Page 51 of You'll Love it Here

“What is all this?” I ask, though I’m afraid to know.

I feel his eyes on me as I once again make eye contact withthat doll.

“My business,” Carmen says. “It’s the only thing I can do to make ends meet right now.”

With all his sketchy-ass ways of meeting people and having associates, I was hoping he was simply selling drugs. I stiffen, suddenly afraid to touch anything. This is probably some kind of low-rent porn situation that I don’t want to learn more about.

Unfortunately, Carmen keeps talking. “I find it’s best to be consistent. Every item I put on the marketplace is photographed there before I upload it online.” He points to the little camera area. “I specialize in antiques and collectibles, but I’ll take pretty much any junk off you for a fee.”

The relief is instant. Carmen is a junk dealer. “So... you sell used items?” Suddenly his name, #onemansjunk, makes all the sense in the world and is actually quite genius branding (if still on the creepy side of the scale, but he’s always going to be fucking like that, I guess).

“Those are creepy little freaks, aren’t they?” He nods to the dolls, trailing my stare. “I personally wouldn’t even give them to my daughter. I’ve seen too many of the horror films to know what they’re capable of, but there are some people that’ll pay a pretty penny for them.”

“Carmen,” I say slowly. “You can’t run a business out of your home. It’s a violation of your lease.”

“It’s more like a hobby. There’s no need to bring eviction into this,” Carmen says defensively. Then he snaps his finger like an idea’s crossed his mind. “If there’s anything in that corner that you want, I can give it to you. It’s worth more than you’d think.”

Is this guy actually trying to bribe me? I stare at his proposed offerings but am not sure I need a dusty funnel or a lamp with a lady’s sexy torso at this juncture.

But he got one thing right. He could easily be evicted for this.

“Well...” I start, suddenly emboldened by this newfound power. “There’s a reason for the rules, and your packages have been a nuisance for too long and—”

“I know all that. But I’m wondering if you’d look the other way? Please.” He cups his hands together and looks at me, pleading. “I can’t stop right now. Like I said, I have a daughter, and I need to send her mom money.”

His words hit me, stopping short any drive I had left. It’s the desperation in his eyes that cuts through me.

But I can’t let the smell of Old Spice make me go soft. Carmen’s been a nuisance for way too long. Just because he has a daughter doesn’t mean he gets a free pass for bad behavior.

I’m just starting to shake my head when a spark ignites behind his eyes. “Matter of fact, I was rather good at overlooking things myself,” he says. “Like when you snuck two pieces of a broken vase into the dumpster a few weeks ago. I just so happened to notice it was the same one the vandal took from the lobby that night, but I figured it would be best to overlook it all, until I had a reasonnotto.” His smile cuts into me.

Damn it. He knows. And with that, all the power I had over him has dissolved.

I can feel my pulse quickening. I nod, deciding it’s better to skip right to the chase. “So what are you proposing, like a mutual-destruction pact?”

“Wow.” Carmen gapes. “I was just guessing. Didn’t expect you to own right up to it.”

Shit. I’m such an imbecile.

“Okay.” I nod. “I won’t say anything, and I appreciate your discretion with my... situation.”

“Hot dang!” He claps his hands hard and the sound echoes through the cramped apartment. He angles his head like a proud parent. “You know, I was certain you were the understanding type.”

“I mean, I was kind of put into a corner.”

“Nah.” He shakes his head. “I probably wasn’t going to tell on you, I ain’t a little rat.” The smirk returns to his face. “I think if itcame to it, you weren’t going to tell on me either. You don’t seem the type.”

I can’t help my grin at this. He’s savvier than I gave him credit for. “I probably wasn’t, but I’d feel evenmoresure if you kept the boxes tidier. It’s genuinely putting Irene’s insurance at risk should there be a fire.”

“You drive a hard bargain.” He tips his chin at me in appreciation. “I’m saving up for a storage unit so things will be cleared out good.”

“And now that we have such a great understanding, can you let the electrician in tomorrow for the inspection?”

He lets out a huff. “Yeah, I can probably postpone my afternoon trip to Lethbridge, but in the morning, I wasn’t lying about being busy.” His expression flattens. “It’s my day to visit Miley. I can only see her once a month, and I’ve missed enough.” His eyes drift to a picture of a girl with dirty-blond hair cut into bangs around blue eyes.

“How old is your daughter?” I blurt out my question before really thinking about it.

“She’s about, well, let’s see, she’s turning fifteen next month.” The words seem to catch in his throat, yet he continues unprompted. “She goes to Western Canada High School.”