Unraveling (42 page)

“Thanks baby cakes. I needed to hear that,” he said. “
Ow!” he cried. “Tell your cat to stop biting me.”

“No, Mable! That’s not nice!” I scolded the cat, picking her up
, and putting her on my lap.

“That cat is the devil’s spawn,” Rollo glared at her.

I held her close my chest, kissing the top of her head. “No, she’s not. She’s a sweetie. She just senses that you don’t like cats and she takes offense.”

“Ugh, enough talk about that crazy pussy.” Rollo pinched the bridge of his nose. “Promise me that the next time
, we have a break, we’ll actually do something fun.”

“Jared mentioned going to the beach for Memorial Day. He said his friends always have a bonfire on the beach and there’s fireworks,” I said while playing with Mable’s paws. They were so little and cute.

“That sounds fabulous,” Rollo said. “I need to get away. I can’t wait for summer. I need a break.”

“But won’t you have to go to your parent’s for the summer?” I asked, puzzled.

“No,” a grin spread across his face. “They’re buying me an apartment.”

“What?” I gasped. “That’s awesome!”

“They said that two years was long enough for me to have to suffer at the dorms aaaannnnndddd,” he drew the word out dramatically, “they’re getting me a car too.”

“Yay!” I squealed, hugging him.

“I am so happy I won’t have to spend another year in that dorm. I might die,” he joked.

“When are you going to start apartment hunting?” I asked.

“I already have,” Rollo shrugged. “I’m hoping to convince them to let me move in before the semester is over.”

I laughed. “Good luck with that.”

Rollo’s parents were by far better and more supportive than my mom, but they were still weird.

“Eh,” Rollo shrugged his shoulders, “you never know. I might as well try.”

“If you want me to go look with you, let me know.”

“Actually,” Rollo’s blue eyes lit up, “there’s one I
really
love. We’re not doing anything, so let’s swing by and take a look. You know I value you’re opinion, baby cakes. Plus, if my parents know you like it, it’ll go a long way, in convincing them to buy it. You know, they’re convinced we’re gonna get married one day, despite the fact that I’ve told them I’m gay.”

I laughed at that. “I guess they’re hoping that if you hang out with me long enough
, you’ll become straight.”

“I don’t know what they think… at least they’re not hostile about it, you know?”

I nodded, patting his arm.

Rollo had come out to his parents just before we graduated high school. They’d been shocked, his mother had cried for days, but they never said anything rude or condescending to him.

“Let me go get changed,” I motioned to my sweats and tank, “and then we’ll go take a look.”

“Thank you, baby cakes.” When I stood up to leave, he said, “Take your pussy with you.”

“Rollo!” I shrieked again, but picked up Mable and disappeared into my room.

I changed into a pair of jeans and a loose pale pink sweater before pulling my hair back into a ponytail.

“I’m ready,” I called out to Rollo.

Mable was curled up on my bed asleep
, but at my words, her eyes cracked. She knew I was leaving and was not too happy about it.

I grabbed my keys and purse.

Rollo directed me to the apartment he was interested in. It wasn’t far from my condo and close to the campus.

“It looks nice,” I said, appraising the outside.

“While you were changing I called the owner and he said he’d be here to show us in,” Rollo unbuckled his seatbelt, hopping out of the car.

I did the same, following him onto the sidewalk.

The apartment he was interested in was on the second floor.

A kind looking older man was waiting outside the door.

Rollo said a few words to him and the man opened the door, ushering us inside.

“I’ll be out here while ya’ll look around and I’ll lock up behind ya,” he smiled.

The apartment was larger than I’d realized, larger than my condo.

It had two bedrooms and a large bathroom. It even had a dining room, which was something I wish I had.

The finishing’s were all brand new, although not top of the line. It was clean and looked like a place Rollo would live.

“What do you think?” Rollo asked
, after I’d explored every room.

“Honestly?” I asked
and his smile dropped at the corners.

“Of course. I always want your honest opinion,” he replied.

I smiled. “I love it, Rollo. It’s so you. It’s perfect,” I looked around the open living-dining-kitchen area.

“Are you sure?” he asked, already smiling.

“Positive,” I said and Rollo began to clap before hugging me.

“As soon as we get in the car
, I’m going to call my parents,” he told me.

The man was waiting outside the door like he said he would. Rollo stopped to tell him that he hoped to be calling him this evening or tomorrow morning.

While Rollo was talking to his parents, I got a call from Jared, wanting to know if I wanted to go out to dinner.

“I’m hanging out with Rollo,” I said
, sadly. I
wanted
to go out with Jared, but Rollo was my best friend, and I had been neglecting him far too much. He’d been my rock, and just because I had Jared now, didn’t mean I should just drop him into a pond, so to speak.

“We can go out as a group then,” Jared said. “You, me, Karlie, Holden, and Rollo. It’ll be fun.”

“Uh-” I stalled.

“Is that Jare-bear?” Rollo asked, poking my shoulder. I hadn’t noticed him hang up his phone.

“Yeah,” I said, but before the words all the way out he was taking the phone from me.

“I don’t know what you asked,” Rollo said to Jared, “but her answer is yes.” I could hear Jared’s deep rumble, but couldn’t make out what he was saying. “
Oooh, dinner as a group. That’ll be great… That’s perfect.” Rollo hung up the phone and dropped it onto the center console. “You’re welcome,” he winked. “We’re going to go to that new buffet so that everybody can get what they want.”

“What time?” I asked.

“Now,” he said, looking at me like I was an idiot.

I drove to the buffet restaurant and we waited in the car for the others to arrive.

