Sadie raised her head and looked out the window, and sure enough they were at her trailer. Her trailer? He brought her home? Confusion clouded her mind. Was he going to kill her here? Her eyes darted from the window to Stone and back out the window.
“Let’s go.” His voice was devoid of any emotion. She looked back at him but he was already halfway out the door. All she could see was the back of him. Her eyes instantly drew to his butt. Damn, that man could fill out a pair of jeans. What?Jesus Sadie, focus!
She brought her attention back to the present. She looked over at T. “You’re not going to kill me?”
He snorted while Bogs laughed. “Not yet.”
They were laughing. The guys who threatened to kill her less than an hour ago were laughing and making jokes. She sat there another second, wondering if she had just cheated death.
T turned around and scowled. “You waiting on me to change my mind?”
She fumbled with the door managing to get out just before T took off. She was home, safe, and alive. The relief flowed through her. She could breathe easy. Her body began to relax. She wanted to do a happy dance. But before her dance could commence, a large hand gripped her forearm and dragged her to the front door. Sadie quickly realized that while she was home and alive, she was not safe.
Stone gestured to the door which she unlocked, opened, and walked through. She flicked on the lights, illuminating the kitchen and living room. Home.
The trailer was old. The fixtures and appliances were all dated. Old panel cabinets lined the kitchen on the left. The white Formica counter was faded and stained. It was clean, she always made sure of that, but it was worn. She had replaced the kitchen table that her mom had taken with her. A twenty-five dollar round oak table with three chairs now occupied the small dining area. She was still proud of the deal she had gotten at the swap meet. That’s where she also bought the blue crackle vase that sat in the center of the table.
Sadie placed her bag on the table. It wobbled side to side. She really needed to buy pads for the feet to level it out. It was something on her to-do list. She turned from the table to watch Stone as he made his way into the living room. She didn’t have much furniture, just an old green sectional, a square coffee table, and an entertainment center. She had been given a DVD player when Pearl replaced her old one. Sadie offered to pay her for it but she insisted it wasn’t worth much. It was worth a lot to Sadie, along with her cheap movies from Wal-Mart. She didn’t have cable, the local channels were free, and her movies were good enough.
She always thought of the living room as big but with Stone standing in it now, it seemed to shrink. His presence made the room feel small. She intently watched while he looked around. She tried to see her place through his eyes. Aside from Tyler when they were dating, she rarely had people over. There wasn’t a reason. People opened their homes to family and friends. Sadie had neither. A home said a lot about the person who lived in it. Right now, Stone looked unimpressed.
“You live here?”
“Yeah.”
He glanced over his shoulder and she heard his faint whisper. “By choice?”
“Rent is cheap.”
He spun around quickly and smirked. “I’ll bet it is.”
It wasn’t a blatant dig, but she could hear the underlying insult. It shouldn’t matter what he thought of her or where she lived. It shouldn’t have, but it did. He continued a silent appraisal of her trailer.
She gripped her hands in front of her, twisting her fingers. It was a nervous tick. Being alone with him had her heart racing and her forehead breaking out in a sweat. It was from fear, absolute gut wrenching, powerless fear. Or? The only other reason would be arousing excitement that the man who she’d been fantasizing over for the last few weeks was standing in her trailer. Fear! It’s fear! Liar!
He slowly angled his head and his eyes crinkled. “No man?”
“Nope.” She clamped her lips in a tight line.
He stared back at her with a trace of humor glimmering in his eyes. He crossed his arms, a move that made him appear larger, if that was even possible. His jaw hitched to the side as if he was contemplating his next statement. Asking if she had a man was personal, something a person would ask if they were interested. She bit her lip. Was Melinda right? Had he been interested in her, watching her and possibly going to make a move. He glanced around the room then turned toward her. She drew in a breath and held it. She must have been in shock from the traumatic night because she had completely lost her mind. Yes, I’ll go out with you, even though you may or may not be a deranged killer.
“I guess waitressing doesn’t pay much, huh?”
The air in her chest slowly released. Her shoulders sagged as she mumbled, “I do all right...” Served her right for thinking anything that came out of his mouth would be anything other than an insult.
His tone was nasty. “Really? This is alright?” He continued to look around, his nose pinched and his mouth twisted. “What the hell is that smell?”
And the hits just keep on coming. She sighed, cocking her hip to the side and mimicking his stance. “My roof leaked last month and my landlord hasn’t gotten around to fixing it yet.”
“So, it’s fucking mold.”
She ground her teeth together growing increasingly annoyed with him. Why the hell did he care anyway? He wasn’t
