Push(79)

chapter Thirty-Five

Emma—Present Day

When I wake up Sunday morning David is not in my bed. I sit up and listen for movement in the bathroom, but it is quiet. I roll a T-shirt down over my head, being careful not to brush it against the raw skin of my back, and walk down the hallway to look for him. The bathroom is empty, the sofa is vacant, and there is nothing in the kitchen, save for dirty dishes in the sink. There is no note on the table either. I pick up my cell phone to send David a message. When I flip it open, I see that there is one waiting for me from about an hour ago.


Hi.


Hi back.


Did u sleep well?


Yes. Where r u?


I had to go out. B back by lunchtime.


Everything ok?


Yes. Wait for me to shower. I can do your back.


Ok. Should I b worried?


About what?


IDK, u tell me.


No worries. Just had some shit to do.


R u at church or something?


Very, very funny. My sins r too big for that place.


So r your secrets, apparently.


One and the same.


Okaaaay then...b safe.


Will do.


I grumble to myself, flip the phone closed, and walk out to the kitchen to make some coffee.
* * *

David opens the door to my apartment at precisely 12:25. I am in the kitchen making us a couple of sandwiches when I hear his car keys hit the surface of the table. He walks around the corner into the kitchen just as I am about to walk out with the sandwich plates in my hands. His hair is a mess, and he is wearing the same clothes he had on yesterday. Wherever he went, it sure as hell couldn’t have been that important. He looks like he just rolled out of bed.
“Hey,” he says, stopping just short of walking into me. “How’s your back?”
“A little sore, but pretty good, all things considered,” I say. I put the plates down on the table and turn to face him. “Lunch is ready. I made us some sandwiches. Hope that’s all right.”
“It’s perfect,” he says, walking toward me. His arms stretch around my neck and rest on the top of my shoulders as his lips graze my forehead in a small kiss. “And so are you.” I have the sudden feeling that he was up to no good this morning, and he’s trying to cover his ass.
“That I am not,” I say with a small smile. “But you can say it again if you want. Especially if it makes you feel better about whatever you were doing this morning.”
He chuckles a little, and I feel his head moving from side to side as his chin rests on the top of my head. “I didn’t say it because of what I was doing this morning. I said it because I meant it.”
“Yeah, well, you’re the only one that’s ever considered me perfect, that’s for sure.”
“I better be,” he says, dropping his arms and looking at my face. He is wearing a small smirk, and when I see it, I know for certain that he was up to no good this morning. I sit down, biting into my sandwich with a smirk of my own.
“So, you aren’t going to tell me what you were doing, then?” I ask.
“No,” he says, still grinning. “But I will tell you that I won’t be doing it again. That’s for sure.”
“Okay, now that’s just mean. Don’t say shit like that if you aren’t going to finish the story.”
“Someday I will,” he says. “But not today.” He takes a bite of his sandwich and keeps his eyes down on his plate.
“That’s not fair,” I fire back. I’m starting to feel a little peeved about his secrecy, and my voice is exposing me. It sounds stiff and dramatic.
Oh, he is looking really smug now, and I’m frustrated as hell. Fine. If he wants to keep a secret, then I’m playing him for all he’s worth.
“So, David, how did it feel to beat a man to within an inch of his life?” As soon as the words come out of my mouth, David’s eyes pop up to meet mine. I raise my eyebrows and purse my lips, exuding as much sass as I can muster. He looks surprised at the forwardness of my question.
“Why do you ask?” he says, sounding a little bemused.
“Because if you won’t tell me about your present sins, I’m going to ask about your past ones.” His face changes when he recognizes my game. His expression reeks of revelry and sarcasm. He is mocking me.
“I think I can handle that,” he says tartly.
“Well, then, how did it feel?” I ask again; the bitterness in my tone hangs between us. He pauses for a second before he answers.
“It felt incredibly shitty.” Oh. That isn’t the answer I was expecting. I thought he would have felt happy kicking the pants off the man who was f*cking his girlfriend. Damn it. “It felt absolutely terrifying to be so out of control. The day after I found them together, I lost it. I came in here and let loose on the apartment. I wrecked the damn kitchen, and then later that night, I wrecked him. Lucia was so f*cking scared of me. I haven’t seen her since. Afterwards, I peeled Robbie up off the damn pavement and took him to the hospital. I dropped him off there, and the day after they let him out, I put his shit on the sidewalk and Carl evicted him. He was not a good guy, but still, it felt like a f*cking nightmare.” Jesus H. Christ. That is crazy.
“No one lived here after him? Until me, I mean,” I say, feeling slightly chastised.
“Right. I wanted to fix that freggin’ kitchen for over a year, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Then I saw you hauling boxes in here, and you were so f*cking cute. I felt so damn guilty about you moving in here with a ruined kitchen that I had to fix it. I had to make it better.” He lifts his sandwich to his mouth, and just before he takes another bite, he adds, “Turned out to be the best decision I’ve ever made.” David gives me a suggestive wink, and I know that the conversation hasn’t pissed him off. I am jumping in.