Page 60 of Dreams and Reptiles

“It wasn’t enough,” he murmured. “Not by a long shot.”

I sighed. “Thanks, but it’s fine. It got me this place and allowed me to start a new life.”

“So nothing happened to that piece of shit?” Roger said. “He only lost his job?”

“Well… not quite. He wasn’t willing to let things go. After he was fired, he started fucking with me. Sent dead flowers to my parents’ house, slashed my tires, left me threatening voicemails, texted me the rat emoji…”

That got Kendall’s attention.

“Mom urged me to file a police report. That was the last straw for my father. He told me to make other living arrangements, said he didn’t want my shame to impact our family or his career. Mom told him to go fuck himself, and we both left. The cops took my report, and there was a restraining order placed against Robin. I hadn’t heard anything from him since, but I also changed my number, moved in with Max, and, when I decided to move out here, I put the house in an LLC. I kept my name and face off all the public business records and social media. I wasn’t hiding necessarily… but I thought I’d left all this behind.”

“You said the person made a fatal mistake,” Arnie said. He had his arm around Derek, rubbing his shoulder. “What did you see?”

“His shoes. His ugly-ass special edition Allen Edmonds sneakers that he thought made him the shit.”

My oats threatened to come back up thinking of the last time I’d seen them. In his office. One hand on my neck, the other on his zipper. Fighting back. Getting kicked and then stomped to the ground.

“I need a minute.”

Thank God the toilet flusher worked now, because my gut would not be ignored. I waited until I was sure I was done purging before flushing.

“Francis? You okay?”

Poor Kendall. This was not the way I’d wanted our day to go.

I opened the door and covered my mouth.

“I will be after I brush my teeth?”

“The chief is here, when you’re ready.”

“The chief came? Himself?”

Kendall smiled and put his arm around me, leading me toward the stairs. “Remember, this town is small. But also, he’s a friend. He doesn’t tolerate this shit in his town.”

He followed me up the two flights, and when we got to my room, he stopped in the doorway.

“You can come in,” I said.

“I just wanted to give you space if you need it.”

“Only until I brush my teeth. Ugh, I hate puking.” I went into the bathroom and did a thorough tooth brushing and even gargled with some Listerine before coming back out.

Kendall was still in the doorway, his expression distraught.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I wasn’t going to burden you with all of that.”

When he looked up, his eyes were wet, and he shook his head. “Francis, no. Please don’t ever use that word again.”

I wanted to joke this all away, get back to where we were before I’d opened the front door. Instead, I went into his arms and let him hold me tight.

“Is it too late to climb back into bed?” I asked, my face smushed into his chest.

“We will. I’ll do whatever you want, baby. If you want me here, I’m here. If you want space⁠—”

“I’m really glad you’re here. I’m okay, but it’s better with you here. You know just what I need.”

He kissed my forehead. “You need to eat something, but I get it. Want me to bring you something else? Some crackers?”