn’t touch it. Lindsey would need something to eat when she got back from work, and if she could drag it out, maybe she’d have enough for leftovers tomorrow.
“Nah, I’m not hungry.” I nodded at them. “You guys eat.”
“Have a slice!” Caleb called out.
“I’m not hungry. Finish your dinner.” That was a lie, and that pizza smelled and looked real good and my own pantry at home was definitely more than a little empty, but I didn’t want to take anything away from them. But Summer was suddenly in front of me, shoving a piece of garlic bread into my mouth, her smile all wide. “Thanks,” I said, voice muffled.
Summer and Caleb wanted to watch more cartoons after dinner, the clock getting closer and closer to nine. I sat between them, the small living room filled up with the sounds of their loud laughs and screams. That noise slowly faded, and then they were both slumping against me and falling asleep.
“Christ,” I muttered. If I moved, they’d wake up. If they woke up, they might not go back to sleep. My eyes landed on the clock. It’d be ten soon.Very soon. And then Lindsey would be back and I could go home and eat some of that spaghetti – if Brodie left some for me. So, I sat there with the TV on mute, watching some stupid cartoons while Summer and Caleb slept.
But ten o’clock turned into eleven o’clock and that turned into midnight, and I could have sworn time flew right on by to two in the morning. That was when I slowly heard the door opening.
With a soft gasp, Lindsey stepped inside, head shaking. “I’m so sorry!” she whispered. “We were having issues with the registers, and they needed me to stay back because someone fainted and had to leave early, and then someone spilled thirty bottles of hair vitamins.”
I shook my head at her. “It’s okay.”
“Here. Let me grab them.” Lindsey picked up Summer first, carrying her down the hallway before she did the same with Caleb. Neither of them woke up, and I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able to pull that one off. Mother’s touch and all that. “I’m so sorry, Sawyer,” she said when she came back out, arms wrapped around me. “You poor thing. Did you eat?”
“Yeah, I had a few slices,” I said. “Thanks for dinner. There’s some left if you want it.”
“Oh, thank you. And the kids? Were they okay? I see Summer did your hair as well,” she said with a little smile, raking her fingers through my locks and loosening the braids.
“The kids were fine. Might get Summer to give me a haircut next time I need one.”
“You’re probably so tired. Let me pay you and then you can go on home.” She started tugging at the sleeve of my jacket, a little bit of suspicion in her eyes. “Wait… Why is that money on the counter?”
My eyes followed hers to the twenty dollar note that was still sitting there. “Thirty minutes or it’s free.”
She looked at me, brows furrowed. “Is that a thing? They still do that?”
“Apparently.”
“That never happens to me. But I still owe you money for tonight. How much is fair? I was gone so long…” Diving through her purse, she turned her back to me, and I used that as a chance to sneak off.
“Lindsey, it’s fine,” I said. I knew how hard things were. That shift she just finished probably wouldn’t even be enough for groceries. Maybe she’d be able to pay some of the rent with that. “All I did was eat pizza and watch TV.”
She shook her head. “No, I have to pay you.”
But I was already pushing the front door open. “I gotta go.”
“Sawyer!”
“I’ll see you later!” I called out, shutting the door quietly before she could get to me.
Lindsey was sweet, and she deserved better, and I hoped she’d get wherever she wanted to go in life. If I could fluke it, I could get somewhere too. Some place different. I had never wanted some lavish life. A heap of money and a bunch of cars and a fucking yacht or whatever shit rich people bought. None of that. Just some goddamn security was all I had ever wanted.
Being as quiet as I could, I pushed open the front door to my own place. It was dark, which meant Brodie was asleep, and if I was lucky, my dad hadn’t shown back up yet. I was just about to kick my shoes off when I felt a heavy hand on me, yanking me to the side. It was pitch black and my eyes were already strained from staying up and staring at that damn TV all night. All I knew was that I couldn’t see shit.
Rough hands tugged me to the dark ground, making sure I hit my shoulder on what I assumed was the counter on the way down. I didn’t need light to know who it was, but it would have fucking helped when it came to defending myself, because a second later, my already tender shoulder felt a swift kick so hard I was surprised I didn’t hear an ugly fucking popping sound.
