thirty-four.
(harlee)
He handed me a glass of water and there were black dirt specs in the water. I was thirsty but not that thirsty. So I put the glass down and just sat there in the chair. Tom was on his second can of beer and sat on the edge of the couch with a bottle of whiskey on the coffee table. Every few seconds he looked to the window, gritted his teeth, and then gently rocked back and forth.
He was scared.
Maybe he knew or had an idea of what Trent had to do to him.
It was a very unsettling feeling being with a man who was supposed to be killed.
Tom looked at me and half smiled. “You okay?”
“Fine.”
“So you and my boy… that’s serious?”
I held up my left hand and showed the diamond ring. “You tell me.”
“Oh, wow. Damn. That’s a nice ring.” He leaned toward me and stared at the diamond. “That’s a good cut. A good diamond. Worth a few pennies, huh?”
Tom then laughed. It was almost a maniacal kind of laugh.
I hid my hand then, fearing Tom was going to try and swindle me out of my ring. He had that sense about him, that he was always looking for an escape. Maybe that’s why he was so nervous. He was waiting for Trent to get back so he could ask for more money or protection or something.
“So… uh… where’s my son now? What’s he doing?”
“I can’t answer that,” I said. “You know that.”
“Just trying to kill time here,” Tom said. “You know that.”
He grabbed the whiskey bottle and poured another shot. He threw it back. He was so nervous that some of the whiskey dribbled from his mouth and ran down his chin and dripped to his jeans.
Tom then put the shot glass down and he jumped up. He wiped his hands on his jeans and he started to pace. He walked to the front door, stood up on his toes to look out the top window on the door, and then he turned and darted away.
Finally, after a couple minutes of him seeming like he was going fucking crazy, his cellphone started to ring. He lunged for it and squeezed it tight with a look a jubilation on his face. He looked at me and his face started to drop.
He swallowed hard and said, “Hey, I have to take this call. It’s really important. I’ll be in the bedroom.”
Tom turned and trotted away.
I heard the door shut and I stood up.
Something was wrong. Something was very off with the situation. He wasn’t supposed to leave me unprotected. And if he was going to get himself into trouble with me around I would need to call Trent.
I slowly walked toward the bedroom and heard Tom’s voice.
“We’re settled on it, right?” he asked.
Then there was silence.
“I’m telling you, man. Right here, right now. You want a picture or something? I could send that.”
I inched even closer to the door.
What the hell was he doing? Was he selling something? Was he that desperate for money?
“Okay, okay. You have nothing to worry about, man. I’m easy. I just want a chance in all of this. You know? I had a bad run. I can admit that now. I had a really bad run. But I’m good to go now. Nothing to worry about with me. Everything is in place. I told you it would be. Right? I didn’t lie.”
I backed away from the door and put distance between me and the bedroom, but not enough that I couldn’t hear what he was saying.
“Hey, we both know what’s right here. This is good for everyone. It’ll take care of a lot. Okay. Right. See you later. Yeah. Bye.”
I hurried and moved toward the living room again.
Tom came out of the bedroom and looked happy as anything when he grabbed the whiskey bottle. He threw it back and took a big drink, skipping the shot glass. The whiskey swished in the bottle and he held it to me.
“Have a drink.”
“No,” I said.
“Trust me, you want a drink.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Okay then. Don’t say I didn’t try to make everything easier.”
Tom laughed that maniacal laugh again.
I had a sudden sense of terror and my body reacted. I grabbed the full glass of water and stood up. I threw the water at Tom. He dropped the whiskey bottle and let out a yell. I then threw the actual glass right at his forehead. It hit him but didn’t break. The glass did break when it hit the coffee table.
I darted around the table and took off but Tom was right there. His hands lumbered toward me like he was a zombie in a cheap horror movie. I didn’t know what to do so I side kicked at him. The side of my foot connected with his lower stomach and I dropped him to his knees.
Holy shit…
I knew leaving was probably a mistake. But I didn’t trust this guy. Something was happening behind my back. I needed to get freedom and call Trent. He’d know what to do.
I rushed to the front door and tore it open. Behind me, I heard Tom let out a bellowing yell for me.
But that voice quickly faded as I stared at the man in the doorway.
The man Tom had been on the phone with.
I shook my head and told myself to attack.
Attack him, right now!
I was frozen.