Page 180 of Always Love You More

“It’s gone.” I step back. “It’s fucking gone.”

“What’s gone?”

“I’m so—” I pull away from her and slam the door to the safe shut. “Fuck!”

“Jamie, what’s going on?”

“I should have known.” The door to the safe swings back open, and I kick it closed. My foot coming down on it over and over again. “Goddammit, I should have fucking known.” I pull at my hair. “She took it. She took the money.”

Understanding flashes across Sam’s face. “Shit,” she mutters.

“I was out when the landlord came to collect rent. She told me she’d take care of it, so I gave her the code … I thought she was doing better …”

I pace in front of the safe, the door drifting back open as if to mock me. “How could I be so fucking stupid?”

“She was doing better,” Sam says, trying to reassure me. “She got that job. You couldn’t have known she was gonna …”

Her words begin to fade away as I move around her, heading for the door.

She chases after me, calling out my name.

I throw the door open, my boots echoing through the hall. “Ma!” I shout.

Her bedroom door is open, the room empty, so I keep moving, but my steps falter when I hear a deep voice coming from the kitchen.

I round the corner, my gaze falling on my mother and a man sitting across from her at the table.

“Who the fuck are you?” I yell before looking at my mother and pointing at the man. “Who the fuck is this?”

“Jameson,” she says, her voice all wrong.

I can feel Sam at my back, and it calms me but just a fraction.

I snap my fingers in front of his face. “An answer. Now.”

“Whoa, kid. Calm down.” He laughs nervously.

“Who is he?”

“This is Calvin. I met him at work.”

She looks up at me, and it’s then that it clicks. Her pupils are blown wide, her eyes glassy.

I shake my head. “At work, huh?”

She fidgets in her seat, giving herself away.

I turn to Calvin. “Get out of my house.”

“Jameson,” my mother scolds. “You can’t—”

I hold up a hand. “I’ll deal with you in a minute.”

“I’m not asking you again,” I say to Calvin, my voice dangerously low. “I’m in a shit mood, and it’s only getting worse, so do yourself a favor and get out.”

He sizes me up. I must look as unhinged as I feel because he pushes his chair back. “Yeah, all right.” He turns to my mother. “Another time, Aubrey.”

She starts to stand. “I’ll walk you—”