over to the fridge.
I knew Harley like the back of my hand. I couldn’t look in her eyes while she realized what I’d been sleeping in. She was as protective of me as I was of her.
“Wow,” she exhaled.
I didn’t have anywhere else to look. I spun and watched her dismayed expression take in my surroundings. Her eyes went from the mattress in the corner of the room, rumpled sheets and pillows spread on top of it, to the couch which had seen better days in the center of the small space. It was covered in stains with a spring popping out of the cushion.
Her concerned stare didn’t stop there. It went right to the worn-down coffee table with duct tape around one of the legs, holding it in place. She couldn’t decide where she wanted to look the most, shooting her glare to the walls with patched up holes. Where someone did a half-ass job leaving the drywall unfinished.
The old black and white dial television sitting on the floor was what caught her attention next. Along with my clothes scattered throughout the room, drying over the heated vents.
I blinked, and our eyes met.
“Cash, do your parents know you’re livin’ like this?”
In three strides, I was over to her, handing her a beer. “Fuck them.”
She winced at my blunt response, remembering what had happened between us.
“What about your sister, Giselle? She know?”
I nodded. “She mails me money all the time. I never cashed her checks, so she started sendin’ me cash. I donate it to the homeless shelter up the road. They need it more than I do.”
“Have you taken a look around, Cash? You weren’t raised in an environment like this.”
“It ain’t that bad.” I shrugged. “Beats sleepin’ at the shelter I donate money to.”
Her eyes widened. “You’ve been stayin’ at shelters?”
“Not since I got this gig. The owner, Margot, has been lettin’ me stay here for the last month rent-free, as long as I play a few times a week for the after-hours crowd.”
“Why didn’t you tell me it was this bad? You always made it sound like you were okay.”
“I am.”
“Cash, this is not okay. This is beyond not okay. I’m certain I just saw a roach—”
“That’s Roger. He’s my roommate.”
She frowned, her eyes pooling with fresh tears.
“Relax, I’m fuckin’ wit’ you.” I plopped on the couch, throwing my feet on the table. “Did you lose your sense of humor on the drive over here?”
“I’m not convinced I won’t need a shot when I leave here.”
“Since when is my best friend scared of a little grit and grime? That fancy college rubbin’ off on you?”
“Since her best friend is livin’ in it.”
“Come here.” I patted the cushion next to me, wanting to ease her concern.
She didn’t have to worry, no one did. It was my problem and my problem alone. I wouldn’t drag anyone down with me.
Especially, my girl Harley.
Chapter 24
“Love is old, love is new, love is all, love is you.”
-The Beatles
<>Cash<>
“Tell me what’s goin’ on. You alright?” I asked, changing the subject.
She shook her head no, consumed with the filth surrounding us.
“Harley.” I brought her attention back to me. “You wanna sit on my bed instead? Probably the cleanest thing in here.”
“I highly doubt that. I saw the way those women were lookin’ at you out there.”
I grinned. “I’m a starvin’ musician. This place doesn’t exactly make panties drop for me, darlin’.”
She chugged a few swigs of her beer. It was obvious she was trying to forget what had happened that made her come visit me to begin with. To be honest, I was more shocked she actually remembered where I casually mentioned I was playing the last time we spoke.
“How long you been strugglin’ like this?”
I shrugged again. “Since I dropped outta school and moved out here.”
It was best not to tell her how much I’d been moving around. It’d only unease her further.
“Cash, that was almost three years ago.”
“What do you want me to say, Harley? You want me to lie?”
“Of course not. You could call your par—”
“I know you didn’t drive all this way to talk about my parents disownin’ me.”
“I still hate it happened in the first place.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t peaches and cream for me either. My jaw still ain’t right.” I chuckled, referring to my old man knocking me out. Blowing it off like it was nothing, when in fact...
It was everything.
“Your dad didn’t mean it, Cash.”
“He laid my ass out on the ground. Whatever happened to supportin’ your kids