Page 16 of Jace 4Ever
God, those hours with him were an amazing fantasy I would treasure forever. I couldn’t have that life, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t dream.
I left them on and crawled under the covers of my remade bed. I grabbed the Pop-Tarts and the computer and cued up the first Xavier Renegade movie. I watched the man who had made me come so hard I’d sobbed gallivanting across the world, saving damsels in distress from the evil forces that wanted to destroy everything.
The slam of the front door woke me up with a jerk. The computer had gone to sleep and the clock said one in the morning. I quickly shut the computer lid and stuffed it in the drawer. Jerrod knew I had it, but never took it to pawn because he knew I needed it for work.
And when I worked, I made money. When I made money, he could steal it and get his drugs and whores.
There was a slam on the bedroom door, but it didn’t budge.
“You in there, shit for brains? I need money.”
“You took my money this afternoon, Jerrod.”
He, and at least two other people, laughed loud and hard outside the door. “That’s right. We had fun stuffing your girly shit in the can. Got any more?”
“No, Jerrod. I go to work tomorrow.”
“Lemme in.”
“No.”
He rattled the handle, but didn’t try very hard to get in. “Come on, little bro. Let me in.”
“Go to bed, Jerrod.”
“I want some weeeeeeeed,” he whined the request.
“I don’t have weed. You know I don’t do that shit.”
“You’re a jackass, you should. It would chill you the fuck out.”
“If I smoke, I lose my job. If I lose my job, we lose the apartment. Then where the hell are you and your boys gonna crash? Who are you going to rip off for drug money?”
Negotiating with my brother was the worst. It just made me so completely aware of how awful this situation was. How I’d never be able to get out of it, because he’d never let me.
There was no answer from beyond the door and I heard footsteps retreating down the hall. The braying laughter of Hill and Duster, my brother’s best friends, disappeared into the kitchen and I relaxed back into the bed. They’d leave me alone for now.
Even though I knew the door wasn’t strong enough to actually keep the three of them out of my room, it was enough to let me sleep.
There were days when I wanted to take up Chase and Marcus on their offer of a room at their place. Usually, just as I convinced myself it was a good idea, and I’d be safe, Jerrod would do something that reminded me I didn’t want to endanger my friends with his violence.
The last time, after Noah helped me with the safety deposit box, it was a gun to my head.
How could I visit that on my friends? He was enough of a jackass that I was sure, despite the security on their building, he’d get in. If he got into Chase’s and Marcus’s place, there could be a lot of damage. They had a Barron Danes on the wall—the hottest artist out there right now. Jerrod could pawn that thing for thousands.
Or worse, run a knife through it.
I couldn’t take the chance.
Morning was ridiculous. The alarm knocked me out of sleep at its usual four a.m. Broken sleep was better than no sleep.
After taking down the slightly damp wash and carefully hanging it all up in the back corner of the closet, I managed a quick shower. Since all of my delicates were now wet, I opted for a pair of regular briefs in black. I threw on my jeans and a T-shirt, loaded up the computer, and pulled the chair from the door.
The good thing about Jerrod’s rampage the day before was that he wouldn’t be back in there until next payday. Next payday was nearly two weeks away, and by then I would have had the chance to convince Mr. Franklin I needed that steel door.
Jerrod was passed out in his bed, and Hill was on the couch they’d found,cough, and pulled into the room. Duster was in the living room on the couch, snoring like a chainsaw. I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and an egg sandwich out of the freezer. By the time I reached the set, it would be defrosted and edible. I made the sandwiches once a month. Freezing them guaranteed that my brother and his friends wouldn’t eat them.
I caught the A train downtown to 125th and popped up to the surface to grab the M60. Once the bus pulled up to the station, I was back down below and the ride was a quick one to Longwood Ave in the Bronx.
Then, I walked.
It was the walk of shame, but I held my head up as much as I could. This was money, and that’s all I really needed right now.
Someday, someone would realize my key grip training was what they needed on the next big Hollywood movie, or the next hot Netflix binge and I could finally, finally get away from this life.
In the meantime, I pushed through the doors of the studio and tried not to hate my life.
