Page 67 of Moonstruck at Midnight
“It’s going to be okay, Red. It always has been. Don’t worry about stuff like that.” He tried to reassure me as he opened the door for me.
Ben sent a couple of texts to the group chat to make sure we were receiving them. That reminded me to give David and Caleb a heads up about how I’d be working with two classmates almost every day after school. I wondered if I had to inform Thomas about it too. He wasn’t going to be thrilled about my team consisting of two guys and me.
“Okay. We’re just going to need their full names, Miss Murphy,” Caleb replied. He still refused to call me Red in front of David. I thought it was funny because it’s not like David didn’t know he did or hadn’t heard him before.
I called Thomas on my way back home to tell him about my first day. I found it odd he hadn’t reached out to ask me about it.
“Hey, babe, how did the first day go?” he asked with a dull tone.
“Well, it was interesting. I mean, you know how first days are—mostly getting to know everyone. There’s a big project due at the end. I think it’s going to be a lot of work, but I’m excited,” I replied.
“I’m sure you’re going to do great.” He sounded uninterested and quickly changed the subject. “Babe, I need a favor. I forgot a folder with documents from school, and I need my parents to sign them. I left it in my apartment. Could you get it and mail it back to me?”
I couldn’t say I was overjoyed with his lack of enthusiasm regarding my first day of school, but maybe he was worried about something else or stressed about forgetting the documents.
I always found a way to excuse him.
“Um, sure. But I don’t have a key. How am I getting in?”
“There’s a key safety box outside of my apartment. I’ll text you the code.”
I offered to go right away, so I tapped on Caleb’s shoulder, gestured to pull over, and asked Thomas to text me the D.C. address.
“Thank you so much, babe. You’re a lifesaver.”
David drove downtown to Thomas’s apartment. They knew where it was since they had given him a ride a few times before.
Caleb insisted on coming up to get the documents with me, and David stayed behind in the car. We breezed through the reception with no problem. Thomas had informed the security guard about our visit.
“Shoot. I don’t know his apartment number.” I looked at the elevator buttons, not knowing which one to click.
I pulled my phone out of my purse with the intention of texting Thomas, but Caleb clicked on the sixteenth-floor button and said, “16 C.”
Okaaay.
I glared at him, but he ignored me and bobbed his head to the rhythm of the elevator music. I was sure they didn’t get that information from Thomas directly.
The code Thomas texted me worked and revealed the spare key to his apartment. Caleb waited outside while I fetched the paperwork.
Thomas’s place was an open space studio with a small kitchenette on the left. The bed was neatly made on the far end beside a big window. The folder rested on top of it. But the key slipped out of my hands as I reached out for the documents.
I dropped to my knees and peeked under the bed.Fuck! I gasped and sat on the floor.No,no,no.My blood drained to my feet as my breaths became pants. I inhaled slowly and deeply, trying to stop the drilling sensation in my stomach.
Thomas is cheating on me.Thomas isdefinitelycheating on me.
TWO EMPTY CONDOM PACKAGES.
It was the first time I’d ever set foot in Thomas’s apartment, so there wasno wayhe could claim to have used them with me. Besides, I was on the pill. I took another deep breath and kept looking for the key, but I couldn’t find it. Tears of desperation slid down my face because all I wanted was to get the hell out of there.
A million disturbing thoughts flooded my mind like a whirlwind:
He wouldn’t do that to me.There must be an explanation.No, he’s cheating on me.Could they be his father’s?How many times has he done this?They must be his father’s.But what if they’re not?
There were only two options to choose from: either his father was cheating on his mother, or Thomas was cheating on me. But someone, either way, was a dirty cheater.
“Everything okay?” Caleb asked over the door, lightly knocking on it.
Damn it!Where’s that goddamn key!
