couch, “what exactly do you think my kids would say to me if something happened to you?”
“You’re pulling the kid card on me? That’s bullshit!”
“No, it’s the truth.”
“What truth? Nothing is going to happen to me. You know nothing about my life outside of your kids. I’ve been living in this world for twenty-eight years, and I’ve done a damn good job at it. Yes, Journey would miss me, but Jackson and Jagger couldn’t care less that I’m there, so don’t pull the kid card on me now that you feel like an ass.”
“It bothers me that you think so lowly of your place in my home.”
“Coming from the man who said I was nothing but a glorified babysitter who does a shitty fuckin’ job cooking and cleaning his home, that doesn’t mean much.”
He winced. The apology written all in his gaze.
I waited.
“You know my kids need you. You’ve been exactly what they need.”
It wasn’t the apology I was looking for, but I’d take it.
“Besides, do you have any idea how many times your sorry excuse of an ex, drove by your apartment last night?”
“I—”
“No, you don’t. You were too busy blacked-the-fuck-out drunk. I’m the one who carried you out of the club and into my car, drove you home, carried you into your apartment, checked your vitals to make sure I didn’t need to take you to the hospital to get your stomach pumped. Then I spent the night on the couch, making sure you were safe from the danger you obviously allow into your life.”
“I… I… I… don’t normally do that.”
“So I’ve been told.”
“Told? By who?”
“Your best friend Danté and your boyfriend Curtis.”
“Very funny.”
“I’m not laughing.”
“So what? Because you played hero for one night, I’m just supposed to move in with you?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, causing his muscles to intensify.
“Stop staring at his body, Camila. You’re supposed to be fighting with him, not admiring him.”
“Admiring, huh?”
“Goddamn it!” I stomped my foot. “I can’t be around you right now. I keep thinking out loud, and it’s making me look like an idiot.”
“I’d say entertaining.”
“Can you please just go?”
“Not without you.”
“Fine. I’ll meet you in the middle, okay? You didn’t fire me, and we can go back to the way things were. I’ll take care of your kids, and you pretend like I don’t exist.”
“That’s going to be hard, considering you live with me.”
“Ay Dios mío,” I rasped, “Oh my God.”
“Unless you want me to assume you’re saying, ‘I’m right,’ I suggest you speak English.”
“Listen, Dr. Pierce—”
“Oh, it’s Dr. Pierce now?”
“Yes. That’s your name.”
“It wasn’t last night.”
“Last night I was drunk and didn’t care.”
“No shit, you passed out in my arms.”
“Can you just stop being so… so… so…”
“So what?”
“Annoying! Now I know where Jackson gets it from.” I shook my head, trying to stay focused, but it was hard when he was looking at me so profoundly. Giving me his undivided attention was something I wasn’t used to or prepared for.
As a result, I simply acknowledged, “As I just said, I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. I can handle Sean. He won’t hurt me.”
“You wouldn’t be saying that if you remembered how he was treating you last night.”
“I do remember. That’s just typical Sean.”
“I don’t know what’s worse, him treating you like a whore or you defending him for treating you like one.”
I jerked back, realizing he was right. I was defending the piece of shit and that was hardest pill to swallow.
“My kids love you. They would never forgive me if something happened to you. Take a look around, Cami. Your home isn’t exactly what dreams are made of.”
“I’m not ashamed of where I live, Dr. Pierce.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, leaning forward to place his elbows on his knees. He countered, “Then why not disclose your current living conditions during the interview with Skyler?”
“You watched my interview?”
“Answer my question,” he stressed, ignoring mine.
“I did, my address was on my resumé.”
“Try again.”
It was as if this man could read right through me, and there was no getting around it.
Was I being that transparent?
“Because I wanted to get hired. You know nothing about this, Dr. Pierce, but being raised in the south side doesn’t exactly qualify you for anything more. There, happy now?”
His eyes glazed over, and he didn’t try to hide it. He wanted me to see something behind his guarded stare. A deeper connection happening between us as though he knew precisely what I was talking about.