The buffet was loud and crowded but the food was delicious. When we finished eating, Karlie said she wanted to see a movie. We all ended up going. It had been a long time since I’d been to an actual movie theater.

Jared sat beside me, holding my hand and sharing his popcorn.

There could be an edge to him, especially when he was in a fight, but at the end of the day, he was a romantic.

As were leaving the movie, Jared said to the group of us, “What are we going to do for Katy’s birthday?”

“Nothing! Absolutely nothing!” I cried.

“Why?”
Jared asked puzzled. “Birthdays are meant to be celebrated,” he pushed the door open and we exited onto the street.

Rollo spoke up for me. “Her birthday is a sore spot for her. Either her mother didn’t remember, or she turned it into a big extravaganza for her own selfish reasons.”

Jared looked at me with pity and I squirmed in his grasp. I didn’t want him or anybody else to pity me. “Katy,” he said, softly. “This is us,” he motioned to himself and the others behind him. “Your mother won’t be there. It’ll be fun.”

I swallowed. He was right. This birthday would be different. My mother wouldn’t be barking orders, ruining my day.

“Okay,” I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “A party will be fine.”

“Good,” Jared grinned, as we walked down the street to where we had parked.

“I want to go bowling,” I declared.

“Bowling?” Jared questioned.

“Yes, bowling. I’ve never been bowling before, so that’s what I want to do.”

“You’ve never been bowling?” Holden asked, looking scandalized.

“No,” I shook my head, “my mom wouldn’t let me. She said there were only low-life’s there and it was full of germs.”

“Your mom must be a fucking psycho,” Holden declared.

“You have no idea,” Jared muttered, stopping next to my car. Holden went on his way and Karlie went to Jared’s Toyota. Rollo stood a few feet away, giving us the illusion of privacy. “I’ll make sure you have the best birthday you’ve ever had,” Jared said brushing my hair back from my forehead.

“It won’t be that hard to make it the best,” I laughed.

“I’m still going to try,” he said, bending down to kiss me. “I’ll see you at the gym tomorrow?”

“Of course,” I smiled.

~***~

I dropped Rollo off at his dorm. He was on the phone again with his parents, and it sounded like they were being persuaded to rent the apartment. I really hoped they would. Rollo hated the dorms, and I didn’t blame him. I probably would have gone into cardiac arrest if I had to share a dorm with a stranger.

He turned and waved as he walked away, still chatting away.

I drove the short distance to my condo. I went about my nightly ritual, getting in my pajamas, brushing my teeth, and lastly, taking my sleeping pill.

So, far it had been working at keeping the nightmare away.

I slipped under the covers, Mable taking up my pillow. I reached up to pet her tail, the motion soothing me, and soon
, my eyes closed.

~***~

“What kind of cake do you want?” Jared asked, as I swung a punch at the pads on his hands.

“
Chocolate,” I answered, sounding out of breath.

“I called the bowling alley this morning and already booked your party,” he said.

I laughed. “That was quick.”

“
Your birthday is in two days. They weren’t too happy with me,” he chuckled. “They thought I was a dad that forgot to schedule his kid’s party. I told them it was for my girlfriend and they thought I was lying.”

“Most people don’t have their twentieth birthday at a bowling alley,” I punched the pads harder this time.

“You’re right about that,” he said. “It’ll still be fun though. Do you mind if Dan and Patsy come?”

“Of course not
. I’d love for them to be there,” I panted.

“Alright, stop,” Jared, said and I ceased my punching.

I was out of breath and I wanted some water.

I slipped the gloves off and slipped out of Jared’s training ring. I grabbed my water bottle, taking three long swallows.

When I screwed the top back on, Jared said, “Come on, sit-up time.”

I groaned, but lay down on the puffy blue mat. Jared held my feet tightly in his hands. “Fifty,” he said.

“Fifty?” I cried. “Are you trying to kill me? I thought you were the one that was supposed to be training, not me?”

Jared laughed, letting go of my foot with one hand
, to push his hair out of his eyes.

“Just trust me.”

“Right now, I hate you,” I grumbled, starting my sit-ups.

“It’ll get easier the more you do it,” he said.

“That’s easy for you to say! Look at you!” I cried.

“If you keep talking
, it’s going to make it harder,” he grinned.

“If you keep smiling at me
, like that, it’s going to be hard for you to walk with my foot shoved up your ass,” I grumbled.

He threw his head back, laughing. “Oh my, how you’ve changed in the eight months I’ve known you.”

“I haven’t changed,” my breath hissed out as I completed a sit-up, “I just found my true self.”

“And you’re a feisty thing,” he chuckled as I took a swipe at his head.

“How many more?” I asked.

“Twenty,” he said.

I groaned.

We were quiet as I finished my sit-ups.

Jared stood and held out a hand to help me up. “I think I preferred it when you were doing the pushups and all I had to do was lay there,” I put my hands on my hips, chest rising and falling rapidly.

He threw his back in laughter. “Of course you did,” he pulled me to him. He gripped my upper arm. “Your muscles are starting to get impressive.”

“I don’t want to start looking like a man!” I cried, pulling out of his grasp.

He chuckled. “Katy, you don’t look like a man. Your muscles are just more defined. Come here,” he said, leading me to the wall of mirrors. He lifted my arm and fixed it in a flexing motion. “See, you’ve just got really nice definition.”

“I still don’t want man arms,” I muttered.

“I promise, you won’t have man arms,” he chuckled.

“They’re looking pretty manly to me,” I said, poking the raised muscle on my arm.

Jared bent and kissed it. “No, they’re not. They’re perfect. Everything about you is perfect.”