due tomorrow, we should be working on that, at my place.”
I started to scan the room. I had only been down here a handful of times. My father’s requests were very precise, and he specifically told me never to come in here unless he requested me to do so. I never questioned it, of course. I’d seen a number of men journey into this room, and never come out. I didn’t want to imagine what went on behind this closed door.
“Do you really think he keeps that stuff in here, in your home?” Josh asked. I turned and gave him a stupid look.
“Yes, I think I’ll find what we are looking for in here.” I walked around a steel-looking desk and chair. The steel desk reminded me of something that would be in a butcher’s kitchen. The floor was also plastic-looking, like hard linoleum. It smelled like cleaner fluid. There were a number of small coat cupboards that lined the back wall, which were also steel and slatted along the doors, and there were also locked filing cabinets on the other side. I went over to one of the filing cabinets and stuck my hand behind it.
“What are you doing Norah?” Josh watched me curiously as I strained to reach behind.
“Getting the key of course.” I brought my hand back from behind the cabinet, holding a shiny magnetic key. Josh’s eyes blazed at me, as I held up the little metal object. He looked even more worried, probably thinking about that key, and what it kept locked up.
“C’mon Norah. Let’s get out of here. I don’t feel right about this.” He looked back to the door we came in from.
“God Josh, for a sixteen year old guy, you are acting like a frightened six year old.” I put the key into one of the cabinet’s keyholes and turned. It popped open, and I pulled it towards me, giving me access to what was inside.
“Ahhh, here we go.” I reached in and pulled out a box of bullets. “See, I told you he had some.” I held the box out to show Josh I was right.
“You know Norah, I don’t know what’s more disturbing. The fact your Dad has boxes of bullets in your house, or the fact we are spending a Sunday night hunting for bullets.”
I groaned, and stuffed the box of bullets into my shoulder bag. I then pushed the cabinet back closed, and locked it.
“You are the one that gave me the gun Josh. You are the one that said I had to conquer my fears. And now that I have, and have grown fond of it, you’ve become all uppity. Stop being such a girl. I love the gun. I need more bullets and now I have some. Case closed.”
I reached around and put the key back into its position, but as I did, I dropped my bag to the floor and a bullet escaped, rolling over to where Josh was standing. We both watched as it came to rest near Josh’s shoe.
“Fuck Norah. If anyone heard that, we would be...”
Suddenly we both froze. We could hear voices on the other side of the door. Josh’s eyes almost exploded out of his head. I swallowed, unable to move. Josh then reached over to me and motioned towards one of the steel closets. I gathered up my bag as we scrambled inside one to hide. Josh was standing right behind me, his hard chest up against the back of my shoulders. The small space meant that our bodies were pressed up closer to each other in a way we never had experienced before. I could feel the tension as we both held our breath. The slats gave us an obstructed vision into the room, but it was enough to see the movement and my Dad and his men walking in.
“Shit the bullet!” I said, in a frantic hushed voice. Josh put his hands on my waist and moved forward, leaning so his mouth was on my ear.
“Shhh. We cannot get caught Norah. Shhh please.”
I nodded in the dark confined space. Josh still had his hands on my hips. He had never touched me like this before. Our friendship was always so defined as just a friendship and I never let myself to think about it as more. I couldn’t, I wouldn’t. Boyfriends were chased off regularly by my father. He was extremely protective and didn’t trust any teenage suitors. I didn’t blame him though. He almost lost me